The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has announced a significant $10 million commitment to address vitamin A deficiency across Nigeria's agricultural sector. This substantial investment will support local farmers in producing nutrient-enhanced versions of popular staple crops including cassava, maize, and rice.
Major Investment in National Nutrition
Dr. Michael Ojo, Country Director of GAIN, revealed this development during the Close-Out Ceremony of the Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples (SNiPS) project in Abuja. The five-year initiative was implemented in partnership with GIZ and the Green Innovation Centre for Agricultural and Food Sector.
Dr. Ojo emphasized that ensuring food and nutrition security represents one of Nigeria's most critical challenges for sustainable social and economic development. He stressed that biofortification of essential staples with deficient micronutrients remains a vital strategy in combating malnutrition nationwide.
Scaling Up Successful Models
The GAIN country director outlined the organization's comprehensive approach, stating their commitment to scaling proven models from the SNiPS project. This includes strengthening supply chains for nutritious foods, expanding partnerships with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and advancing policies that make healthier diets accessible to every Nigerian household.
The total project budget of approximately $10 million will drive these initiatives forward, though Dr. Ojo acknowledged the journey hasn't been without obstacles. The project faced multiple challenges including limited farmer access to financing, unpredictable weather patterns affecting yields, and initial consumer resistance to unfamiliar biofortified varieties.
Additional hurdles included navigating regulatory processes and slow market entry for small businesses operating in the agricultural sector.
Government Support and Sustainability
Speaking at the event, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, represented by Director of Nutrition and Food Safety Nuhu Kilishi, assured that the government has established mechanisms to expand the project beyond the initial priority states of Kaduna, Oyo, Benue, and Nasarawa.
The minister highlighted that raising awareness among farmers about the benefits of consuming biofortified foods and expanding production capacity has been crucial for sustaining the biofortified crops value chain in Nigeria.
SNiPS operates on three major pillars that drive agricultural transformation and food security, according to the minister. The first focuses on ensuring availability of staple crops rich in deficient micronutrients that farmers can cultivate. The second pillar emphasizes the project's scalability to additional farmers, while the third enables farmers to process their foods for economic benefit.
The minister concluded by urging farmers to take ownership of the project as efforts continue to extend its reach to other states across the federation.
