The Nigerian Export Promotion Council and GIZ MOVE have collaborated to promote productivity in cashew and rice value chains.
In a release, NEPC noted that the partnership was geared towards engaging critical stakeholders in the cashew and rice value chains.
The Chief Executive Officer of NEPC, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, who was represented by Mr Lawal Dalhat, the Director of Policy and Strategy, during a one-day programme on intervention in cashew and rice value chains recently, asserted that the NEPC/GIZ programme presented a veritable platform to ensure that the output from farm gate to aggregation, processing to certification and from packing to export was in line with best practices.
NEPC and GIZ signed a memorandum of understanding in August under the Market Oriented Value Chains for Jobs and Growth in the ECOWAS region.
Ayeni stated that the council was committed to the project and would ensure a successful delivery of the remaining components of the MOU.
The GIZ Country Coordinator, Mr Narcisse Kindohounde, during his welcome address, stated that the collaboration was yielding the kind of positive outcomes envisaged, which were aimed at promoting productivity among actors in the cashew and rice sectors.
He added, “The Women in Rice Platform is aimed at increasing women’s access to relevant rice-related information on technology, innovations, and markets, which can boost their productivity and competitiveness in both national and regional markets.”
He commended NEPC for the steps taken to coordinate a joint fair for rice and cashew actors in the value chains and their support on advisory on packaging and marketing of the value-added products.
According to the Head of Component Scaling, Gender, And Rice Sector, GIZ MOVE, Mrs Maimuna Lawal, disclosed that the GIZ/MOVE programme uses a marker that ensures equal sharing mechanisms for intervention through a system of Reach, Benefit, Empower and Transform.
