“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
Making agreat difference, as the foremost player in the fertile field of organic farming sub-sectorin Nigeria’s competitive agricultural sector is none other than the wave-making Xtralarge Farms, ably led by the highly resourceful and farm-focused couple of Mr. Seyi and Mrs. Moji Davids.
Years ago, they came up with the unique concept that has the vision of raising a generation of passionate farmers, by creating various agricultural and investment platforms all across Nigeria and beyond.
As part of the food company’s efforts to ensure that Nigerians enjoy the health benefits of eating pure organic foods, produced without chemical additives and preservatives, the hugely popular Nigerian agricultural investment firm, introduced Xtralarge meal a few years back.
The meal, ingeniously produced and made up of plantain and local rice, appears as smooth as pounded yam. As a ‘swallow food’ it can be consumed along with any kind of local soup such as egusi, eforiro, ogbono, ugu and bitter leaf.
It is therefore, little of a surprise that Wonder Meal recently bagged the pride-evoking laurelfor theBest Premium Quality Food Product Award, by the African Brands Congress.
In fact, it could not have come at a more auspicious time when the country is grappling with high food inflation rate as one of the indices of an economy wallowing in a worrisome quagmire.
The award has therefore, come as a ray of great hope that all is not lost if only Nigerians can actively participate in hi-tech, organic farming. What more, the award came soon after the duo of Xtralarge Farms directors, Seyi and Moji Davids were honoured by the European-American University with doctorate degrees, specifically so in Business Management and Corporate Leadership.
“Wow”! A million and one of their ardent farmer-family members, friends and fans screamed with joy the world over. The truth is that their awards are all well-deserved.
Before we look at the nutritional benefits of the award-winning Wonder Meal, let us understand what organic farming is all about. It is seen as significant means of providing people with healthier food choices.
It is considered a sustainable agricultural practice since it does not use harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides that deplete the nutritional value of foods and have deleterious effects on the environment.
One of the persisting challenges however, is that many Nigerian farmers are not familiar with organic farming methods. Most still grow fruits and vegetables with the use of chemical fertilizers and still apply pesticides that may be harmful to the consumers.
Organic farming has brought to the fore the imperatives of both bio-safety and environmental protection in line with internationally accepted best practices. The issue goes beyond mass production of sundry food items.
In fact, there are multiplicity of challenges to be overcome. These include poor funding, low mechanisation level, lack of involvement of the stakeholders in policy formulations and the unwillingness of banks to offer long-term loans, especially to rural farmers. But Xtralarge Farms has broken the jinx with the immense health benefits of Wondermeal. So, what are they?
XtralargeWondermeal is a natural blend of local rice and plantain flour.The raw and unpolished nature of the local rice in it combined with the high fibre content of plantain flour makes it a ‘real wonder meal’, working wonders for your health.
It is an exceptional solid food that helps the consumer to ‘stay light’ even as he/she ‘eats heavy’. Nutritionally, it is rich fibre content aides bowel movement thereby avoiding constipation.
Furthermore, it aids weight loss for people who wish to watch their weight. Since the food is not retained in the body for a long period of time, the tendency to store fats is minimal.
A critical analysis of its nutritional contents also shows that Wonder meal is truly rich in calcium, magnesium and vitamins which are essential for strong and healthy bones. Given these magical minerals it reduces the chances of osteoporosis; a disease caused by weakening of the bones due to low level of calcium and magnesium.
In addition, itpossesses the vital Vitamins A, B6 and C, which aid better and clearer vision, better skin complexion, building immunity against diseases and reducing the ill effects of free radicals. Besides, Wonder meal is capable of reducing anaemic symptoms due to the presence of Vitamin B6 in it.
Wonder meal when prepared and eaten with fresh vegetables is capable of increasing libido, thereby increasing performance sexually for both men and women.
The high level of calcium in every 100g of Wondermeal, which can be equated to calcium gotten in a glass of milk, makes it essential to brain development and mental accuracy in children of all ages.
If home makers prepare Wondermeal for children, especially with okro on a consistent basis they will notice a remarkable difference in their academic performance. It is safe for diabetic and hypertensive patients as the main ingredients in it are the recommended food items from the doctors to patients and people in this category.
As an organic meal Wondermeal is prepared in the most natural way, free of any kind of chemicals, preservatives, flavours and colouring agents. All these attributes assist in making it very safe for human health.
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And when it comes to the award-winning couple who were recently bestowed with doctorate degrees bythe European-American University, their astounding achievements have so far shown that they are well-deserved. One has to have an insight into how the company came about to appreciate the couple’s vibrant vision for Nigeria’s food safety and nutrition security.
The interesting aspect about Xtralarge Farms is its capacity to bring peoples from different professions such as bankers, lawyers, teachers especially those who showed no interest and did not want to go into agriculture, in the first instance. To do so, he confessed that: “We have to give agriculture a new look, new apparel.
The question we had to answer is how can you be in agriculture and still be flamboyant? We recognize that we are in a part of the world where people love to look good; to still wear their ties, their suites as a measure of success. We want them to do so and still be proud to be a farmer. So, we had to adopt a new approach.”
Recalling the fact that Nigeria’s economic growth started with agriculture, buoyed by “the groundnut pyramids in the north, cocoa house in the west, with the first television station in Sub-Saharan Africa station all built with agric money, there was the need to retrace our steps back to those old good days. We got it wrong as a nation when we abandoned them and moved away to white-collar jobs.
“Now we realize that we have to go back to the source to feed ourselves. That is what the government of the day is doing with the ban on the importation of foreign rice. This has boosted local production. We have seen the advantages of local rice. We are planting more rice”.
Big kudos again to the Xtralarge Farms family!
