85 Persons with Disability to Benefit from APPEALS Project in Kaduna
By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna
A total of 85 persons with various forms of disability are among the 1,700 people targeted to benefit from the Agro-processing, Productivity, Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project in Kaduna State.
The Kaduna State Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, project supported by World Bank, being implemented in six States of Enugu, Lagos, Kano, Kogi, Rivers and Kaduna is expected to generate 60,000 jobs before the end of 2023.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, in Kaduna during an event to interview shortlisted women and Youths who applied for the empowerment programme, Dr Salisu Garba, APPEALS Project, Operation Manager, said 5% of the beneficiaries of the project are persons with disabilities and special need which represent 85 persons.
“There is an intervention we are going to introduce in course of this program, first of its kind in the agric sector, empowering people with disabilities and special needs. So we set aside 5% of the number for people with disabilities and special needs to be able to be captured into to the project.
“So what we are looking for now is the remaining 1,615, and going through interview and selection process. There are so many criteria and stages they will go through, they to verify whether or not they are selected among those that were shortlisted.” Dr. Salisu said.
Heather Akanni, National Women, Youth and Livelihood Specialist of APPEALS, revealed that once the beneficiaries are selected they would have to develop their value chain plans; one for Livelihood and one for Productivity Enhancement.
“I want to congratulate the people of Kaduna State, the Governor is really interested in this project and I understand that the Governor has promised to support the project more.
“As you can see, all the participants are around, they are eager to be part of the process and that is why we are here from the Nations coordination office to support the exercise here and am sure it will benefit them.
“We expect them that at the end of the exercise which is a six years plans project they will be able to sustain the project, having develop their value chains, having gotten the support from World Bank, they will be able to stand on their own and even transfer the wealth to their families and community at large.” She said.
The State Project Coordinator of APPEALS, Dr. Yahaya Aminu, said the Kaduna State Government is interested in the project which cardinal objectives are to promote food security, diversify the economy, create jobs, attract investments and improve livelihood of citizens.
Speaking on security challenges in the state, the State Coordinator said security has become a daily issue and the State Government is up and doing in ensuring that lives and property of citizens are protected.
He added that government is working towards providing a conducive environment for the programme to achieve it set objectives in the state by way of reaching the farmers and beneficiaries. He called on the participants to corporate and ensure they utilize whatever intervention they will get from the APPEALS project because the opportunity is supposed to support them create jobs as agric entrepreneurs and convert assets into wealth to become employers of labour.
