A model vitamin-A cassava sales outlet was recently
launched by HarvestPlus-Nigeria in Ibadan in conjunction with its development
partners, Nollywood producers and actors, led by Zeb Ejiro, to boost Nigerians
access to the bio-fortified cassava crops.
The partners stated at the unveiling of the outlet
located opposite the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
(IITA), that it would help control the health challenges of vitamin A
deficiency manifesting in poor vision, blindness, low immunity and poor body
tissue development, which commonly affects 30 per cent of Nigerian children
under five years and 20 per cent of pregnant women.
With over 500, 000 Nigerian households currently planting
the varieties and consuming the products across the country, and over 550
commercial farmers on board in the multiplication of the nutritious crop on
over 1000 hectares of farmland in Nigeria, the partners stated that the need to
scale out the product to more Nigerians in order to make the crop accessible to
them became the next line of action.
According to HarvestPlus Country Manager, Paul Ilona, who
said the Ibadan outlet was just a model, the company plan to establish 300 of
such model sales outlet across Nigeria so that Nigerians can enjoy the health
benefits of the crop. "We need partners to buy into this initiative to
make it a reality across the length and breadth of the country,” he said.
The model sale outlet known as the ‘Farmers’ Centre’ is
expected to link up suppliers of the product (farmers and processors) with
demand agents (bulking agents, entrepreneurs and consumers) of the product at
the model sales outlet.
Source: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/harvestplus-opens-cassava-products-outlet-in-ibadan/198090/
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