By Adaora John
Commercialization of Biofortified crops project has commemorated World Food Day 2021 in 10 Local Government Areas of Imo State, with demonstrations of preparing Vitamin A food, training on maintaining the environment for bumper food production and the importance of Nutritious feeding to the body, reaching over 300 households.
Speaking to newsmen in Owerri, the Programme Director of FLA, Elder Kenneth Amogu posited that the Foundation has trained 30 farmers each from the ten project local government areas. He hinted that the CBC project team used the opportunity provided by the world Food Day to engage the local people to enable them know about biofortified crops, especially for them to engage in the production, processing and consuming the products.
He revealed that world Food Day activities gave the CBC project team in Imo State the opportunity to partner the Nutrition Society of Nigeria to showcase the biofortified/vitamin A foods which included products made from the biofortified Maize, Orange fleshed sweet potato for bread and juice, vitamin A maize that has Pap processed using vitamin A maize and few other local materials like millet and guinea corn. He lauded the Nutrition Society of Nigeria for organizing the food mapping workshop in Imo.
Elder Amogu stated that at the local government, the CBC project had nutrition training carried out by the LGA nutrition focal persons, agronomy practices training carried out by the CBC Desk officers, adding that there was food demonstration like cooking of biofortified crop meals and that participants not only tasted the meals like pap, bean cake OFSP juice to relish the meal, they also knew how to prepare and grow them. He hinted that the exercise was a success because the people got knowledge about world Food Day and the need to eat nutritious foods on such day and after, stressing that what was interesting about the activities was that about 300 persons tasted the biofortified/vitamin A crops in the state.
Amogu lauded Harvestplus and Gain for the support given to Foundation for Livelihood Advancement (FLA) to carry out the activities, especially that the FLA and CBC project team were grateful to the CBC Country team for the technical support. He equally applauded the country office for the opportunity provided FLA to participate at the National World Food Day 2021 exhibition held at Goshen City Abuja-Keffi Express way, Nassarawa state. He revealed that FLA and CBC project team were fully represented at the food fair with their vitamin A maize and other biofortified crops on display.
