Stakeholders of Agro processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project, on Wednesday, converged in Enugu for a seven-day meeting to evaluate the level of the project implementation in the state and to prepare for the forthcoming World Bank/FGN 6th Implementation Support Mission coming up in February, 2021.
Declaring the meeting open, the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, appealed “to the National Coordinating office and the officials of the State Coordinating office, to evolve and adopt the needed synergy especially through the facilitation of stakeholder participation to enhance operational synergy and complimentarily.
“I know that APPEALS runs on five project components namely; production and productivity enhancement.
“Primary processing, value addition, post harvest management and women and youths empowerment.
“Runs infrastructure support to agricultural business clusters, technical assistance, knowledge management and community.
“Runs project management and coordination as an administration that has agriculture, food production and employment creation as part of it’s 8 points development agenda”, she said .
The Deputy Governor thanked the World Bank Group in Nigeria, as well as APPEALS for making Enugu one of the participating states.
“I would like to thank the group and APPEALS national coordinating office for their invaluable assistance and leadership over setting up of the organisation in the state,’Ezeilo said.
In an opening remark , the APPEALS National Project Coordinator, Mr Mohammed Sani, said that the objective of the meeting is to review their activities, a preview for the forthcoming national meeting in February.
He noted that the meeting was to seek ways of improving the project and to wrap up the project activities in the eligible states.
We have done this in Kaduna, Lagos and it is ongoing at Enugu State and Kano State while other state will follow suit.
He mentioned APPEAL beneficiary states to include, Cross River, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi and Enugu.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Mathew Idu, thanked the stakeholders for making the project a reality.
” As we convene to evaluate the level of the APPEALS project implementation in the state and to prepare for the forthcoming World Bank, Federal Government of Nigeria 6th implementation support mission.
” I hope, we will be able to articulate, galvanise and proffer better direction for the actualisation of the objectives of the project.
Mr Uche Nnadi, the Focal person on Grant, Aid and World Bank appreciated the stakeholders for their efforts in ensuring that the project comes to stay.
He appealed to the national project coordinator to see Enugu State as a work in partnership and promised that the state will do all that is necessary to get the best out of the project.
