Kogi farmers to benefit from $200m World Bank project

Farmers in Kogi State are to benefit from the 200 million dollars World Bank funds under its Agro Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS) project.

Kogi State Project Coordinator of APPEALS, Dr. Sanni Abdullahi Ozomata in a statement issued in Lokoja today by the project’s Communications Officer, Mr. Ocholi Ikani said 60,000 Nigerian farmers including those from Kogi State, will benefit from the World Bank’s project.

The Project Coordinator stated that Kogi has a lot of untapped agricultural potentials that needed to be harnessed and that was why APPEALS had to align its objectives to the state’s agricultural blueprint.

He added that the implementation strategy will involve the identification of local governments areas based on their comparative advantage and farmers’ readiness by forming clusters to optimise supports and performance as well as build a framework for expansion of existing farm clusters.

The statement noted that though APPEALS was new in Kogi State, a strategic communications plan that involves deep sensitization and advocacy visit to stakeholders in the rural areas were being implemented across the 21 local governments of the state.