GRATITUDE: Beneficiaries of Enugu APPEALS Project Share Success Stories, As Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Hon. Patrick Nwabueze Ubru, SPA on Donor Relations, Anthony Dubem Onyia Jnr Commend the Impact

The beneficiaries of the Enugu APPEALS Project have expressed their gratitude for the successful outcomes and advancements achieved in their respective businesses, extending their appreciation to the Enugu State Government and Mrs. Ihuoma Eze, the Coordinator of the Enugu APPEALS Project, for their effective facilitation of the agricultural empowerment program. 

In her testimony, one of the recipients, the CEO Chifra Fresh, Mrs Ani Chinyere stated; "We now pay our 100 workers well, all thanks to Enugu APPEALS" The staff whom she struggled to pay at the end of the month due to poor sales. She heard about the APPEALS Project and decided to apply for intervention. This became a turning point for her business; Chifra Fresh. The APPEALS Project in Enugu supported Chifra Fresh with blast freezers, cold room, cold room machines like condenser, evaporator, compressor and panels. 

Mrs. Ani also received defeathering machines, processing tables, killings cones and other materials for processing and packaging broiler meat. Chifra simply began to boom: “We now have two places where we operate from: No. 5 Colliery Avenue, GRA Enugu and our factory at KM 6.5 Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. Our capacity has improved from processing 200 birds per day when we started, and now we are selling 2000 birds per day after APPEALS supported us. The blast freezer and cold rooms APPEALS gave to us have helped us to increase our storage capacity and we can now meet customers' demands.

The freezer is so good that it can keep the meat in a condition of -18 degrees centigrade. This allows us to use our cooling vans to supply customers in Imo, Ebonyi, Abia, Rivers and Anambra States. APPEALS has propelled me to so more, to expand my business, my livelihood and touching lives. I have increased my staff strength from less than 50 to over 100. I can now pay them their salary as and when due and this has really improved their livelihoods; all thanks to APPEALS Project Enugu. I look forward to expanding and exporting my processed and packaged broiler meat to other West African Countries”.

Another beneficiary, Mrs. Nwanna Chinwe Jennifer (JennyJ's Venture), testified “My husband was still in the mortuary when Enugu WYEP came to my rescue”

The story of Mrs. Nwanna Chinwe T Jennifer was a pathetic one. Her husband died suddenly and was left to cater for their 3 children f r om her meagre subsistence provision store. While she was still thinking of how to cope with the planning of her husband's burial and what lies ahead, she was empowered by the Enugu APPEALS Women and Youth Empowerment Programme (WYEP) for rice marketing. “My husband was still in the mortuary and I was full of grieve. I looked at my 3 children and more tears came. I was inconsolable. I didn't know what to do. I was afraid of what the future would be. The pain was so much” Jenny J's Venture and was awaiting the supply of inputs. The delivery of inputs happened immediately after her husband's death, and brought great succour to her. She narrates her story: Before the unfortunate incident of her husband's death, Mrs. Nwanna had participated in the training for WYEP Beneficiaries by Enugu APPEALS, her business registered as “Enugu APPEALS gave me bags of rice, stitching machines and materials, pallets, tarpaulin and branded bags"

"The intervention came at the right time. It wiped away my tears and set me on the journey of sustainable business. The rice I sell are beautifully branded and packaged in 25 and 50 KG bags. Because of the branding, people are able to contact me, and I get orders from many people and even beyond Enugu. Many people trust the quality of the rice I sell because I am connected with the World Bank and APPEALS. I have maintained that confidence by ensuring that my rice is of high quality. I thank the Enugu APPEALS Project because I now make profit which I use to expand my business and to sustain my family. I pay my children's school fees, put food on the table and cater for other needs. APPEALS has fulfilled my dream. In the future, I want to sell bagged rice that everyone can afford. I will package rice in 10KG, 5KG, 2KG and even 1KG bags. As my appreciation to APPEALS, I have vowed that all my future brandings must continue to have the APPEALS and World Bank logos.”

