• Home
  • Agric
  • Sci, Tech & Innovation
  • Health
  • Environ/Climate Change
  • More
    • Business/Banking & Finance
    • Politics/Elections
    • Entertainments & Sports
    • International
    • Investigation
    • Law & Human Rights
    • Africa/AU/ECOWAS
    • Research and Development
    • Corruption/EFCC/ICPC
    • Hassan Gimba
    • Column
    • Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim
    • Prof. M.K. Othman
    • Defense/Security
    • Education/JAMB/WAEC/NECO/NABTEB
    • Energy/Electricity
    • Entertainment/Arts & Sports
    • Society and Lifestyle
    • Food & Agriculture
    • Health & Healthy Living
    • Technology
    • International News
    • Interviews
    • Fact-check/Investigation
    • Judiciary/Legislature/Law & Human Rights
    • Oil & Gas/Mineral Resources
    • Media/PR/Journalism
    • Elections
    • General News
    • Presidency
    • Press Releases
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Board Of Advisory
    • Privacy Policy
    • Ethics Policy
    • Teamwork And Collaboration Policy
    • Fact-Checking Policy
  • Advertising
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • DSS dismisses allegations of corruption against Director, Bichi 
  • Electoral Act: Why pre-election matters should not be litigable” – CISLAC
  • Climate change: Niger govt approves N300m for tree planting 
  • NDDC: Maintain truth, self-respect, Director charges journalists
  • Internet fraud: Witness reveals how Visa flagged Naira Marley’s credit card
  • World AIDS Day: NEPWHAN, UNAIDS unveil app to strengthen engagement, end stigma
  • ECOWAS Parliament appoints new Secretary-General
  • Management bans tricycle operators from access to hospital
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
AsheNewsAsheNews
  • Home
  • Agric
  • Sci, Tech & Innovation
  • Health
  • Environ/Climate Change
  • More
    • Business/Banking & Finance
    • Politics/Elections
    • Entertainments & Sports
    • International
    • Investigation
    • Law & Human Rights
    • Africa/AU/ECOWAS
    • Research and Development
    • Corruption/EFCC/ICPC
    • Hassan Gimba
    • Column
    • Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim
    • Prof. M.K. Othman
    • Defense/Security
    • Education/JAMB/WAEC/NECO/NABTEB
    • Energy/Electricity
    • Entertainment/Arts & Sports
    • Society and Lifestyle
    • Food & Agriculture
    • Health & Healthy Living
    • Technology
    • International News
    • Interviews
    • Fact-check/Investigation
    • Judiciary/Legislature/Law & Human Rights
    • Oil & Gas/Mineral Resources
    • Media/PR/Journalism
    • Elections
    • General News
    • Presidency
    • Press Releases
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Board Of Advisory
    • Privacy Policy
    • Ethics Policy
    • Teamwork And Collaboration Policy
    • Fact-Checking Policy
  • Advertising
AsheNewsAsheNews
Home»Food & Agriculture»HarvestPlus to reach 100m Nigerians with biofortified foods
Food & Agriculture

HarvestPlus to reach 100m Nigerians with biofortified foods

Abdallah el-KurebeBy Abdallah el-KurebeMay 17, 2018No Comments3 Mins Read
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

The Country Director of HarvestPlus Nigeria, Dr. Paul Ilona says the NGO was working to meet the nutritional needs of about 100 million Nigerians by the year 2030.

In an interview on Thursday in Lagos, he said that the food culture in Nigeria had made it challenging for people to stay healthy because the diets consisted mainly of carbohydrates, thereby lacking in other essential nutrients the body requires.

“We’re looking at 100 million Nigerians consuming more nutritious staple foods by the year 2030. We’re not looking at consumers in the urban areas but more of those in the rural areas who may not have access to additional nutrients,” he said.

Ilona explained that when foods lacked the right amount of nutrients the body require; then a person could eat and feel full but still suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

He noted that the quality of food eaten was more beneficial to the body than the quantity consumed to prevent what he referred to as ‘hidden hunger’.

“When somebody has eaten enough food but the food does not have Vitamin A to supply the eyes or enough iron for the blood, then that person has eaten but is still hungry,” he said.

Ilona stressed the need for people to imbibe the culture of healthy eating, saying hidden hunger cuts across all strata of the society.

According to him, about 13 per cent of children from affluent homes suffer from the condition also.

“If you go to a village, you find children with big stomach but when you look at them, you’ll see that they’re not healthy. Also, Several studies carried out recently shows that up to 13 per cent of children in rich homes suffer from malnutrition.

“This is the era of junk. They eat all sorts for convenience, not for nutrition. Foods should address the nutritional needs of the different parts of our bodies. If your food does not guarantee you the essential nutrients your body needs, then you’re just eating chaff,” he said.

He explained that his organisation’s objective was focused on ensuring that the commonly consumed staple foods act as the primary channel to deliver essential micronutrients to Nigerians.

He said that HarvestPlus planned achieving this goal through its biofortication project.

Biofortication is the process of naturally enriching staple crops including cassava, maize and rice with certain nutrients like zinc, iron, Vitamin A and iodine before the seeds are planted.

The foods already biofortified in Nigeria includes Vitamin A Cassava, Vitamin A Maize, Iron Beans, Iron Cell Millets and Orange Sweet Potatoes.

Ilona said: “They are not genetically modified crops, these are natural and done at the breeding stage.

“When farmers plant the cassava, they get yellow tubers and yellow Garri direct. You don’t add anything.

He explained that biofortication was a cheap and reliable method of ensuring that foods were enriched with essential nutrients for the body.

“If a child takes only 150 grams of Orange Sweet Potatoes a day, the child has met the daily need of Vitamin A. We can make these nutrients available through the foods we eat and that’s a lot more sustainable for us overtime,” Ilona said.

He urged mothers to look out for biofortified foods when planning meals for their families, noting that mothers need more education to enable them know which foods to combine to make healthier meals.

HarvestPlus’ biofortication project is supported by international organisations, including the UK Government, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The European Commission and donors to the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) programme on agriculture for health and nutrition are also supporting the project.

CGIAR Gates Foundation HarvestPlus
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tumblr Email
Abdallah el-Kurebe
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Related Posts

World AIDS Day: NEPWHAN, UNAIDS unveil app to strengthen engagement, end stigma

December 2, 2023

Management bans tricycle operators from access to hospital

December 2, 2023

Niger partners coy on emergency relief in Agric

December 2, 2023

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

DSS dismisses allegations of corruption against Director, Bichi 

December 2, 2023

Electoral Act: Why pre-election matters should not be litigable” – CISLAC

December 2, 2023

Climate change: Niger govt approves N300m for tree planting 

December 2, 2023

NDDC: Maintain truth, self-respect, Director charges journalists

December 2, 2023
About Us
About Us

ASHENEWS (AsheNewsDaily.com), published by PenPlus Online Media Publishers, is an independent online newspaper. We report development news, especially on Agriculture, Science, Health and Environment as they affect the under-reported rural and urban poor.

We also conduct investigations, especially in the areas of ASHE, as well as other general interests, including corruption, human rights, illicit financial flows, and politics.

Contact Info:
  • 1st floor, Dogon Daji House, No. 5, Maiduguri Road, Sokoto
  • +234(0)7031140009
  • ashenewsdaily@gmail.com
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
© 2023 All Rights Reserved. ASHE NEWS Daily Designed by DeedsTech

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.