Stakeholders in the agricultural sector have been called on the government on all levels to explore fresh approaches in addressing issues of malnutrition in the country.
The experts who spoke with journalists ahead of the forthcoming 2019 Nutritious Food Fair (NFF) scheduled to hold 13th -16th November at the Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan Oyo state, say that Nigeria must continue to look for new ways to solve its malnutrition problem.
Kenton Dashell, deputy director, IITA, described malnutrition as a global problem that could cause severe, physical and mental challenges for children.
He stressed that micro-nutrient deficiency in food limits the development of children.
“We must look for ways to solve these problems because malnutrition limits the potential and abilities of children and will not allow them to reach full potential,” Dashell said.
Corroborating him was Paul Ilona, country manager of HarvestPlus, Nigeria also stressed the need for all to work together to tackle the issue of malnutrition ravaging the country.
Speaking about the fair, Ilona said that the three-day event with the theme; ‘Nutrition is Everyone’s Business’ the fifth of its kind is expected to bring together stakeholders across the food sector, policymakers, and donor agencies to find solutions to the country’s malnutrition problem.
He noted that the food fair was a commercial platform for promoting the breeding, production, marketing, and consumption of nutritious foods in Nigeria, stressing that it is aimed at tackling malnutrition in the country and that its mission was to develop and scale up the delivery of nutritious crops around the world.
Speaking further, he said that over 10,000 participants from eight countries, but mostly from across Nigeria are expected to take part in the fair and that it will feature panel discussions, scientific presentations, and exhibition of business opportunities to increase investments in the nutritious food sector.
According to him, the event will provide a platform that would enable participants to share updates and discuss topical issues emerging in the nutritious food sector.
Ilona said that HarvestPlus is known for improving nutrition and public health by developing and promoting bio-fortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals.
Mohammed Nanono, Minister of Agriculture, while speaking said addressing malnutrition and meeting nutrition targets of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) would inject an additional $29 billion into Nigeria’s national income.
Nanono, who was represented by Frank Satumari, director of Agriculture said one of the major objectives of the Federal Government was to reduce malnutrition to the barest minimum in the country.
He urged government at all levels to intensify efforts in combating malnutrition in the country and called on the private sectors and other stakeholders to join hands in combating the ugly trend.
Josephine Okojie
