.Targets N183m in first financial year
From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
As a part of the collective efforts to address about 40 percent post-harvest losses and sustainable food security in Nigeria, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), has inaugurated an agro-processing centre in Sabon Gari Kahuta, Kauru Local Government area of Kaduna State.
To AGRA, citing such a centre in Kauru became necessary considering the volume of farm produce coming from the local council and neighboring communities with the expectation to generate N182.8 million in the first financial year.
The centre is expected to improve the productivity of 50,000 smallholder women and youth farmers, strengthening access to output markets at scale, increase the capacity of smallholder farming households and value chain actors to better prepare, adapt to shocks and stresses.
The project is being implemented by a consortium coined the AGRA Gender Consortium made up of Value Seeds Limited (VSL) the lead partner of the project with core delivery on production.
Palm Valley Nigeria Limited (PVNL), a member of the consortium, is in charge of implementing the value addition, enterprise development, and financial inclusion section, and Legal Awareness for Nigeria Women (LANW) on the advocacy component.
Speaking at the launch of the intervention project titled “Enhancing resilience and upscaling of the gender-inclusive rural economy for increased productivity, livelihoods, and food security” in Kauru on Wednesday, Country Director for AGRA in Nigeria, Mr. Rufus Idris noted that the significant role of women in agro-processing cannot be overemphasised, hence, the need to build their capacity along that line.
According to him, AGRA was poised in Nigeria to ensure an accelerated increase in income for smallholder farmers and the public to have access to affordable and nutritious food quickly added that it goes beyond supporting the productivity level which they were doing in terms of helping farmers access seeds, knowledge, finance and working with Government to ensure enabling policies.
He said “Nigerians experience a lot of post-harvest losses, which informed agro-processing centre in Kahuta to enable the women to add value to what they are producing.
“It will enable them to add value to what they are producing. Doing so will increase their income, access a better market that will pay them a premium share of the cost of their produce, and also help reduce post-harvest losses in the country.
“We ultimately believe that in empowering women, youths, and farmers in different areas in the country to take ownership of the whole process of their farm produce from harvest to adding values and selling, they make more profit and access better market that will pay them more.
“So if Nigeria could address hunger and poverty issues, it could impact sub-Saharan Africa, where farming could be the ultimate lead”, he added.
On her part, the Programme Officer for AGRA in Kaduna, Dr Esther Ibrahim hinted that the women in Kahuta who were hitherto operating a welfare group and making contributions for ceremonies, embraced Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) as soon as it was introduced.
She appealed to the Kaduna State Government to replicate the project in other local councils in the state to guarantee food security and ensure self-reliance of the youths and women.
Also, the Project Manager of Palm Valley Nigeria Limited (PVNL), Mr Philip Kachina, said that the Kahuta multipurpose processing venture is being managed by carefully selected and employed team made up of Mill Manager, Supervisor and Admin/Accounts Officer responsible for the mill operations, purchasing and supply, and marketing respectively to be coordinated by the PVNL.
“Like every other business, the agro-processing centre is established to generate income via rice parboiling and milling services, sales of milled rice and packaged byproducts, rice de-stoning and polishing services, storage facilities, maize milling services, and revenue through sales of rice husk (briquettes), a composite of waste to renewable energy.
“The enterprise is projected on all factors being equal such as stable economic growth and strong competitors offering the same services and products within the same location to generate NGN182,870,000 (USD234,448.72) in the first fiscal year”, he disclosed.
Speaking on behalf of the women, Mrs Paulina Emmanuel, said women in local communities were now taking up the burden of households and family responsibilities.