By Abbas Bamalli
Kano – The Agro Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project on Tuesday in Kano sensitised stakeholders including farmers on post-harvest losses reduction and increase in output.
The workshop was organised in collaboration with the World Bank, Federal and Kano State governments.
APPEALS Project Coordinator in Kano, Alhaji Hassan Ibrahim said that the workshop was to enhance the value of processed output for wheat, rice and tomato in the state.
Ibrahim said that the workshop was also to contact experts on agriculture, especially in the area of production, processing and marketing of wheat, rice and tomato value chain.
According to him, the World Bank is supporting the project across six states in Nigeria with 200 million dollars, adding that each benefiting states would get its share according to its performance.
Hassan said that the APPEALS project is targeting 10,000 farmers in the state, of which women would have 35 per cent, and people with special needs would get 25 per cent of the support.
The Executive Secretary, Kano Agricultural Research and Development Agency (KNARDA), Prof. Mahmood Daneji said that the project was a welcome development in the state and the country.
Daneji said that a lot of money was being spent on the importation of the three products whereas the products were in abundance in Nigeria.
“We need to improve our own to reduce the imports and increase the exports,” he said.
He said that other benefiting states are Kaduna, Kogi, Cross Rivers, Enugu and Lagos, adding that each of them would first receive 5 million dollars for the kick-start the project. (NAN)
