By Princess Simon (Bureau Chief North Central, in Minna)
Niger state government has pledged to strengthen the cultivation and promotion of bio-fortified crops as part of broader strategies towards combating malnutrition and improve nutrition especially among women and children in the state.
The Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Mathew Ahmed disclosed this when he received the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Niger state chapter on an advocacy visit in Minna.
Ahmed Matthew told his CS-SUNN advocacy team that the ministry is prioritising nutrition-sensitive products by scaling up the production of bio-fortified crops, especially the ones enriched with essential micronutrients such as Vitamin A and Zinc.
Deficiencies in these nutrients, according to him is found to be contributing significantly to poor growth, weakened immunity and other health conditions among most vulnerable populations.
The Permanent Secretary also identified key varieties being promoted to include; zinc rice, zinc millet, Faro 71 and Faro 72 rice, Vitamin A cassava, maize, rice and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.
To actualize maximum results, Ahmed said the ministry is also partnering with HarvestPlus to ensure that farmers in Niger state have access to improved seed varieties and technical support.
The Permanent Secretary who further explained how the the state government also intends to strategize with CS-SUNN to drive awareness campaigns towards the adoption of bio-fortified crops at community level said increased production and consumption would help reverse poor nutrition indices in the state.
While explaining plans to establish a dedicated department for nutrition and food safety in the ministry, Ahmed emphasized the importance of gardens in schools and homes aimed at improving dietary diversity and household nutrition at least cost and within nearest reach.
Earlier, Niger state Secretary of CS-SSUN, Victoria Matthew who led the team on behalf of the state Coordinator, Aisha Wakaso said the purpose of the visit is to seek for areas of collaborations with the ministry to reduce malnutrition to the barest minimal, especially among mothers and their children.
Describing agriculture as being central to resolving most nutrition related issues, the group pleaded for the timely release of Child Nutrition Funds to strenghten nutrition interventions across the state, as access to safe and nutrient-rich food, according to them is key to achieving better health conditions for all. NNL.
