It was indeed a day of joy for over 100 people with disabilities (PWDs), otherwise known as persons with special needs, as they received over N200 million for self-employment under the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) programme, in Kaduna.
APPEALS 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, in line with the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) 2016-2020 of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The communication officer for Kaduna State APPEALS office, Muhammad Bashir, said the 100 persons with special needs in the state were supported by the state APPEALS, who in turn have expressed their determination to utilize the financial support and the training to become self-employed.
Bashir explained that APPEALS organised an interactive session between the beneficiaries and the service providers in Kaduna in order to guide them on the process.
The desk officer disclosed that two of the representatives of persons with special needs and also beneficiaries of the programme, Mallam Haruna Abubakar and Rukayya Aliyu, pledged to utilize what they have learned for the development of agricultural sector.
“Coordinator of APPEALS, Dr. Yahaya Aminu, explained that the 100 persons with special needs are part of the 1700 being supported under women and youth APPEALS project.
“It is in line with the social inclusion and social safeguard policy of Kaduna State Government to support them,” he explained.
Bashir further said that the persons with special needs were trained on business development services and were assisted with Corporate Affairs Commission’s registration and supported with grant of N2 million each.
Deputy Director, Kaduna State Disability Board, Mr. Hassan Suleiman, said giving 100 persons with special needs support to participate in agric-businesses by APPEALS will go a long way to make them to stand on their own.
“Developing mental and physical capacity of persons with special needs would take them off the streets and make them employers of labour.
“I assur that the beneficiaries would fully utilize what they have learned during the training to improve their income, to get acceptance in the societies and also be equal with anyone in their communities”. Suleiman said.
Suleiman commended APPEALS for an excellent project aimed at improving the welfare of people, particularly for persons with special needs to become independent in Kaduna State.
He said some of the equipments distributed to dairy farmers, processors and marketers in Kaduna state are to improve milk production and address dairy value chain challenges.
According to the Kaduna State APPEALS project coordinator, Dr. Aminu Yahaya, the intervention aimed at boosting milk production, processing and marketing in the state targeted at 1,732 beneficiaries, supported with two milk collection vans (five tons cold van), seven tricycles (milk banks), seven generators for the tricycles, 10 big and three small chillers, 10 big and three small pasteurizers, nine big and nine small generators, 181 20ltrs milk cans and 49 lactometres in the first phase.
Speaking at a stakeholder meeting/flag off at Dankande, along Kaduna-Zaria road, Yahaya said Kaduna State dairy farmers have been producing milk in excess, especially during the rainy season but they have been unable to process it, keep it in good condition to transport it to the urban centers where they are needed.
“We are here for stakeholders engagement to have a meeting on the dairy processing and marketing value chain, the dairy processing and marketing cooperatives and SME supported by Appeals project.
“We are here to have an interaction with key stakeholders, directors of state ministries, state steering committee and state technical committee to showcase what we have achieved under the segment of dairy value chain.
“We are sending message to the world that we can carry milk in tankers. Milk is being produced in excess quantity in the farms, especially during the rainy season but they need special containers with specified temperature to move it to the urban centers.
“Through APPEALS, we have been able to access the equipment needed and acquired them through communal intervention. We are hoping that through this intervention more milk will flow from dairy farms to the markets. We are targeting 1,732 (1,033 men, 699 women) beneficiaries from the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State,” he said.
The beneficiaries lauded APPEALS for the immense support, while promising to use the equipment in boosting milk production, processing and marketing in the state.
