The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has reinstated its commitment to improve climate resilience and the production of nutritious staple foods to tackle malnutrition through the implementation of its “Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples Project (SNIPS).”
This was disclosed at the Agriculture Innovation Clinic (AIC) program of the organization in Kaduna State, where GAIN’s Senior Project Manager of Supply Chain for Commercialization, Godwin Ehiabhi, noted that SNIPS was meant to give a nutrition lens to what the Green Innovation Centre is doing in Nigeria.
SNIPS was launched in 2021 as a five-year project implemented across four states by GAIN in partnership with GIZ and the Green Innovation Centre (GIC), with support from the German Government. The benefiting states include Kaduna, Benue, Nasarawa, and Oyo.
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Ehiabhi explained that the project will enable farmers to grow more bio-fortified crops and enhance farmers and small-scale businesses capacity to produce more nutritious and safe foods that are accessible, affordable, and desirable in a sustainable manner.
“We are focused on four staples; this time our focus is on nutrient-enriched varieties of these staples. What that means is that we would be talking about vitamin A-enriched maize, cassava, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, and the rice value chain,” Mr. Ehiabhi said.
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Also speaking was GAIN’s project manager, Business Support, Mercy Olorunfemi, who noted that it is important to work with the private sector for the organization to fulfill its mandate of eradicating malnutrition, supporting access to healthier diets, and transforming the holistic food system.
According to her, they are providing training and support around food safety to the private sector and businesses in order to help in building their capacities, provide them with access to finance, and support them in building healthier and safer foods.
