BY DAVID ADUGE-ANI, ABUJA
The federal government said it is partnering with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and other stakeholders on the implementation of ‘Nourishing Nigeria’ project, to address malnutrition and food insecurity in the country.
The permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, who disclosed this at a workshop on the project in Abuja, explained that the initiative is aimed at reviewing Agriculture Sector Food and Nutrition Strategy, (ASFSNS), to ensure it aligns with current national and international standards.
Ogunbiyi pointed out that the initiative would also establish Junior Farmer Field and Business Schools, to empower young farmers at the sub-national level with technical skills and entrepreneurial capacity as well as development of a policy and legal framework to address malnutrition and food insecurity through effective governance and strategic interventions.
Represented by the director of agriculture lands and climate change management services, Mr. Oshadiya Olanipeku, the permanent secretary revealed that nutrition-sensitive agriculture is pivotal for combating stunting, wasting, and underweight by fostering awareness of healthy diets, improving value chains for nutritious foods, and promoting enabling diverse food production at household levels.
According to him, “The efforts will align with Nigeria’s food systems transformation agenda which seeks to boost dietary diversity and sustainable food security, targeting significant reduction in malnutrition.”
He stressed the need to acknowledge the fact that Nigeria is faced by a dual burden of malnutrition, undernutrition and over nutrition with significant public health implications, pointing out that approximately, 79% of Nigerian households experience food insecurity, leading to negative coping mechanisms such as reduced meal sizes and reliance on cheaper, less nutritious foods.
“This situation exacerbates malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, with anemia affecting 30.5% of young children, 20.3% of adolescent girls, 23.3% of women of reproductive age, and 31.5% of pregnant women”, he added.
In a statement by the principal information officer in the ministry, Obe M. Mabel, the permanent secretary also revealed that in line with the global call of actions, the Ministry is promoting homestead gardening which gives nutrition inputs packs to the vulnerable households to improve access to micro-nutrients through the consumption of bio fortified crops, fruits and vegetables produced at the homestead.
Earlier in his remarks, the Director, Food and Nutrition Safety, Nuhu Adamu Kilishi, emphasised the need for a multifaceted approach that would bring together, stakeholders from agriculture, health, and other sectors as the country still grapples with high level of malnutrition.
In his address, the Chairman House Committee on Food and Nutrition, Hon. John Chike Okafor, stated that the initiative is timely and aligns with the core mandate of the committee which is to provide a very robust legislative support to the executive arms of government to fight against malnutrition and food insecurity.
In his presentation, the FAO Country Representative, Dominique Koffy Kouacou, who was represented by the Programme Officer, Tofiq Braimag stated that the organization in collaboration with the Ministry and the House Committee on Food and Nutrition is launching, the technical cooperation programme “Nourishing Nigeria”, an initiative that Seeks to confront the challenges of malnutrition and food insecurity in the country by paring nutrition sensitive approaches into agricultural planning, implementation and policy.
In attendance were representatives of UNICEF, World Food Programme, State Commissioners of Agriculture, and Permanent Secretaries, among other development partners.