"I have employed four people through my WYEP business in Enugu” said Mrs. Enekwechi Nneka Cecilia (Sochidiogo Enterprises) Mrs. Enekwechi was among the 1,700 beneficiaries of Enugu APPEALS WYEP. Her business M name; Sochidiogo Enterprises, was registered by Enugu APPEALS, and this set her on the path of formal agrobusiness in the broiler production value chain. Her business has expanded since the WYEP intervention and the multiplier effect has been encouraging. 

Nneka has this to say: “Enugu APPEALS provided my business with birds, different kinds of feeders, automatic drinkers, tank/tank stand and medication for the birds. Because of this support, I was able to start off well and expanded the business. Today, I am a proud Mrs. Enekwechi Nneka Cecilia employer of 4 workers; 2 of which are permanent staff and the remaining 2 are part-time workers. Among those I employed was a struggling widow, who was unemployed and was struggling to feed. But today, she can provide for herself and her children through the salary she earns here. APPEALS has enabled me to feed my 6 children and 3 dependents through this WYEP business. I have my aged mother living with me and I comfortably take care of her too. I can now comfortably pay for the school fees of my children and provide for the family.” Mrs. Enekwechi's future plan is to expand to be able to accommodate 3000 birds, employ more people, increase productivity and impact on more livelihoods. She is grateful to APPEALS and hopes that the project will be extended to empower more women like her.

I his statement; “We sold 200 tonnes of cashew nuts within nine months from one warehouse”, the Chairman, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) Enugu State, Mr Onah revealed that as at the third quarter of 2023, the sales output of cashew nuts from just one warehouse in Enugu state peaked at 200 tonnes. This, he said, was made possible by various capacity building, inputs, technology and other forms of support to cashew farmers received from the APPEALS Project in the state.

Mr. Onah explained that production, processing and marketing of cashew is a booming business in Enugu State and has been enhanced across the segments through the various interventions of APPEALS Project, supported by Enugu State government in partnership with the World Bank. According to him, the interventions by APPEALS came in form of equipment, inputs, construction and equipping of cashew aggregation and processing centres and capacity building. Mr. Onah said that Enugu State is one of the biggest cashew-producing states in Nigeria and the expansion of the industry will be a good avenue of generating foreign exchange as many foreigners come to the state to source for cashew. The cashew association boss lamented that foreign cashew dealers reduce the selling price of their produce, especially when they transport them to Lagos for export. He expressed hope that the cost of demurrage they pay at warehouses will reduce because of the new aggregation and processing centres built by APPEALS project in the state. While commending APPEALS Project, Enugu State Government and the World Bank for their support to cashew farmers in the state, Mr. Anthony Onah pleaded for more assistance in increasing the capacity of the farmers to process cashew raw materials into finished products in Enugu State and generate more revenue.

The Chairman of Chioma Multi-purpose Cooperative society, located at Agu Odo T Farmland, Obinagu Udi, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, in a chat with Enugu APPEALS Newsletter Editorial team, commended the support that the APPEALS Project in Enugu provided for him and members of his cooperative; “APPEALS intervention helped a lot in shooting us up from where we were before to a new height in business. The project supported us with battery cages as an innovation in our poultry business. These battery cages make the birds to be healthier, reduce stress for the birds and by so doing increase productivity. The eggs produced through the battery cage system are very neat”. the chairman explained. Mr. Ene Martins lamented the high inflation in the cost of feeds as the major challenge of poultry farmers, including his cooperative business. This, he said, has forced many poultry farmers to close business.

James Alumonah who has invested his retirement benefits in cashew production in his farm; Trinity M Mkpologwu Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Limited, which is located at Uwenu Amangidi Ogba, Mkpologwu in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, has become one of the thriving cashew plantations in Enugu State. This feat, according to Mr. Alumonah, is partly attributed to the training and material support he received from APPEALS Project in Enugu State. According to him, the equipment he got from APPEALS through a service provider includes motorised spray, grass cutting machine, bag sewing machine, rakes, cutlasses, protective eye glasses and rain boots. He said the APPEALS support has helped him to expand his farm, which currently employs 25 labourers. Commenting on his challenges, Pastor Alumonah said that he needs more equipment to facilitate further expansion of his plantation. However, amidst the challenges, he has the vision to expand Trinity Nkpologwu Farmers Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited to include processing of cashew products, he said. He extolled Enugu APPEALS Management, Enugu State Government and the World Bank for the grants given his cooperative as this has really assisted in enhancing his productivity and revenue.

