Students, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, and other school leavers have been engaged by HarvestPlus Nigeria to market Vitamin A cassava to the rural poor.
HarvestPlus Country Manager, Paul Ilona, led a team to the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) training in Akinyele Council, Oyo State to sensitise the corps members on the huge opportunities in Vitamin A cassava production and distribution.
“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 said.
HarvestPlus seeks to fight hidden hunger manifested through micronutrient deficiencies in foods by deploying biofortified staple crops and foods to the vulnerable population.
Ilona urged the NYSC members to partner with the organisation to achieve the objective.
Areas they can invest in include Vitamin A cassava stem multiplication, tuberous root production, service provision, and establishment of point of sale (POS) outlets.
“Last year,” Ilona recalled, “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.”
Ilona assured NYSC members that HarvestPlus will train willing partners and provide technical support for a successful take-off.
HarvestPlus also pledges to continue to work with partners to deepen knowledge, penetration and adoption of biofortified cassava products.
Last year, it partnered Nollywood to produce a movie, “Yellow Cassava”, and wants to engage more groups in 2015.
NYSC Local Government Inspector (LGI) for Akinyele, Abimbola Ajayi, thanked HarvestPlus for the cassava initiative and the effort to reach out to NYSC members to help them to plan their future if they wish to invest in agriculture.
She described the youth as a critical segment of the population whose role in government’s effort to create jobs and eradicate poverty cannot be over-emphasised.
She urged corps members to key into the cassava initiative to enrich themselves and benefit the country by becoming HarvestPlus’s ambassadors.
Ajayi added that the government established SAED to equip corps members with skills that will enhance life after the service year.
President of the Corps Members’ Educational Development Group for Akinyele Council, Akinyode Emmanuel, thanked HarvestPlus for the training and promised that he and his colleagues will build on the foundation to maximise the benefits.
An NYSC member serving with HarvestPlus, Samson Onyekwelu, said introducing the benefits of Vitamin A cassava to his colleagues was to help build capacity to sustain the youth in the future.
Vitamin A cassava products include Vitamin A Garri, Vitamin A Fufu, Vitamin A Cake, and Vitamin A Chinchin.
