ibironkeeniola 
The Agro-Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project sponsored by the World Bank, has introduced appropriate farming technologies to upheave food production in Kano State.
Deploying these technologies along priority value chains, the APPEALS project made provisions of equipment available, as well as inputs to smallholder farmers involved in key areas.
The Project partnered with Kano state Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, Sasakawa, NADA and IER of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to deploy these technologies in strategic areas of intervention.
Targeting smallholders, APPEALS effected these technologies to bridge the gap in the food value chain production, processing, and marketing of produce.
Rice processing is among the key value chains APPEALS identified gray areas, with the project elevating mode of processing, production techniques, and marketing strategies.
Small scale and medium farmers in Kano have begun benefitting from the intervention with beneficiaries adopting the use of modern equipment, to increase their yields per hectare.
State Coordinator of the APPEALS project, Hassan Ibrahim explained that the project seeks to improve production in the rice value chain through climate-smart innovations.
According to him, farmers have seen a significant increase in their yields per hectares, as the inputs by APPEALS has had a vast impact on the productivity of farmers.
“We have done a lot across the segment of the value chain, in production we have identified gaps in terms of the seeds farmers are using,
“APPEALS also introduced improved seeds varieties of farro 44, farro 57, farro 62 and farro 60,”
“Farmers have seen the difference we have seen significant increase in yields between the treatments and control. We have seen the difference between the farmers’ demonstration plots and APPEALS project demonstration plots.
“Now farmers are convinced and preparation for supporting adoption under APPEALS project have come a long way,” he said.
SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA