A stakeholders forum aimed at enhancing the quality and safety of maize and soya for Nestle, organized by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), a Feed the Future Nigeria and Nestle Maize Quality Improvement Partnership, was held in Zaria on Tuesday.
As a key purchaser of grain in Kaduna State, which produces maize and soy for domestic use and export sale, Nestle said it had found high levels of aflatoxin, fumonisins, and aluminum in these grains.
Team Leader, Maize Quality Improvement Partnership, Prof. Damian O. Chikwendu, at the event, said in order to mitigate these toxins in the supply chain in Kaduna State, the project will provide training that target each level of the supply chain.
He said the $1.9 million program, a three year activity, will improve the agricultural practices of over 20,000 smallholder farmers, more than 8,000 of whom are women, to supply at least 11,000 MT of maize and 6,000MT of soya beans that meet or exceed Nestle’s grains-reception criteria.
In doing so, the Team Leader said, the partnership will enhance relationships along both the maize and soy, and improve the health of rural communities by promoting the consumption of safer products.
Using contaminant threshold established by Nestle, the project, Prof. Chikwendu said, will deliver its training curriculum to 20,000 beneficiaries that will be tailored to address the specific contaminants and risk associated with their geographic area and level of the supply chain.
CNFA, he added, will work to leverage the strength of its partners for the realization of a healthier and more food secure Nigeria by collaborating with education, research and development partners including USAID, NYSC, Prudue University and Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA).
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