A Mid-Term Review of the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) has shown that a total of 39,209 have benefited directly from projects being implemented across six states, also, there has been significant increase in crop yield.
APPEALS project is an initiative of the Nigerian Government which is funded and implemented by the World Bank.
It is a 6-year project designed in line with the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) of the Federal Government.
The project is also targeting to empower about 60,000 persons on 11 agricultural value in six states.
It is also expected that 35 per cent of the beneficiaries of the project will be women and youths who will be empowered along Rice, Cocoa, Poultry, Cashew, Maize, Ginger, Diary, Wheat, Tomato, Cassava and Aquaculture value chains.
The mission led by World Bank Senior Agriculture Economist and Task Team Leader of the APPEALS Project, Dr. Adetunji Oredipe was undertaken in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and staff of the National and State Coordination Offices of the Project, including representatives of NGOs.
The participating states and value chains include Cross River (Rice, Cocoa, Poultry), Enugu (Rice, Cashew, Poultry), Kaduna (Maize, Ginger, Dairy) Kano (Rice, Wheat, Tomato), Kogi (Cassava, Cashew, Rice), Lagos (Rice, Aquaculture, Poultry).
The project was approved by the World Bank on March 23, 2017 and became disbursement effective on May 24, 2018. It is expected to close by September 2023.
The Project Development Objective (PDO) of the APPEALS is to enhance the agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers and improve value addition along priority value chains in the participating States.
The PDO was adjudged as still relevant to the country’s aspirations and the agriculture sector. The current government was in place when the Project started, and it is still in line with the Agricultural Promotion Policy and Economic Recovery Growth Plan of the Federal Government.
The Mid-Term Review (MTR) allows the formulation of timely and workable solutions to implementation challenges that may have been encountered during the first half of the project so that implementation remains on course to achieving the PDO.
Under APPEALS Project, the project outcome indicator for productivity increase was 35 per cent for each value chain. And as at the MTR (February 2021), all the value chains have surpassed the 35 per cent targeted yield increase from baseline figures.
Across all the value chains, there was a 48.9 per cent increase in average yield. This is above the average of 35 per cent targeted at the onset of the project.
A minimum of 40 per cent increase in processed products was expected for all the value chains. As at MTR, data from processed cassava, rice, aquaculture, and wheat showed an average increase of 47.7 per cent. This is higher than the expected increase in processed output of value chains of 40%.
The Project has empowered 8,078 youth and women with Business, Technical and Life Skills training, support to business planning, facilitation of business name registration (with Corporate Affairs Commission); Start-up grant to establish a commercially viable business; and Mentorship to provide the beneficiaries with continued support from established agribusiness entrepreneurs.
The Women and Youth Empowerment Programme (WYEP) beneficiaries are open to choosing any other value chains, but within the selected priority value chains for the Project.
This flexibility has enabled the youth to select commodity of high sustainability with quick returns on investment and high potential for foreign exchange generation/wealth creation.
The project is now at an accelerated implementation trajectory and has already achieved some of its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
With additional actions agreed during the MTR, the project is poised to significantly contribute to enhancing production and productivity of the selected crops included under the project as well as improving the income of project beneficiaries. Major achievements recorded include:
Significant increase in productivity – an average increase of 48.9 per cent disaggregated among targeted commodities was recorded.
Cassava increased productivity from a baseline of 15 metric tons per hectare to 33.33 metric tons per hectare (122.2 per cent), maize from 2.52 metric tons per hectare to 3.46 metric tons per hectare (37.3 per cent); ginger 11.86 metric ton per hectare to 16.41 metric tons per hectare (38.4 per cent).
Cocoa from 0.61metric tons per hectare to 0.72 metric tons per hectare (18.0 per cent); and rice from average yield of 2.86 metric tons per hectare to 5.5 metric tons per hectare (92.3 per cent).
The project also recorded increased productivity of tomato from 22.0 metric tons per hectare to 43.0 metric tons per hectare (95.5 per cent); wheat from 1.8 metric tons per hectare to 2.16 metric tons per hectare (20 per cent).
Aquaculture with an average baseline of 100kg/m3 to 130 kg/m3 (30 per cent) and dairy from 1.31litres/cow/day to 1.79litres/cow/day (36.6 per cent). Cashew productivity rose from 0.5 metric tons per hectare to 0.7 metric tons per hectare (40 per cent).
Productivity of processed products: This increased on the average for the value chains at 47.7 per cent, with milled rice moving from 3.2 metric tons/CIG/Day to 4.9 metric tons/CIG./Day (53.1 per cent). Processed Cassava (Garri) moved from 1.7 metric tons/CIG/Day to 2.35 metric tons/CIG/Day (38.2 per cent).
Processed fish from 0.78 metric tons/CIG//Day to 1.02 metric tons/CIG/Day (30.8 per cent). Processed wheat (Gurasa – Local Pizza) from 86 metric tons/CIG/Day to 145 metric tons/CIG/Day (68.6 per cent).
Considerable production volume of value chains: Cassava (20,005 metric tons), rice (29,404.69 metric tons), maize (3,261 metric tons), ginger (15,374.59 metric tons), and cocoa (129.14 metric tons).
Others include poultry (6,661.05 metric tons), catfish (1,250 metric tons), tilapia (97.5 metric tons), wheat (2,160 metric tons), tomato (14,520 metric tons) were added to the national food basket.
Increased access to market through linkagerecorded with 85 off-takers doing business (input supply to and output demand from participating farmers).
The Project reached a total of 39,209 direct beneficiaries (60.84% male and 39.16% females) and about 196,045 indirect beneficiaries who benefited in a total of 87 Business Alliances and out-grower schemes established across the six participating states (Cross River – 19, Enugu-5, Kaduna–16, Kano-25, Kogi-4, Lagos -18,).
The project is linking 25 agribusiness clusters to infrastructure such as boreholes, tube wells and box culvert across the participating States.
There is also the demonstration of 96 improved technologies (50 per cent of which are climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive) and which have been adopted by project beneficiaries in the 1,268 Value Chain Investment Plans (VCIPs) across eleven (11) priority value chains.
The project is also focused on establishment of Grievance Redress Committees both at State and Local Government levels and equipped with complaint boxes, grievance logbook as well as dedicated toll-free lines which have settled grievances amicably among the Project stakeholders.
The project is contributing directly to producing food locally through import substitution. The diversification of the national economy away from almost complete dependence on the crude oil sector is being achieved through enhancing the contribution of agriculture to the overall economy.
In addition, the Project is contributing to youth employment through the Women and Youth Empowerment Programme. Judging from all these evidences, the MTR determined that the PDO is still adjudged relevant.
The project supports targeted priority value chains as identified in Agricultural Promotion Policy-The Green Alternative (APP-2016-2020) of this current government, through facilitating business alliances, promotion of greater farmers-agri-business linkages, and support to critical infrastructure in value chain development.
Priority value chains selected from the APP for the purpose of project support are staples with quick returns and benefits; products with potentials for immediate improvement of food security;Â value chains to enhance the national production of crops (rice, maize, cassava and wheat).
Others are products with a potential for export and foreign currency earnings (cocoa and cashew); and short-cycle, quick income generating high value products for livelihood improvement, particularly suitable for women and youth businesses such as horticulture, poultry and aquaculture.
Furthermore, the APP 2020 was built upon the Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA),and its key policy themes of supporting productivity enhancements; crowding in private sector investment; and (iii) institutional realignment of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with a focus on improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria’s agriculture space.
The APPEALS Project is well aligned to the priorities of the 6 States participating in the project.
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