United States Agency for International Development, USAID Advancing Nutrition Activity in Nigeria has trained 12000 farmers in Kebbi, Sokoto and Bauchi on Aflatoxin Mitigation
Speaking on behalf of Hadiza Marcus, Chief of Party – USAID Advancing Nutrition, the Technical Adviser of USAID Advancing Nutrition, Mr Michael Daniel said the American agency achieved the milestone in collaboration with Nigeria’s Agricultural Ministry – the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, FMARD.
Daniel said this in Abuja on Thursday as he addressed participants at the 2022 World Food Day celebration with the theme: “Leave No One Behind”. The World Food Day celebration is an annual event being organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations with governmental and non-governmental Organisations across the globe.
He said the theme for this year’s celebration was a call to action as the country is impacted by Pre- and Post-Covid challenges as well as the ravaging effects of the flood which has displaced millions as well as destroyed crops.
“This year’s theme, ‘Leave No One Behind’, is a theme that actually came at the right time especially looking at our country where a lot of things are happening; starting from the flood, in addition to pre and post-pandemic issues.
“For us as a project, USAID Advancing Nutrition Project, we are keen to support the government of Nigeria Technically providing solutions to nutrition issues. And that is why this world food day celebration and the theme of experts we have put together to deliver some papers and discuss with us is very key to our activity.
“At the USAID Advancing Nutrition, we work for now in 3 states, Kebbi, Sokoto and Bauchi and we are hoping to expand to the FCT and Ebonyi State.
“With the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, to ensure food safety and zero rejects, we put ourselves together to train over 12,000 farmers on our aflatoxin litigation across Bauchi, Kebbi and Sokoto state, ” Daniel said.
According to him, the Agency aims at putting its activities together to improve nutrition outcomes in Nigeria and prevent wasting.
“We are looking at our objectives of first, coordinating activities of USAID Investments to ensure that our results are properly put together to improve our Nutrition outcomes.
“And we’re also looking at strengthening wasting prevention and management through both Nutrition Specific and Food system approaches. So for us, under the food system approach, we are collaborating with several agencies which include the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and other USAID funded projects both private sectors like Harvest Field and other agencies to deliver on this mandate.”
Daniel said the Agency’s Nutrition Activity looks to partner other private sectors on issues that can support the food system and a way to improve food security, nutrition security and reduce malnutrition in Nigeria.
“We also generate data to support programming and interventions so we are involved in a lot of research, we are on consumer research across the 3 states, we are working on adolescent formative research across the 3 states, we generate data that can serve the country and our locations of implementation.
“The leave no one behind is a call to look at what we do to prevent food waste and food loss; if you go to the dustbins today, a lot of food is wasted but if you check again, several people have not eaten. It is a call for action for all of us to look at what we can do as individuals to carry everyone along,” he added.
