4th Implementation Support Mission Commences for APPEALS Project

The 4th Implementation Support Mission (ISM) of the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS) has kicked off this week, and scheduled to hold across three states: Kaduna, Cross River and Lagos from December 9th to December 21st, 2019.

Participants expected at the 4th ISM include the World Bank Team; the National Coordinating Office and Project Implementation Units (PIU) Members from the six participating states; State Steering Committee (SSC) and State Technical Committee (STC); Representatives of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Federal Ministry of Finance; FMARD Project Coordinating Unit and other stakeholders.

The main objective of the biannual Mission, led by Adetunji Oredipe, World Bank Senior Agriculture Economist and Task Team Leader for the APPEALS Project, is to assess the overall implementation progress of the APPEALS Project. A draft Aide Memoire will be prepared and discussed with the Government at the end of the Mission, according to a statement.

“The APPEALS Project is the most important Project of the World Bank in the Agriculture sector in Nigeria right now,” said Orelopem during a Technical Meeting held at the National Coordination Office of the Project in Abuja.

Developed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) in collaboration with the World Bank and other stakeholders, APPEALS currently has six participating states; Cross River, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, and Lagos. Depending on overall project performance and funding availability, the project may expand and cover additional states.

The Project has eleven priority value chains: Cassava, Rice, Wheat, Cocoa, Ginger, Poultry, Aquaculture, Dairy, Maize, Cashew and Tomato. The value chains were selected from the priority value chains of the Federal Government’s Agriculture Promotion Policy (2016 – 2020), also known as the ‘Green Alternative’.

The project aims at supporting the transition of small subsistence farmers’ production system farming (1-5 hectares) to a market-oriented agricultural undertaking and supporting middle-size farmers (5-10 hectares) to address constraints facing them and enhancing their productivity as well as effective participation in the Value Chains.

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