Nutrition experts have called for the commercialization of biofortified foods, in order to boost the nutrients of citizens and curtail the high level of undernutrition in Nigeria.
The Country Director of Harvest, Yusuf Dollah, and other experts made the call at a workshop in Abuja, organized to promote the commercialization of biofortified crops in the country.
According to Yusuf Dollah Nigeria must do she can to focus on Vitamin A.
“In Nigeria the statistics showed that nearly one in three children and one quota of pregnant women were vitamin A deficient, that was the reason it became pertinent for us to select among other micro nutrient and focus on Vitamin A
” people at the bottom of pyramid were the most affected because they have less diverse diet.
Another nutritional expert, Tavershima Torhomen said citizens are only concerned about what they eat without minding the nutrient value
” In this country we eat alot of starch heavy foods and we are not really concerned about the nutrient because just want to get their Tommy filled up and they are not really concerned about what they eat”
“So with the commercialization of bio fortified foods we product the consumption of bio forties foods for all” he added
Also speaking Mr Godwin Ehiabhi stated the implication.
“If you look at people living in the turla areas hardly they consume package foods because they can’t afford it so the only thing they consume is what they produce from their farms”he noted
The prevalence of various forms of malnutrition in Nigeria is high.
Approximately half of Nigeria’s population lives below the poverty line as a result, many households lack access to varieties of nutritious foods.
To this end, these experts are advocating the commercialization of biofortified crops to provide sufficient levels of micronutrients to Nigerians, especially children and pregnant women.
They further stressed the importance of processing crops such as maize and cassava, which will aid in addressing the challenge of malnutrition.
With the commercialization of biofortified food, the aim is to promote the consumption of nutrient-rich staples for all Nigerians including children
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