In his Exclusive interview with Enugu APPEALS Newsletter, the Enugu State Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Hon Patrick Nwabueze Ubru, said stated thus; "The vision of our dear governor, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah is to ensure that Enugu state becomes the food basket of the nation through massive investment in agriculture. APPEALS is coming to an end but there are other interventions which we are trying to bring to Enugu state to continue where this current APPEALS project stopped. Enugu state is collaborating with ADB (African Development Bank) to establish the special agro-industrial processing zones in the three senatorial zones of the state"

"I believe that the vision of His Excellency for agriculture will take Enugu State to her desired level in agricultural productivity. Then in terms of the value chain, we want to make sure that we industrialize agriculture and achieve zero waste from the primary production, to the secondary and up to the tertiary production. Thanks to our Governor's vision and his collaborations with the Nigerian Navy. The Nigerian Navy will build a naval base and establish primary and secondary schools in Uzo Uwani. It means a lot in terms of tackling our insecurity challenges. Also, the locals are now poised to make sure that they chase out criminals from their communities" 

"We are very supportive of this government to make sure that those things that had posed several challenges to us locally are dealt with. In collaboration with the navy, army and the police, we are going to stamp out insecurity. It is a mandate that we have taken on and we are determined to do that. Honestly, that is why I said that APPEALS has been impactful. If we do not provide storage facility for the farmers, they will lose value of their farm produce" 

"As a ministry, we will put in place good management system and supervision. We have to make sure that we visit these centres as often as we can to ensure that they are working well. I believe also that we should get the locals involved, for example the traditional rulers. They should be involved because it is in their domain to make sure that these facilities are kept safe and are managed properly" Hon Ubru concluded.

While responding to the newsmen, the Special Adviser to Enugu State Governor on Donor Relations, Mr. Anthony Dubem Onyia Jnr, who coordinates bilateral and multilateral donors, which includes the World Bank and other donor agencies, attested to the fact that APPEALS project has impacted tremendously in the development of agriculture in Enugu State since 2019 to date. 

According to Onyia, the total number of 1,700 youth, women and people with disabilities (PWD) who were empowered through the Women and Youth Empowerment Programme (WYEP), a programme by Enugu APPEALS project, keys into the vision of Governor Peter Mbah's administration.

"As many as 1,700 women and youth benefitted from this project. This is very tremendous for the state. Grants were also given to them to start-up their businesses. The youth especially, felt the impact of APPEALS empowerment. This will keep them busy and make them to engage in meaningful jobs for livelihood. Many of them are now farmers on their own in different value chains. By so doing many of them have been encouraged to go back to agriculture to produce food for our own consumption and also for export. This is one of the core mandates of His Excellency, Dr. Peter Mbah, to push the youth into useful ventures that will further bring development to the state. By this empowerment, poverty is eradicated and crime rate will be reduced"

 "Agriculture is one of the biggest projects for His Excellency Dr. Peter Mbah. He hopes that by the time he finishes his first tenure of four years in office, Enugu State is going to rank among the biggest exporters of cashew, Nsukka pepper (Ose Nsukka), rice, palm oil and other agricultural products from Enugu. Agriculture is one of the sectors he wants people to know Enugu for. The state Government is trying to acquire agricultural land bank for the different local government areas in the state. Right now, we are in discussion with ADB (African Development Bank). We also have livestock project that World Bank is bringing in. There are many of them but these are just the few. We want to put Enugu State to be a hub of agriculture where we can be able to export. We also want to bring back pineapple"

"Agriculture to His Excellency is a very big sector that we are trying as much as we can to explore. Fortunately, we have arable land and very good soil to do all these things. We have assets we want to maximize. We did a massive advertisement. SDG advertised some of the jobs for women and youth; we are keying into that now. We have the livestock project; we have phase two and we are actually trying to key into phase three. As I am talking to you, some states have kick-started but we are still trying to start our own. RAAMP (rural access agricultural mobility project) is also one of the things that is essential. Our Governor visited the World Bank country director and I believe many things are going to come out from that allimportant meeting. But I can assure you, as for the partnership, it is going to definitely be a very good one" he said.