By Tina George, Minna
The commercialisation of biofortified crops of maize and cassava is expected to empower over 1,500 micro and small scale entrepreneurs across Nigeria by 2022, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has disclosed.
The project of the commercialisation of these crops is being focused on eight states for three years.
The GAIN Nigeria Project Manager, Ijudai Jasada disclosed this during a meeting with stakeholders and Value Chain Actors in Minna to intimate them about the project.
According to him, the biofortified crops to be focused on include Vitamin A cassava and Vitamin A maize adding that the project targets 32 million consumers by 2022.
“The project on Vitamin A cassava targets to reach one million consumers directly and nine million consumers indirectly. At the end of the project, it is expected that 500 new micro and small scale investors would either be producing cassava stems or processing cassava tubers into gari or fufu or aggregating and marketing biofortified cassava products on a sustainable basis.
“The project on Vitamin A maize targets five million consumers directly and 17 million consumers indirectly. At the end of the project for vitamin A maize, it is expected that over 1000 new micro and small scale investors would either be producing grains or processing the maize into flour, tuwo, pap or aggregating and marketing the fortified maize products on a sustainable basis.”
Ijudai explained that the current production of maize in Nigeria is almost 11 million metric tonnes but biofortified maize accounts for less than one per cent of this volume.
He added that the project intends to contribute to reducing vitamin A deficiencies in Nigeria and create structural changes to food systems that deliver nutritious and safe food to the people.
The Niger State Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industries, Mustapha Jubril said that vitamin A is important to the body adding that the project would benefit farmers economically especially as they try to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commissioner who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Baba Wachiko Yahaya stated that the state is ready to partner with the organization to promote the consumption of Vitamin A in maize in Niger State.
He urged the stakeholders and Value Chain Actors to scale up their use of biofortified crops as a means of enhancing their income and promoting public health.
