Governor Peter Mbah, on Thursday, inaugurated a $19.4 million World Bank-assisted Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project in Enugu to enhance food production in Enugu.

The project includes 15 number Aggregation and Cottage Processing Centres in cashew, rice and poultry spread across the state’s three senatorial zones, as well as 10 energy installations.

The APPEALS project is a six-year project developed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) in collaboration with the World Bank and other stakeholders to assist rural farmers.

Speaking at the event, which took place at Nara Rice Processing Centre in Nkanu East Council Area, Mbah said the state achieved the feat due to his administration’s commitment to boost food production and turn the state into a net exporter of agricultural products within the next four years.

Mr Mbah said, “My administration anchors the sustainability of our economy on agriculture, which has the capacity to earn huge revenue for our dear state. With the construction, equipping and use of this Nara rice processing centre by Enugu APPEALS, the agricultural revolution of the state has moved from pipeline to platform and from dream to reality.”

The governor added that since its inception in 2019, the project had empowered 8,520 direct beneficiaries, with CIGs/SMEs totalling 2,948 and 1,700 agro-entrepreneurs among women, youths and people with disabilities.

The APPEALS project coordinator in Enugu, Ihuoma Eze, said the project had made meaningful contributions to the lives of farmers across the state, directly prioritising the needs of women and youths in agriculture and entrepreneurship.

She stated that the aggregation and processing centres had been equipped with all the required value chain machinery for optimum operation. Ms Eze said the rice aggregation and processing centres had both milling and drying capacities of 10 tons and five tons per day, respectively. 

According to her, the supplied and installed equipment for rice centres includes paddy precleaner, paddy grader, parboiling/soaking vessels, stream boiler, platform dryers, rice dehusker, rice and polisher. Others are destoner, polished rice graders, rice packaging machines, elevators, 40KVA generator, and bag closers.

(NAN)