By Gabriel Ewepu and Fortune Eromosele

AS malnutrition remains a challenge in Nigeria, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and a non-profit research organization, HarvestPlus, Thursday, move to fortify maize production with Vitamin A.

Speaking on the move to fortify maize production with Vitamin A, Head of Nutrition and Food Safety, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Rasaq Oyeleke, commended HarvestPlus for the bold and patriotic initiative to transform maize production in the country with fortified Vitamin A.

Oyeleke also called on Nigerians to embrace essential macronutrients in their diet to prevent any deficiency and diseases.

He said: “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is so pleased with HarvestPlus because they are complimenting the efforts of the federal government in our strive to attain food and nutrition security through the promotion of nutrition sensitive agriculture.

“We commend HarvestPlus on the initiative of bringing research to bear so that we have our staple crops fortified with essential micronutrients. To let Nigerians know the achievement in the recent time of this fortified vitamin A maize.

“Without these macronutrients Nigerians will suffer from hidden hunger because you are lacking the essential nutrients. We are very pleased with HarvestPlus with the research output of having our maize fortified with Vitamin A.”

Also speaking was the Country Manager, HarvestPlus, Yusuf Dollah, said apart from the Vitamin A maize production disclosed that currently a research is on to come up with Zinc fortified rice and maize.

Dollah said, “To develop and scale up the delivery of nutritious crops around the world, so that every child, woman, and man who needs them can have access.

“We work with diverse partners in more than 40 countries as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health.”

According to him at the beginning of 2021 wet season farming, over S9000MT of vitamin A maize seed was produced and distributed throughout the country by over 20 seed companies.

“HarvestPlus carried out activities along the seed system to strengthen access to these seed varieties so that farmers can have access. Farmers bought these seeds from the local agro-dealers from their various communities and went to the field for the 2021 production.

“The vitamin A maize varieties which matures within 80 days of planting to harvest is at the moment being harvested from the various agro regions of Nigeria, indications coming from the field shows that 2021 is indeed a year for the vitamin A maize.

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“With this bumper harvest, there should be market for the farmer to be able to sell his harvest that will motivate the farmer to do more in the coming year. This will also translate to increase in seed purchase and the seed company will as well be motivated to increase volume of seeds to be multiplied.

“If the market fails the farmer, he will be demotivated to continue these varieties that will translate to low seed sales by the seed companies and the seed companies may decide to dump the varieties. This outcome is referred to as value chain failure (a situation where both the seed and food systems crash) and this is a disaster we must avoid.

“In view of the above, HarvestPlus and its partners from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Maize Association of Nigeria decided to call for this media parley, to create awareness and to stimulate markets for the varieties so that, the value chain can be sustained.”

Meanwhile, President, Maize Association of Nigeria, Dr Bello Abubakar-Annur, called on investors, industrialists to pull their resources towards investing in the rapid spread and of the Vitamin A maize.

“Nobody expected that vitamin A maize can be available now in Nigeria but with the help of HarvestPlus we have been seeing the production of vitamin A maize and we would see more.

“The production without getting the market can be frustrating, therefore I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the industrialists that are using these maize to know that it is been produced in Nigeria and can now patronise it”, Abubakar-Annur said.