From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS), a programme of Kaduna State government with support from the World Bank, yesterday, commenced the harmonisation of livelihood package for People with Disability and Special Needs (PWDSN) in Kaduna State.
The essence of APPEALS is to enhance the agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers in participating states of Cross River, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi and Lagos.
State Project Coordinator, Yahaya Aminu, represented by Reuben Teddy, at an interactive meeting on Harmonisation of Needs Assessment and Formulation of Livelihood Package for PWDSN, under the Women and Youths Empowerment Programme (WYEP), said the meeting signalled the commencement of the harmonisation of the package.
He said the meeting was aimed at looking at the NEEDS assessment document done by project consultant to get inputs from participants to make it a working document for the implementation of the project.
He said out of 75,000 people that applied in Kaduna State, 1,615 were shortlisted and that 85 of those successful were people with disability.
The purpose of the meeting, according to the organiser, was to “harmonise existing needs assessments conducted by states and disaggregated by gender, location categories of disabilities, segments of location, categories of disabilities segments of intervention.
“Streamline the four categories of PWDSN and others as peculiar to the states, to be supported by either from the International Development Association or counterpart funding, visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically challenged and dumb.”