Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, left.
By Abbas Gungura, Bauchi
Bauchi State is to be included among beneficiaries of the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project, an initiative of the federal government.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono made this known when the state governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed visited him in his office, Abuja.
The Minister said the development is as a result of the commitment of the state government towards boosting agriculture thereby complimenting the efforts of the federal government in developing the sector.
He added that Bauchi State is selected to benefit from the new projects of the ministry particularly, livestock development, milk processing plant, agricultural mechanization among others.
Governor Bala centre with Minister of Agriculture Nanono by his right while Commissioner of Agriculture Bauchi State Burga by his left.
” I am aware on some of the policies introduced by the Bauchi State Government geared towards ensuring the advancement of agriculture in the state. With this Your Excellency, we will support by ensuring Bauchi joins other states that benefit from (APPEALS) project.”
Governor Bala Mohammed had earlier said the visit was to key into the agricultural transformation agenda of the federal government especially it’s current Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project.
The governor observed that if implemented in the state, the project will empower farmers in different capacities in addition to assisting him to provide citizens of the state with dividends of democracy.
According to him, the introduction to the project is timely as his administration had developed it’s robust agricultural policy to overcome the challenges facing the sector and provide employment opportunities to unemployed youths and women in Bauchi state.
“We are here on a working visit to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development because we are satisfied with the agricultural policies of the Federal Government which is aimed at increasing productivity, enhancing processing and marketing of Agricultural policies.
“We are ready to partner with you in that area, we are happy that the project was also based on gender equity. This is a welcome development as it will empower our local farmers and women folks.”
Governor Bala Mohammed said his administration will provide enabling environment for farmers to operate in the state as part of efforts to improve the Internally Generated Revenue of the state.
It will be recalled that, Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project is a six-year project developed by Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with World Bank and other stakeholders.
The project is in line with the Green Alternative Agricultural Promotion policy (APP) 2016-2020, which builds the legacy of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and plans to support quality thrust on food security, local production, job creation and economic diversifications.
It was also initiated to support government’s new policy thrust and priorities for the new agricultural sector across all the three thematic areas of the APP, with focus more on theme 1-Productivity. Enhancement.
The project is aligned with country partnership strategy (CPS) FY 14-17 and it’s focused on boosting agricultural productivity and improving farmers’ linkage with agro processors.
States participating currently in the project include Cross River, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi and Lagos while Bauchi State is expected to soon join them as pledged by the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono.
Governor Mohammed was accompanied by the Chief of Staff, Government House Bauchi, Dr Ladan Salihu, Commissioners of Agriculture and Rural Development and that of Budget and Economic Planning, Samaila Burga, Aminu Gamawa, Special Adviser on Multilateral Organizations, Professor Sani Malami, SSA on Media, Muktar Gidado and the Executive Chairman of BACYWORD, Tanko Yusuf Dutse respectively.
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