The Nigerian Export Promotion Council and GIZ MOVE have teamed up to boost productivity in the cashew and rice value chains.
According to The Punch, NEPC stated in a release that the partnership’s goal was to involve important players in the rice and cashew value chains.
The NEPC/GIZ program, according to NEPC Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, represented by Director of Policy and Strategy, Mr. Lawal Dalhat, during a recent one-day program on intervention in cashew and rice value chains, provided a veritable platform to ensure that the output from farm gate to aggregation, processing to certification, and packing to export was in accordance with best practices.
In August, NEPC and GIZ signed a memorandum of understanding related to the ECOWAS region’s Market Oriented Value Chains for Jobs and Growth project.
According to Ayeni, the council is dedicated to the project and will make sure that the MOU’s remaining components are delivered successfully.
During his welcome speech, the GIZ Country Coordinator, Mr. Narcisse Kindohounde, said that the partnership was producing the kind of favourable results that were intended to boost production among participants in the rice and cashew sectors.
“Increasing women’s access to pertinent information on technology, innovations, and markets related to rice can enhance their productivity and competitiveness in both national and regional markets,” he continued.
He praised NEPC for organizing a joint fair for cashew and rice value chain participants and for providing guidance on the marketing and packaging of value-added products.
The GIZ/MOVE initiative employs a marker that provides equal sharing mechanisms for intervention through a system of Reach, Benefit, Empower, and Transform, according to Mrs. Maimuna Lawal, Head of Component Scaling, Gender, and Rice Sector.
