HarvestPlus Nigeria, pursuant to its objectives for 2015, which include dissemination of improved vitamin A cassava stems to over 700,000 farmers across the country, has presented over 3,000 farmers in Akwa-Ibom and Delta communities with the latest variety of improved vitamin A cassava stems for planting and multiplication. The farmers were selected from the Ikpa Nung Asang clan made up of villages in Ikot Abasi LGA, Akwa-Ibom State and Ukwuani communities in Delta States.
The dissemination exercise took place back-to-back on Friday, March 13th at Essene, Ikot-Abasi and on Saturday, March 14th at Obiaruku Town Hall. Human Empowerment and Development Project (HEMADEP) and Positive Influence Global Resources Foundation are HarvestPlus’ partners in Akwa-Ibom and Delta States responsible for the initiative.
Addressing the farmers at the two events, Paul Ilona, Country Manager, HarvestPlus Nigeria, said: “HarvestPlus is happy to reach out to farmers wishing to invest into the vitamin A cassava value chain. This is because your coming on board has immense implication on the general health of our people and the economy. Without agriculture, there is no nation.” He advised the farmers to take advantage of the initiative and further trainings to be given by HarvestPlus and its partners to increase their knowledge of agriculture as business, with a view to increasing their scale and yield while at the same time lowering their cost of production.
In his speech, Paramount Ruler of the Ikpa Nung Asang clan, HRM Celestine Udia, thanked HarvestPlus and HEMADEP for the vitamin A cassava initiative and the stems which were distributed to farmers to kick-start their vitamin A cassava business. He promised that the farmers in Ikpa Nung Asang clan will make good use of the stems, applying high standard of agronomy practices to ensure good yields. “We will plant and eat vitamin A cassava because of its health benefits. We will also work with HarvestPlus and HEMADEP to train women and youth in our communities on small-scale investment in vitamin A cassava business to ensure reduction in poverty and creation of jobs among our rural women and youth,” the clan head added.
HarvestPlus, in addition to stem distribution to farmers in Ukwuani, also gave training on “Agriculture as business” and “Investing profitably in vitamin A cassava value chain”. Ilona admonished farmers to get properly acquainted with the subject of their investment, which is cassava. Investment along the cassava value chain, he said, requires good understanding at every step of the way. From production, value addition, marketing to final consumption, handling vitamin A cassava requires some technical know-how, which HarvestPlus will help to impart on farmers and investors, Ilona added.
Other HarvestPlus’ agenda for this year include: establishment of over 300 processing centres for vitamin A cassava; establishment of over 300 points of sale for vitamin A cassava food products and confectionery; ensuring that at least three million Nigerians consume vitamin A cassava products this year; and, reaching out to over 50 million Nigerians with information on vitamin A cassava initiative.
About HarvestPlus
HarvestPlus leads a global effort to improve nutrition and public health by developing and deploying staple food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals. We work with diverse partners in more than 40 countries. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by its 15 research centers in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. The HarvestPlus program is coordinated by two of these centers, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).