Nigeria, partners flag off dissemination of pro-vitamin A cassava varieties

Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwumi Adesina, along                                                                                                                      with the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio, kicked off the cassava planting materials dissemination in Uyo, the state capital.Researchers say using pro-vitamin  A cassava to tackle vitamin  A deficiency is an excellent option because of the availability and accessibility of cassava in most rural […]

Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwumi Adesina, along                                                                                                                      with the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio, kicked off the cassava planting materials dissemination in Uyo, the state capital.
Researchers say using pro-vitamin  A cassava to tackle vitamin  A deficiency is an excellent option because of the availability and accessibility of cassava in most rural communities, noting that a nutrition survey report by the Nigerian government shows that vitamin A deficiency hurts the health of about 20 percent of pregnant women and 30 percent of children below the age of 5.
In his address, Dr Howarth Bouis, Director of HarvestPlus said people afflicted by vitamin A deficiency suffer either from night blindness, stunting, low immunity or even death.
Deputy Director General for Partnerships and Capacity Development with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Kenton Dashiell, said, “The World Health Organization estimates that about 250,000 to 500,000 vitamin A-deficient children become blind every year, half of them dying within 12 months of losing their sight.
“The development of pro-vitamin A is a big milestone and working with our partners, the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) and HarvestPlus, we hope to develop more nutritious crops that will enhance food security.”
  HarvestPlus and partners plan to ensure that over two million farmers have access to vitamin A cassava stems for planting across the major cassava producing states in Nigeria with initial emphasis on Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Imo and Oyo states as regional hubs.  
Paul Ilona, HarvestPlus Country Manager said the strategy is to distribute 300,000 bundles of stems to 100,000 households in Nigeria this year alone, and support the emergence of a sustainable seed system to make stems available to all farmers in the years ahead.
 Currently, more than 40,000 traceable farmers in Akwa Ibom, Abia, Anambra, Benue, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and Rivers states received stems in June and July, while more states will receive stems before the end of this month.
 “This is possible because over 500 hectares of the vitamin A varieties were proactively multiplied in 2012,” he added.
Stakeholders believe that rural households deserve better nutrition and the consumption of more nutritious crops is a good opportunity to reduce malnutrition globally.
Executive Director of NRCRI Dr JC Okonkwo called on farmers to cultivate the varieties and consume them sufficiently especially for children under 5 and pregnant women for better health and nutrition.
He also encouraged farmers to give stems to their neighbours at the time of harvest to ensure rapid dissemination of planting materials.