…As Governor Mbah’s 100 Days In Office births Construction Of 15 Aggregation And Cottage Processing Centres And 9 Energy Intervention Sites by the APPEALS project
The words of Robin Sharma “starting strong is good. Finishing Strong is epic,” best describes the story of Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project in Enugu State.
The project; a World Bank Assisted intervention in the agricultural sector which commenced in 2019 and Enugu as the only benefiting state in South region hit the running under the previous administration by supporting the producers (farmers) and startups with the necessary capacity to produce more in line with the design of the project. Under this phase, over 3,000 farmers including women and youths as well as people with disabilities were empowered
Done with the empowerment phase, the project moved to infrastructural development in the areas where these empowered farmers live to add value to their products and make them earn more.
To showcase the jaw dropping infrastructures constructed by the project in 15 Aggregation And Cottage Processing Centres, the acting state project coordinator of Enugu APPEALS, Mrs. Ihuoma Eze took journalists for a media tour of some of the multimillion naira infrastructures.
The first point of call was Rice Processing Centre, in Nara, Nkanu East local government area. The facility which seats on over 5 plots of land is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities which makes it a one stop shop for rice processing, packaging and storage.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. John-mary Eze, a rice farmer from Nara Unataeze said the facility is a “life saver”, adding that their “suffering is over”.
Mr. Eze who couldn’t contain his joy, said they thought the project was a joke or the regular ‘political promise’ that never come to fruition.
“Our entire community has been thrown into celebration mood following the completion of this project, we thought it was a fluke when they trained us and assured us that they’re bringing a rice mill closer to us.
“Today, we no longer need to go through the stress of transporting our paddies to the neighbouring villages which reduces our profit also. We now have all the facilities we need here, ranging from the Miller to the dryer, to the winnower, processing and packaging machines, so we’re very happy and grateful to our Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, the world bank and the management of Enugu State APPEALS Project.”
APPEALS Project also provided heavy duty alternatives source of power for the mill and a 500kva transformer to be able to serve the facility which has numerous machines as well as the residents of the area.
The team also visited the Cashew Aggregation & Processing Centre located in Aguobu-Owa, Ezeagu local government area. The centre which is sitting on a large expanse of land, has the facilities for production of high quality cashew nuts that are of export quality.
Briefing newsmen after the tour, Mrs. Eze said they’re here to let Ndi Enugu know that the administration of Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah through the APPEALS project, has completed 15 aggregation and cottage processing centres and 9 energy intervention areas in Enugu State within his first 100 days in Office.
The State Project Coordinator while enumerating the importance of the infrastructures said they were put in place to mitigate “post-harvest loss due to inadequate bulk storage houses and near-absence of processing facilities,” adding that the facilities “will enhance their productivity, improve value addition and open up vistas of market opportunities both locally and internationally for Enugu farmers, as well as add significantly to the economic growth of the state which perfectly align with the agricultural policies of His Excellency, the Governor of Enugu State.”
“The Centres have also been equipped with machineries and tools for processing and aggregating cashew, rice and poultry. APPEALS Project has also installed energy at 9 locations, which has connected farm clusters and common user facilities to the national grid with 500kva/ 0.415 power facility. These have provided the much-needed infrastructural drive to power these critical areas.”
She also disclosed that the 15 Aggregation and Processing Centres are spread across 11 locations in the 3 senatorial zones and according to value chain belts of the state. The centres are located at:
Rice Processing Centre, Nara
Cashew Processing Centre, Udi
Rice Aggregation & Processing Centre, Adani
Poultry Processing Centre, Amechi
Cashew Aggregation & Processing Centre, Orba
Rice Aggregation & Processing Centre, Oduma
Poultry Processing Centre, Ikpa-Nsukka
Cashew Aggregation & Processing Centre, Aguobu-Owa
Cashew Processing Centre, Akwari, Eha-Alumona
Rice Aggregation Centre, Eha-Amufu
Poultry Processing Centre 9th Mile
The 9 energy interventions are at the following locations:
Nara
Amechi
Adani; 500
Orba; 500
Ikpa; 500
Ogbeke
9th Mile-Ngwo
Amofia Agu
Okpogo Mbuta
Mrs. Eze thanked Governor Mbah for giving expedited approvals upon assumption of office which made it possible for the project to provide the infrastructures within the lifespan of APPEALS.
Secretary to State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia in a brief remark when the team visited him in his office to brief him on what has been done, said the achievements of the project is in sync with the promise of His Excellency, Dr Mbah to give the agricultural sector the needed boost to be able to play its role in increasing the GDP of the state.
“His Excellency is very focused on supporting the Agricultural sector and most of you know that we have decided to set out office for Agro allied processing in all zones and this is important because we are looking at all value chains of Agriculture.
“As we push towards eradicating poverty, project like this help us to get to the grassroots to support farmers and not just have them plant to consume but also begin to create economy out of it, grow commercially, employ people and reduce unemployment in our rural communities.
“These ties up to the pivotal plan of His Excellency which is to increase the GDP of the state from 4.4 billion to 30billion. The key thing is that when our people become productive, then you reduce issues of criminality and other social vises that could have happened.”
Professor Onyia, also commended the World Bank for the APPEALS project which he said “is a good example of a partnership programme that can actually add value at the lowest economic level in the state and change the perceptions of agriculture.”
The SSG also thanked the entire APPEALS Project management team for the work they’ve done, adding that “His Excellency extends his gratitude and partnership with World Bank on this APPEALS project. We know it has added value. We look forward to all the achievement for the next 200 days.
