A non-governmental organisation called The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has organized a four-day food safety and hygiene workshop for farmers, food processors, and dealers in four local governments in Oyo state in an effort to guarantee food and nutrition security.
To support the availability of safe, nutrient-enriched staple foods in the states requiring intervention, the training was designed to improve the technical proficiency of food processors in basic and advanced food safety.
With funding from the German government via the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GAIN, in partnership with GIZ and the Green Innovation Centre for the Agricultural and Food Sector in Nigeria, GIC, is carrying out the project named “Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples.”
At the Golden Tulip Hotel in Ibadan, food processors from four specifically chosen Local Government Areas in Oyo State—Afijio, Iseyin, Oyo West, and Ido—were trained in the value chains of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes and vitamin A cassava in order to comply with regulatory criteria.
He went on to say that the project’s goals are to expose participants to foods high in nutrients so they can maintain healthier diets at home and grow their brand in the community.
In the hopes that participants would pass on the training to their family and community members, he stated, “We profiled fifty enterprises, producers, merchants, and processors for the project.”
“The goal of this specific engagement is to make sure that the primary stakeholders receive training so they can understand what they can do with these staples and the agricultural products produced in their community.”
Chimere Nzeoma, a consultant at Nugata Consults Limited, briefly discussed the importance of food safety in preventing food poisoning with reporters.
He did, however, counsel attendees to apply the knowledge they had gained from the course to produce foods that are safe for human consumption.
Speaking at the session, Rasheed Lawal, a cassava dealer from Oyo West Local Government, praised the organisers and mentioned that he had gained further knowledge regarding branding, packaging, and food safety.
Lawal went on to say that his business will benefit from the technical food processing skills training.
