The World Bank and the federal government have commended Lagos state government for its effective and efficient execution of the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) that has helped farmers boost their productivity.
Adetunji Oredipe, task team leader of the World Bank Mission to Lagos, hailed the Lagos APPEALS project’s commitment to farmers in the state, noting that the implementation of the project in the state had really improved the livelihood of women and youths as well as enhancing outputs in the agricultural value chain.
Oredipe, who spoke during the Federal Government/World Bank Eighth Implementation Support Mission visit to Lagos recently, said the reports of the activities of the Lagos APPEALS project are commendable.
He added that they would continue to sustain the project with investment in the state to get the desired results in order to do things differently and finish well.
In his address, Mohammed Jobdi, national project coordinator of APPEALS, commended Lagos for its top-notch performance in implementation of the APPEALS project.
He said the visit to Lagos and the other five states, earlier visited by the World Bank and Federal Government team, was to review the project’s implementation and give stakeholders the opportunity to rub minds regarding the issues, challenges and constraints experienced for higher outputs.
Speaking also, Abisola Olusanya, Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, reiterated the state government efforts in boosting farmers productivity, saying that the implementation of the project in the state has helped boost productivity of rice, poultry and fish farmers in the state.
“The implementation of APPEALS project in Lagos through capacity building and technology adoption support to our farmers has positively increased productivity of rice paddy in the state from 1.5 metric tons to 2.5 metric tons hectare and 2.0 -3.56 MT/ Ha for Ofada and Farro 44 respectively,” she said.
“Catfish productivity has increased from 100 Kg/ m3 to 151.3 Kg / m3, and in poultry, Broiler has increased from 1.8 Kg/ bird per cycle to 2.5 Kg/ bird,” she said.
“The processed output and sales of products for the value chains follow the same trend such that the aquaculture farmers supported by APPEALS project have produced 307.948 MT fresh Tilapia and are expanding daily.”
She noted the project has continued to promote productivity enhancement technologies and promotion of value addition through demonstration of improved technologies.
According to her, the inclusion of Women and Youth Empowerment Programme in the design of the project is a novel idea because agriculture offers Nigerians, especially youths, an opportunity to make a difference, through effective deployment of technology in the sector, for improved productivity and the attainment of our food security and safety goals.
Oluranti Sagoe-Oviebo, project coordinator of Lagos APPEALS, commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration’s commitment to improving the livelihood of farmers in the state through agriculture, adding that the state government has been of tremendous support for the implementation and success story of APPEALS project in Lagos.
