Niger State Government, HarvestPlus Host Nutritious Food Fair to Address Micronutrient Deficiencies
By Our Correspondent.
The Niger State Government, in collaboration with HarvestPlus, has hosted a Nutritious Food Fair aimed at addressing micronutrient deficiencies in the state.
Dr. Yusuf Fu’ad, Country Manager, HarvestPlus Nigeria, said the fair is a platform created to bring together stakeholders working within Nigeria’s nutrition crops value chain.
The event featured exhibitions, job creation exercises, and micro-processing training for women.
Dr. Fu’ad emphasized that the goal is to integrate more stakeholders into the value chain, particularly younger individuals who have graduated but are not employed.
He noted that HarvestPlus aims to create employment opportunities by counseling them to adopt an enterprise.
He said In Niger State, nutritious foods are already being produced, and the governor’s agriculture revolution is promoting food security.
However, Dr. Fu’ad stressed that there is a need to ensure food security and nutrition security.
He emphasized that nutrition crops are also being produced in the state, and the extension system needs to be strengthened.
In his address, Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, has expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the Nutritious Food Fair for choosing Niger State as the host location.
The governor emphasized his desire to make Minna the headquarters of HarvestPlus, citing the state’s arable land and water resources as ideal for promoting agriculture.
The state has made significant strides in agriculture, harvesting over 1 million metric tonnes of corn across the state.
Additionally, the state produces a variety of foods rich in micronutrients, including soybeans, beans, millets, and cowpeas.
Governor Bago expressed his happiness with the progress made by HarvestPlus in working with NAMDA and rural women in Niger State.
To further support the production of nutritious foods, the governor said the state government has announced plans to establish a 30,000-hectare biofortified food production center in Adunu community, Paikoro local government.
Bago said a pilot scheme will commence with 3,000 hectares in the next dry season farming, with plans to expand to 30,000 hectares in the subsequent wet season.
He said the state government has also invested heavily in hydroponics, training over 4,000 youths in the technology to boost the productivity of micro-nutrient-fortified vegetables and other foods.
He said the greenhouse project would commence at the Minna airport, which employs over 100,000 youths.
In his welcome address, Alhaji Musa Bawa, Commissioner for Agriculture in Niger, also highlighted the importance of biofortification in improving the nutritional status of the state’s population.
He said Niger adopted biofortification through the IFAD-VCDP program to improve the nutritional status of people, particularly children below five, lactating mothers, pregnant women, and adolescents.
Also, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Sabi, highlighted the country’s challenge as the second with the highest number of stunted children globally and called for collective action to address the challenge.
Sabi, represented by Malam Nuhu Kilishi, Director of the Nutrition and Food Safety Department, noted that 32 percent of children under five are affected, with an estimated 2 million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
The two-day event with the “Sustainable Food Systems, Our Collective Responsibility, featured exhibitions and food demonstrations showcasing biofortified crops.
