Lagos, Kano, Enugu, 3 others to benefit $200m W/Bank agribusiness initiative

Twenty-one thousand women and youth drawn from six states of the federation are to benefit from the $200 million World Bank-assisted Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) initiative.

APPEALS specialist, Heather Akanni, made the disclosure at a workshop for the facilitators of the project in Lagos Tuesday.

The six states slated to benefit from the project are Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Kogi, Enugu and Cross River.

Akanni, who is the National Women, Youth and Livelihood Specialist at the National Coordinating Head Office of APPEALS, said the 21,000 women and youth formed 35 per cent of 60,000 people expected to benefit from the initiative across the six states.

She said people living with disabilities were expected to be incorporated in the 35 per cent allocated to women and youthin the initiative.

“This is to improve women’s livelihood,” she said.

Enugu State Women, Youths and Livelihood Specialist, Ihuoma Eze, assured that the state being one of the focal areas, would take the initiative seriously.

“We are prepared to empower women and youth who have interest in agribusiness, including production, processing and marketing.

“We will educate and empower them in their areas of interest. We are going to support them in any way possible by providing the inputs they require but not cash.

“Although the value chain for Enugu state is rice, cashew and poultry, women and youths are not restricted to these three areas.

“They can explore any crop within the value chain in the project,” she said.

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