The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has distributed Cowpea processing equipment worth $220,000 to 40 women-owned small and medium enterprises in 12 states across the federation.

The gesture was aimed at improving households nutrition and food security, improve women's productivity and competitiveness in agribusiness, and strengthen the productivity of producer organizations.

The equipment which were donated under the COVID-19 Mitigation Response program, an additional US$15 million fund awarded by the USAID to the Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity to deliver well-targeted cash and capital support to participants in targeted communities are meant to prevent further backsliding and economic devastation due to the secondary impacts of COVID-19 shocks and stresses.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Abuja, the Country Director, Mercy Corps Nigeria, Mr Ndubisi Anyanwu said, "The Rural Resilience Activity understands that the challenges of 'access' and 'agency' for women and youth in Nigeria, exacerbated by conflict, high levels of insecurity, and health shocks such as COVID-19, inhibit their participation in the productive sphere, particularly their entry into market systems as producers and entrepreneurs.

This understanding, he said informed the "push" strategies to help 25,000 women and 10,000 youth farmers, producers and entrepreneurs overcome persistent gender-based discrimination and "pull" strategies, using more commercially based incentives to attract women and youth into markets.

"This will be particularly important as this expansion helps increase the income of 40 women cowpea processors by 40%. This approach aligns and reinforces the Rural Resilience Activity's approach to Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE)."

The equipment, which were handed over to beneficiaries from Kebbi, Niger, Ebonyi, Benue, Borno, Yobe, Maiduguri, FCT, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe and the FCT, include Hammer mills, dehydrators, destoners, threshers and generators. They are expected to improve the production capacity of the women-owned cowpea processors by 40%.

In her remarks, Chief of Party, Rural Resilience Activity, Margarita Aswani said the gesture by USAID would help smallholder farmers and microenterprises to recover from the shocks of Covid-19, offering help to 45,000 farmers and 5,000 microenterprises, 50 agri-businesses with cash grants and 40 women cowpea processors with equipment to expand their processing capacity.

"I am proud to say that today, we have supported nearly 52,000 farmers and microenterprises, 45 agri-businesses and now, are in the process of distributing the cowpea processing equipment. '

"Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) is an important food security crop. It provides food and income for many smallholder farmers in Africa. As a food source, grains contain large quantities of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and fiber. In areas where subsistence farming is practiced, cowpea protein is cheaper than that obtained from animal sources and combines well with cereal grains in diets"

"It is not just about business, employment and what contribution cowpea value chain can offer to Nigeria but for internal consumption and opportunities for export. We are hoping to give people the equipment and opportunity that they need, increase their processing and post-harvest capabilities, so that we can have less loses in business."

On sustainability of the equipment, she said, "I believe they will be able to increase productivity and quadruple revenue they made using manual processes. It can be used as collateral to access finance credit and I believe they will be able to employ more people. Essentially, It is definitely going to be sustainable because we did not give the women one type of equipment, we asked them what they needed and supplied them according to their capabilities.

"We have given them also technical equipment according to their capability to maintain them, we projected increase in revenue and with this, they will be able to address issues. The system we have on ground is that with which we are able to connect them producer organization, to insurance companies so that they can access finance should there be a challenge."

One of the beneficiaries, Precious Achenyo Odomt, who shed tears of joys, said "The joy is so much so that I am overwhelmed. I have been crying since we got the invitation to come and receive the processing equipment. My people in my community at Bwari and Madaki are so excited and cannot wait to have something to process things easily and for production to be smooth.

"This is great relief and know a lot of families and people will receive help they have been looking for. Before now, production have been very minimal and take longer process but with these equipment our production rate will be faster and higher.

"I am trilled to be among they selected. Very excited and appreciative of what Mercy Corps and USAID are doing."

Another beneficiary and Vice President, African Women Entrepreneurship Programme, North Central. Mrs. Jacqueline Ikeotuonye said the gesture by USAID "is going to make job of processing a lot easier, create more employment and make product cheaper because it is going to be less cumbersome."

Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox

By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.

We need to confirm your email address.

To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.

There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Ikeotuonye, who described the selection process as credible and hectic, said "I did not lobby it, it is a grant. The selection process was quite hectic and thorough."

According to FAO statistics (2019), Nigeria produced 43 % of total production in Africa, 49 % of total production in West Africa and is the highest consumer of cowpea.

Similarly, Nigerian women is said to account for 75 percent of the farming population in Nigeria, working as farm managers, and suppliers of labour, just as Nigeria losses billions of dollars due to post harvest losses, which includes processing. The high level of women's involvement in the post-harvest stage confirms the relevance of considering gender when examining post-harvest loss.

The cowpea processing industry is believed to be at its lowest ebb but with the distribution of the mechanical processing equipment of cowpea seeds is expected to have a great influence in increasing the overall production, consumption, processing into more dietary, hygienic products and the advancement of cowpea processing industry.

Read the original article on Vanguard.

AllAfrica publishes around 700 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.

AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 700 news and information items daily from over 100 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.

Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox

By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.

We need to confirm your email address.

To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.

There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.