Agric ministry inaugurates National biofortification steering committee

The Federal ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and HarvestPlus under the UKAID supported Scaling Climate Adapted Nutrious Crops in Nigeria has inaugurated the National Biofortification Steering Committee to serve as high level advocacy group for biofortification in Nigeria.

Staple crop biofortification is a practical, proven, demand-led response to hidden hunger—particularly among the hundreds of millions of smallholder farming families who eat mostly what they grow themselves, cannot afford nutritionally diverse diets, and are also not easily reached by food fortification or supplementation initiatives.

In period of food crisis, people tend to focus more on food that will fill their stomachs and less attention to nutrition, this has potential to worsen the already not so good nutrition outcome.

The Steering committee will serve as advisory, advocacy and lobby group made up of policy makers, experts and stakeholders that will provide guidance on issues relating to enabling policies for biofortification in Nigeria.

The committee will also deepen the inclusion of biofortification and climate smart agriculture into government policies and programs; and use it as strategic tool to reducing negative health outcomes associated with micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria and this will lead to improved access to nutritious foods.

The committee will also see to the implementation of the various policies at both national and sub national levels cutting across the various biofortified crop value chains.