Kaduna State APPEALS to establish 15 cottage processing centres

In its bid to reduce post-harvest losses among low-income farmers, the Kaduna State Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project are set to establish 15 cottage processing centres to boost farmers’ productivity in the state.

The Communication Officer of the Project, Muhammad Bashir Amin, who identifies post-harvest losses as a major problem plaguing the agricultural sector in Nigeria, said all hands must be on deck to address the problems that have undermined agricultural productivity and farmers’ yields.

Amin, who disclosed this via a statement, said the cottage centres, targeted at three value chains – dairy, ginger and maize products, under the Kaduna APPEALS Project, will also house equipment capable of handling post-harvest produce, which will include machines for storage, cleaning, sorting, processing and packaging.

He explained that the cottage processing centres for maize have the capacity to process 50,000 tons of maize in a year without going through much stress, adding that the centres for milk collection will help preserve milk for future use and production of dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt.

“It is an undeniable fact that ginger is yet another important crop to provide more wealth in Nigeria, an increase in its processing and packaging will make it more available in large quantities,” he said.

Amin explained that another positive impact of the centres is the provision of employment opportunities to foster economic growth and development, stressing that the project “has deemed it necessary to provide training to organised groups on how to operate and maintain the equipment in the cottage processing centres.”

He commended the state government in its effort to create more wealth for the people through agriculture.

The Guardian