In furtherance of its objectives, chief among which are the
promotion and adoption of Vitamin A biofortified staple crops, and
delivery to Nigerians especially the rural poor, HarvestPlus Nigeria has
intensified effort to reach out to as many Nigerians as possible by
engaging young school leavers with a view to making them partners
through sustainable agricultural entrepreneurship.
At a monthly National Youth Service Corps’ (NYSC) community
development programme held in Ibadan, Oyo State recently,
HarvestPlus’s team, led by its Country Manager, Paul Ilona, was at the
Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) training to
sensitize the corps members on the huge opportunities in Vitamin A
Cassava production and distribution.
Addressing corps members present at the training, Ilona noted that
“HarvestPlus is pleased to showcase to you opportunities in Vitamin A
Cassava value chain, which will help you to reach your potential,
generate income and employ others.”
He added that non-governmental organization was committed to fighting
hidden hunger manifested through micronutrient deficiencies in foods by
deploying biofortified staple crops and foods to the vulnerable
population across the country and urged the youth corps members to
partner with the organization to achieve this noble objective. According
to him, areas of active entrepreneurial engagement that the youth corps
members can invest in include Vitamin A cassava stem multiplication,
tuberous root production, service provision, and establishment of point
of sale (POS) outlets in strategic locations, among others.
Ilona said“ Last year, over 450,000 farmers received Vitamin A
Cassava stems from HarvestPlus. This year, over 500,000 farmers will get
stems for multiplication across the country and this comes in a value
range of about N240 million,”
“Last year, we opened a pioneer point of sale (POS) to demonstrate to
our partners that there is market for their Vitamin A cassava products.
This year, HarvestPlus intends to work with partners from the nooks and
crannies of Nigeria to establish 300 more points of sale. An online
sales portal to connect the points of sale is nearing completion with
huge benefits for those who come on board now."
He however assured the corps members that organisation will train
willing partners and provide technical support to ensure their
successful take-off.
According to HarvestPlus, the organization will continue to work with
strategic partners to deepen knowledge, penetration and adoption of
biofortified cassava products in Nigeria. Last year, the organization
partnered Nollywood to produce a movie entitled “Yellow Cassava” and
looks out for further opportunities to engage more groups in 2015.
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