By Haruna Usman
Technoserve and world food programme have commenced collaboration with Kano State Government on rice fortification through the Promotion of Rice Fortification in Nigeria (PRiFN) Project. The PRiFN project is supporting the Federal Government of Nigeria’s micronutrient deficiency control drive through the uptake and upscale of fortified rice in Nigeria the project commenced the pilot project of rice fortification in Kebbi State in 2023 and it is now scaling up to Kano State.
The Country Director of Technoserve, Adesuwa Akinboro, during a joint courtesy call with WFP to the Commissioner, Kano State Ministry of Planning and Budget, stated that the project aims to build the capacity of rice millers and relevant government agencies in the state, support a number of rice millers to produce fortified rice and support the integration of fortified rice into the school feeding and other social safety net programmes in Kano State.
According to Mrs Akinboro, the consumption of fortified rice in schools and inclusion in other social interventions in Kano State would help to reduce the burden of micronutrient deficiency in the state especially in children, adolescents and women of reproductive age which aligns with the strategic objectives of the state’s policy on food and nutrition.
The Commissioner of Planning and Budget, Hon. Musa Suleiman Shanono, described the project as laudable, apt and a welcome intervention in the state. Hon Shanono further stated that the project would ultimately support the drive of the Governor Abba Yusuf’s administration to tackle all forms of malnutrition in the state.
He stated that the state is aware of its malnutrition challenges and the need to partner with all interventions, like the PRiFN project, aimed at reducing the state’s malnutrition burden as the government cannot handle the problem alone he expressed his appreciation and promised that the Planning and Budget Ministry (which coordinates all donor funded interventions in the state) and indeed, the Kano State Government will provide the needed support to the PRiFN project to ensure its successful implementation in the state.
Earlier, the Technoserve and WFP (represented by the Food Fortification Expert, Ekene Onyeagba) team met with the Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, who assured the team of the Ministry’s support to the project and encouraged that the Ministry should be properly carried along through the project’s implementation in the State.
The PRiFN project is co-implemented by Technoserve and WFP in Kano State. The project is currently supporting two rice mills in Kano State with technical assistance, equipment and the necessary inputs for the production of fortified rice for use in the school feeding and other social intervention programmes in the state.
