The WOFAN-ICON2 project has commenced activities aimed at enhancing food security and creating dignified job opportunities for youth, particularly women and people with disability in partnership with consultants from the National Cereals Research Institute in Badegi, Niger State.
The project has set ambitious goals for 2025, including reducing rice production and post-harvest losses, increasing income sources for smallholder farmers and processors, and improving food security through value addition strategies.
The project was launch in Abuja where attendees included women groups from Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Kaduna, and Nasarawa states, consisting of community trainers and extension workers.
The session was geared towards strategizing on innovative approaches for enhancing the economic and nutritional value of rice to create appealing end products that consumers are willing to purchase.
During the meeting, Hajia Maimuna Lawal, WOFAN-ICON2’s Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability Director, highlighted that 30-40% of rice produced in Nigeria is lost or wasted along the value chain.
To combat these issues, Hajia Lawal emphasized the importance of developing innovative products from rice harvested by smallholder farmers and processors, which can help recover losses and boost income.
Utilising rice by-products for new products is expected to minimize losses along the value chain, thereby enhancing women’s economic prospects.
Dr. Nehemiah Danbaba, a rice value chain specialist from the National Cereals Research Institute, stressed the potential of value addition in transforming poor-quality rice into high-value products.
He presented the example of broken rice, typically rejected after sorting, which can be milled into flour, creating a new product with diverse applications. Such innovations can significantly contribute to nutritional and economic outcomes for women and society.
Hajia Salamatu Garba, WOFAN-ICON2’s Country Project Director, who stated that the initiative is in line with the Mastercard Foundation initiative of creating dignified job opportunities of about 10million youths including women and people with disability.
The innovations include cutting cake baked with rice and groundnut flour and further displayed other forms of products including the use of carbonized rice husks to make briquettes and fertizers and concluded with discussing the strategic direction for 2025.
According to her, others are introducing simple processing machines to various rice products and building the capacities of youths, enhancing and fortifying rice with neccessary nutrients and other crops such as soybeans and groundnuts to make fortified rice and flour that is ready to use and be transformed into various foods and snacks such as nutritious rice cheese balls , rice prinkles, waina mix, etc.
She noted that the WOFAN-ICON2 Project stands as a beacon of hope for enhancing food security and creating economic opportunities in Nigeria.
Through strategic partnerships with relevant research and regulating bodies as well as implementing innovative practices, the project aims to empower women and youth in the rice value chain, ultimately leading to a more sustainable and prosperous agricultural sector.
Mr Taiwo Olawale the Operations and Business manager of WOFAN concluded the meeting by stating that “The successful implementation of these initiatives can pave way for significant improvements in enhancing the economic growth, boost food security and scale- up nutritional outcomes and resulting in multiplier benefits for communities involved”.
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