All is now set for the 3rd Edition of HarvestPlus Nutritious Food Fair to boost Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality sector
By Chinye Ogbonna – If Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP must grow, Nigeria must address the problem of nutrition in the country. This is the submission of the Country Manager of a Non-Governmental Organisation, HarvestPlus, Dr. Paul Ilona at a news briefing to herald the third edition of Nutritious Food Fair, NFF, in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
A list of bio-fortified crops already in use in Nigeria and elsewhere
Dr. Ilona who said there was a cultural dimension to nutrition in Nigeria, advised that people should embrace protein based foods. He enjoined Nigerians not to just eat food for the sake of filling the stomach but eat for the growth and development of the organs and body cells that are hungry for food.
“You are what you eat” He added.
“Today’s food is highly essential for tomorrow’s growth and we must begin to connect the dots between food, health and GDP grow Country1Nigeria,” said Paul Ilona, the Country Manager for HarvestPlus.
” With increasing vulnerability to hidden hunger, a condition where people do not get enough essential vitamins and minerals in their daily diets, cases of disabilities associated with micronutrient deficiencies (poor immune system, low IQ, diarrhoea, night blindness, anaemia etc.) will continue to grow if not checked”
“In a country where about 50% of the population live in the rural areas, micronutrient malnutrition will lead to increased pressure on national health budgets and a weak labour force that cannot drive agricultural production to meet demands of the food and industrial sectors.”
Photo: (L-R) The Country Manager, HarvestPlus Nigeria, Dr. Paul Ilona and the Chairman, Nutritious Food Fair Planning Committee, Mr. Fidelis Duker at a press conference in Lagos
According to the HarvestPlus Country Manager, the World Bank estimates that Nigeria loses about 450 billion naira in GDP annually due mostly to micronutrient deficiencies. HarvestPlus and partners in Nigeria are developing and promoting nutrient rich staple crops and foods as a complementary strategy to reduce micronutrient malnutrition.
The researcher who explained that there was a link between what we eat and the state of road infrastructure in Nigeria, noted that when people do not eat nutritious foods, they tend to act irrationally and do abnormal things. The HarvestPlus Country Manager, said the Nutritious Food Fair scheduled to hold between 28th and 30th of this month in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria, noted that one of the major objectives of the fair was to create three thousand (3,000) jobs.
He noted that the Nutritious Food Fair is expected to attract thousands of participants in the public and private sectors annually. Dr. Ilona added that the 2017 edition of Nutritious Food Fair, NFF scheduled to open on November 28 through 30 at Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, southeast Nigeria is in partnership with Enugu State SME centre, Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Education, Budget and Planning.
According to Dr. Illonna over ten thousand participants are expected to attend this year’s event to exhibit nutritious food products, strengthen business skills and linkages, identify new partners, communicate brands for enhanced marketing and participate in a host of competitions targeted at promoting the consumption of nutritious foods by Nigerians. Participants at the fair will include farmers, processors, marketers and consumers of nutritious foods. Others are food industries, seed companies, input dealers, research institutions and students.
He further explained that the main objective of the annual Nutritious Food Fair was to strengthen public and private sector partnership to increase and sustain the production and consumption of more nutritious foods, promote and encourage investments in the nutritious food sector and stimulate government’s policy support for nutrition interventions.
Dr. Illonna said that if the country population continues to subject itself to poor nutrition, it is to the detriment of the country because when the body is not well nourished for growth, it would not be able to add value to the country.
According to Dr. Ilona, the nutritious Food Fair, which is gradually becoming the signature event in the food industry, has recorded a year-on-year 25 percent growth in the number of exhibitors, and some 50% growth in the number of participants during the past three years. This year’s fair, which will feature exhibitions from different parts of the country, will contribute to increasing the production, value addition, marketing and consumption of more nutritious foods particularly those made from bio-fortified staple crops such as vitamin A cassava, vitamin A maize and orange sweet potato; and lay a foundation for the introduction of zinc rice, iron sorghum and iron millet.
