By Johnson Adebowale
With their facial expressions and body language, one doesn’t need to ask much from beneficiaries of the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project how they felt before getting the answers. Reactions and testimonies of what they achieved so far gave graphic detail of their state of minds regarding the project.
All these were noted during the recent media tour of the Lagos APPEALS project’s intervention sites and the unveiling of success stories in different parts of Lagos State.
At different sites, beneficiaries of the project counted their blessings, showered encomiums on the Lagos State Government and the World Bank for improving and enhancing the productivity of farmers through several inputs and technological support, to ensure food security.
The successes recorded by the Lagos APPEALS project in the last six years were displayed by farmers in the aquaculture, poultry and rice value chain during a recent media tour of various projects in Badagry, Ojo and Alimosho areas of the state.
The beneficiaries, who are mostly farmers and off-takers in three value chains, aquaculture, poultry and rice farming, were excited as they spoke passionately about how the project changed their lives.
According to them, APPEALS project has enhanced the agricultural productivity of small and medium-scale farmers and improved value addition along the priority value chains in the participating communities in Lagos State. It has also supported farmers’ productivity and their linkage to markets, facilitated agricultural products and cottage processing. It also facilitated farmers’ small and medium businesses’ clustering and connection to infrastructure networks and business services. The project in the last six years has supported more than 17,000 farmers across aquaculture, poultry and rice farming value chains in different parts of the state.
Speaking during the media tour to Badagry, president of the Lagos Catfish and Allied Farmers Association (LASCAFAN), Mr Sejiro Oke-Tojinu, appreciated the Lagos APPEALS project for all the support rendered to Lagos farmers.
He commended the Lagos APPEALS project’s team for providing an enabling environment and seedlings for them to grow from private consumption of their goods to production for export purposes.
He said: “When we started, we had some challenges because after we had a bountiful harvest, there was the problem of managing post-harvest losses. They (APPEALS project) came up with this huge storage to prevent post-harvest losses. What we do with the storage facility is that once we harvest, we will take all the fish there.
“The storage facility provided by Lagos APPEALS is even bigger than what we requested. What we have here is a state-of-the-art cottage industry. It has everything that we need. Now, we are looking for more investors to join the project.”
Fisher hatchers in Ganyinbo, Badagry were also full of excitement as they spoke passionately about how the Lagos APPEALS project has changed their lives positively.
Secretary of the Badagry Fish Hatchers Association, Mr Jolaoluwa Olumayowa, said the APPEALS Project has been a game changer for his group, noting that the intervention of the project has given the capacity to have a production strength that can take up the nation.
He said they have people coming from Benin Republic, Cameroon and Ghana to patronise them.
There were also several testimonies by farmers during the media tour of rice farms in Gberefun, Badagry with 400 hectares of farmland for rice cultivation.
Speaking during the visit to the rice farms in Gberefu, Lagos State chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Mr Rafael Hunsa, said APPEALS has been doing so much beyond farmers’ expectations to improve their productivity.
Hunsa said the project has supported farmers with critical inputs while building their capacity for good agricultural practices by assisting them at the Gberefu farm site with technology and other support. He added that the project has boosted the productivity of farmers in the state and improved their livelihood.
He said: “APPEALS has been doing so much beyond expectations to the farmers. I am very proud to be a rice farmer because without food we can’t live. APPEALS has been encouraging rice farmers right from time and they have been supporting us in various ways.
“Before APPEALS intervention we were nowhere, we were just farming for consumption purposes. But now APPEALS made us know we can go into commercial business when it comes to rice, which we have experienced with their support. I have been able to send my children to school through this farming work as my income has improved since 2019 when they started supporting us. And I won’t relax in my efforts.”
At the Ojo Barracks of the Nigerian Army, members of the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA), who are involved in poultry and aquaculture, spoke passionately about how the APPEALS project has changed their lives positively.
Coordinator of the NAOWA garmers at Ojo Barracks, Mrs Oluwatoyin Oloyede, said Lagos APPEALS project has been impactful, adding that jobs have been created for women and the livelihoods of farmers have been improved through the support from APPEALS.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the World Bank for the initiative that has supported women in earning an income to support their families.
“We are so happy to tell you that even when our husbands are not around, we are busy. We are on the farm and we are making money and keeping the home front. We are no longer liabilities to our husbands. We are grateful to the APPEALS Project,” she said
Another beneficiary at Ojo Barrack, Mrs Adesola Bello, also appreciated the APPEALS project for the support to farmers at the barracks.
“I am very, very grateful because I wouldn’t have been a farmer today. I wouldn’t have been what I am today if not for the support because I was just having subsistence farming just at the back of my house. But now I can boldly say, and I can boldly bring out money from my pocket for better things. All thanks to appeals projects,” she said.
Lagos State coordinator of the APPEALS project, Mrs Oluranti Sagoe-Oviebo, said the government’s interventions and support of relevant stakeholders to farmers in various clusters had ensured sustainable balliance, improved productivity, employment, investment opportunities, and food sustainability in the state.
She said the APPEALS project will continue to partner with farmers as well as stakeholders to ensure food security, and promote investments and smart technology in Lagos State.
She said through the Lagos APPEALS Project, aquaculture, poultry, and rice farmers in various clusters across communities had been supported with good access roads, farm inputs, cages, water tank treatment plants, and cottages to preserve freshness.
Sagoe-Oviebo said the state government understands and appreciates the importance of the project and its impact on ensuring food security. Therefore, the state would continue to provide the necessary support for the farmers even after the project ends.
She noted that over 180 cages have been built, promoted and concentrated on two water bodies in Afowo and Epe areas of Lagos.