14 March 2024 – Fostering collaboration and growth for the biofortified foods market in Nigeria was the focus of a recent market linkage forum facilitated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)-funded Propcom+ programme on the theme ‘Scaling Commercial Access to Biofortified Foods and Crops’. The event, which pooled together key market players and actors in the biofortified food space in Nigeria was held at the Providence Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday, 14 March 2024.
As access to nutrient-dense biofortified foods is a critical solution to the malnutrition problem especially among children in Nigeria, this market linkage forum was one of a series of planned engagements with stakeholders facilitated by Propcom+, aimed at scaling commercial access to affordable biofortified foods that meet the nutrition needs of rural people, particularly those in Northern Nigeria, where, according to UNICEF, is the region most affected by malnutrition.
The forum featured presentations on the business case for biofortified and fortified foods and crops by the Propcom+ team as well as experience sharing by a representative of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). Two panel discussions delved explicitly into the growing demand for biofortified foods, climate impact and the need to build climate adaptation in farmers. The panellists also pointed out the issue with the disconnect between the market actors, particularly processors and farmers and the need to bridge the gap between key market actors and players in the space.
What actions should be taken by key market actors to improve biofortified foods in Nigeria, who bears the cost, and how do we create synergy between the government, processors, farmers and financial institutions were some of the questions explored during the panel discussions.
For many of the participants, the forum provided an opportunity to share valuable insights on critical success factors for scaling commercial access to biofortified foods and crops in Nigeria.
The discussions highlighted a critical need to empower farmers, said Abbass Fadlallah, CEO of Halilco Foods. According to him, many farmers lack awareness about the benefits of biofortification and struggle with securing the resources they need. “We strongly believe in educating farmers and fostering wider adoption of these crops”, he said.
“As a panelist, I was grateful for the opportunity to participate in this forum because biofortification is a major consideration in the drive for food security. It was reassuring to know that there is minimal cost implication in biofortified foods, but the main challenge is awareness and bringing these stakeholders together is a stepping stone to building awareness around nutrition issues”, said Deina Mayaki, co-founder, Agriarche.
Propcom+ is committed to working with these actors to create more awareness on the benefits of biofortified foods and unlock market access for affordable nutrient-dense foods in Nigeria. By the end of year three of the programme, Propcom+ hopes to facilitate access to biofortified food products for more than 200,000 people in selected states with over 3000MT of biofortified and nutritious grains off-taken by processors annually.
