In a bid to making the issue of eating nutritious foods a household name, Foundation for Livelihood Advancement (FLA) has taken its campaign Biofortified with Vitamin A Crops to school.
Speaking in its ‘Catch Them Young’ training of SS2 and SS3 students of Police Command Secondary School, Isu Nwangele LGA, the Program Officer of FLA, Okoro Chibueze noted that the training of the police command centered on use of Vitamin A maize in making different Youth friendly delicious delicacies out of Biofortified crops and it’s importance to health.
Chibueze informed the young people that vitamin A found in the Biofortified with vitamin A maize is required by their bodies for the good functioning of their eyes and development of their brains.
He encouraged them to make the intake of delicacies a regular thing. The students who turned out in their numbers also were trained on Vitamin A Maize food recipes such as wet pap, Dry Pap, Custard, Omelette, Orange Flesh Sweet Potatoe Juice, adding that at the end of the training, many students indicated their interest to be part of the ‘Biofortified Young Farmers Club’.
In his remarks, the CBC project partner in Imo State and the Program Director of Foundation for Livelihood Advancement (FLA), Elder Kenneth Amogu noted that the essence of the training of the students was to make them conscious and begin to internalize the importance of taking Vitamin A foods and crops so that the knowledge of the Biofortified foods will begin to go down to the households. “There’s need for the students to understand how important it is to insist on taking Biofortified foods which is rich in vitamin A. They need to understand that the intake of Biofortified foods will help in developing their brains and enhance their cognitive development.
Amogu appreciated the school management for the opportunity afforded FLA to organize the training for the students, while urging them to ensure that at every point in time, the mention of nutritious foods is made. He urged parents to always prepare healthy foods for their children as they will help them in the educational pursuit. He encouraged them to build on the club, stressing that the Foundation will be ready to offer any technical assistance.