In addition to showcasing the opportunities for engaging small, medium and large-scale investors in the country, the Fair will engage Master Trainers to mentor participants and provide post-training technical support.
Participants will acquire new knowledge and business guides on best farming practices by commercial farmers, best processing practices by medium and large scale processors, access to micro-credit by banks, access and use of inputs by agro-input dealers, product distribution by food industries and equipment use/maintenance by fabricators. Knowledge and business guides for sustainable and profitable investments will be articulated in specialized seminars for business enthusiasts.
Also speaking during the briefing
Chairman of the organising committee of the 2017 NFF, Mr. Fidrlis Havey said that most attractive segment of the Food Fair was the fun to catch. Consumers will find a world of nutritious food and drink options, traditional and masquerade dances, including special events such as the grande-finale of NutriQuiz competition for secondary schools, NutriYield competition for farmers and NutriCook competition for caterers. In addition, the largest nutritious cassava dish in the world he said would be unveiled for a Guinness record and a new platform for women called ‘SMART MOTHER’ would be launched to give women a voice in nutrition.
The Food Fair has become an annual flagship event of HarvestPlus Nigeria and one that many people nationwide look forward to. In due course, the annual food fair is expected to enhance the Nation’s tourism product and strengthen its culinary and hospitality sector.
HarvestPlus improves nutrition and public health by developing and promoting bio-fortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals, and providing global leadership on bio-fortification evidence and technology. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by its 15 research centres in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. The HarvestPlus program is coordinated by two of these centres, the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture(CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute(IFPRI).
“Today’s food is highly essential for tomorrow’s growth and we must begin to connect the dots between food, health and GDP growth for Nigeria”, said Paul Ilona, the Country Manager for HarvestPlus.
“With increasing vulnerability to hidden hunger, a condition where people do not get enough essential vitamins and minerals in their daily diets, cases of disabilities associated with micronutrient deficiencies (poor immune system, low IQ, diarrhoea, night blindness, anaemia etc.) will continue to grow if not checked.
“In a country where about 50% of the population live in the rural areas, micronutrient malnutrition will lead to increased pressure on national health budgets and a weak labour force that cannot drive agricultural production to meet demands of the food and industrial sectors.
“The World Bank estimates that Nigeria loses about 450 billion naira in GDP annually due mostly to micronutrient deficiencies. HarvestPlus and partners in Nigeria are developing and promoting nutrient rich staple crops and foods as a complementary strategy to reduce micronutrient malnutrition”, he added.
According to Ilona, the Nutritious Food Fair, which was gradually becoming the signature event in the food industry, had recorded a year-on-year 25% growth in the number of exhibitors, and some 50% growth in the number of participants during the past three years.
He noted that this year’s fair, which would feature exhibitions from different parts of the country, would contribute to increasing the production, value addition, marketing and consumption of more nutritious foods particularly those made from bio fortified staple crops such as Vitamin A cassava, Vitamin A maize and orange sweet potato; and lay a foundation for the introduction of zinc rice, iron sorghum and iron millet.
The Country Manager continued,” In addition to showcasing the opportunities for engaging small, medium and large-scale investors in the country, the Fair will engage Master Trainers to mentor participants and provide post-training technical support.
“Participants will acquire new knowledge and business guides on best farming practices by commercial farmers, best processing practices by medium and large scale processors, access to micro-credit by banks, access and use of inputs by agro-input dealers, product distribution by food industries and equipment use/maintenance by fabricators. Knowledge and business guides for sustainable and profitable investments will be articulated in specialized seminars for business enthusiasts.
“The most attractive segment of the Food Fair is the fun to catch. Consumers will find a world of nutritious food and drink options, traditional and masquerade dances, including special events such as the grande-finale of NutriQuiz competition for secondary schools, NutriYield competition for farmers and NutriCook competition for caterers.
“In addition, the largest nutritious cassava dish in the world will be unveiled for a Guinness record and a new platform for women called ‘SMART MOTHER’ will be launched to give women a voice in nutrition”.
Everyone can be part of NFF 2017. All you need do is register online at www.nutritiousfoodfair.org it’s all free.
