…empower 625 MSMEs on processing, marketing of biofortified foods
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has concluded its $10 million ‘Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples (SNIPS) project, aimed to address Nigeria’s persistent nutrition challenges by transforming staple food systems from the ground up.
The project which was launched in 2021, was operated across Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Oyo States with focus on three priority value chains, promoting the cultivation and consumption of vitamin A maize, vitamin A cassava and orange flesh sweet potato.
The initiative also strengthened the capacity of micro and small enterprises, enabling those previously processing local crop varieties to transition to biofortified foods.
Speaking during the closing ceremony in Abuja on Thursday, Michael Ojo, country director, GAIN Nigeria, said that SNIPS was created to bridge the gaps in Nigeria’s food system.
He noted that Nigeria faces a pressing nutrition crisis, with millions of households relying heavily on staple crops that provide calories but insufficient micronutrients,
contributing to widespread deficiencies, especially vitamin A deficiency among children and women.
“SNIPS was born to bridge these gaps, to ensure that the foods Nigerians eat every day become vehicles for better nutrition, stronger livelihoods, and greater resilience.
“And today, by the end of the project, we’ve worked with nearly 800 businesses. We’ve supported about 30 businesses to actually become certified with NAFDAC, which means that they don’t just have a local market, they have a national market, they have an international market. And already we can see the transformation that that has brought to their businesses.
“But you know also, when we developed this project, a big part of our focus was on really supporting smallholder farming households because when we look at the places that are supposed to be our food baskets across the country, they also tend to be our poverty baskets, unfortunately. And enabling smallholder farmers, their families, people who work in the supply chains of these staples to increase their livelihoods, to improve their health and their diets was critical to the project.
“So, working with them to establish home gardens, working with them to be able to increase their production, and then allocate some of that production to their own consumption has been critical. And we can see that that is something that SNIPS has been able to achieve. So, across all the components of the project, we’ve seen real success, and we’re very pleased about the outcome,” he said.
Ojo commended the participation of Benue, Oyo, Kaduna, Nasarawa state governments, emphasizing that they have all committed to building on the gains of this project. “And I think this is what we need to encourage them to do alongside the federal government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.”
In his remarks, Nuhu Kilishi, the Director Nutrition & Food Safety Department of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security said that the SNIPs project has made significant strides in enhancing the nutritional value of staple crops in Nigeria.
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The project he said was aimed to increase the consumption of nutritious foods by smallholder farmers, their families and the wider population while strengthening maize, rice, cassava and orange sweet potato value chains.
Kilishi explained that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has made several interventions in crops sector especially towards improving the performance of the rural farmers for enhanced productivity and improve livelihoods.
“The Ministry also put up Policies and Strategies to ensure food and nutrition security. The Lands for farming are in the States and LGAs, thus, FMAFS works & coordinates with the States for agricultural production and productivity. The Ministry will continue to collaborate with all the MDAs, States, Private sector and all Stakeholders to ensure food and nutrition security.
“I commend GAIN and all partners for their dedication to this cause. As we conclude this project, I am confident that the progress made will be sustained and built upon. Let us continue to work together to ensure that our staple crops are not only abundant but also nutritious, for a healthier and more prosperous Nigeria.”
