The Federal Government of Nigeria says it has identified and selected 554 People with Disability and Special Needs (PWDSNs) for project support under its Women and Youth Empowerment Programme (WYEP).
WYEP is a sub-project under the World-Bank assisted Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS), an initiative under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
For the support, selected persons cut across Cross River (98) Kaduna (85) Kano (100), Kogi (101) and Lagos (170) States.
National Communication Specialist for APPEALS, Mrs Aishat Onusi, made this known in a press statement released late July.
Onusi said needs assessment for those identified was ongoing across the participating states.
APPEALS in the statement also said that it has selected 10, 200 beneficiaries – women and youths – to be trained in businesses across the agriculture value chain.
It added that a total of 5,513 women and youths had received training under WYEP in the five participating states: Cross River, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi and Lagos.
The beneficiaries were trained on production, processing and how to prepare Business Investment Plans (BIPS).
The statement reads in part, “The WYEP beneficiaries were primarily trained on the value chain (production/processing etc.) and on the preparation of Business Investment Plans (BIPs), carried out across the states.
“A total of 1,500 Business Investment Plans (BIPs) have been submitted by trained beneficiaries and the review of this batch of BIPs is currently going on.
“The project is also supporting the WYEP beneficiaries in registering their business names for their enterprises in collaboration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
“So far, a total of 554 People With Disability and Special Needs, PWDSNs (Cross River- 98, Kaduna- 85, Kano- 100, Kogi -101, Lagos- 170) have been identified and selected for project support under the WYEP.
“Needs assessment for these identified PWDSNs is ongoing across the states.”
SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA
