Chijioke Iremeka
Senior nutrition experts have said that adding red oil to garri while processing it or making eba to achieve its yellow colour does not make it Vitamin A-fortified.
According to them, Vitamin A-fortified yellow garri is naturally enriched, as evidenced by its yellow colour, which is attributed to the presence of beta-carotene in the yellow cassava.
The nutritionists argued that adding red oil to garri was merely an attempt to mimic the natural yellow colour made from yellow cassava.
The nutrition experts called for the implementation of a comprehensive food fortification project in Nigeria to effectively address the issue of micronutrient deficiency in the country.
In Nigeria, by law, five foods must be fortified with vitamin A including sugar; oil; wheat, semolina, and maize flour. These fortified foods provide enough vitamin A to meet or exceed what is needed for good health.
A 2017 Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition survey demonstrated high household coverage and consumption of all recommended fortified staple foods. However, compliance with national food fortification standards for staple foods was inadequate due to a lack of enforcement and monitoring.
The Access to Nutrition Initiative indicated that Nigeria’s population has the greatest number of stunted children in Africa (32%), and vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc deficiencies remain the biggest contributors to undernutrition.
According to the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s official Gazette titled ‘Food Fortification Regulations, 2021,’ the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control is responsible for enforcing the food fortification policy.
The Gazette defines food fortification as the practice of deliberately increasing the content of one or more micronutrients for better nutrition.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise in different interviews, the experts said the policy had been abandoned and the farmers were not encouraged to cultivate the products of research.
Prof Ignatius Onimawo
A Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Ignatius Onimawo, said that Vitamin A- fortified yellow garri comes naturally fortified from yellow cassava with beta-carotene and could not be substituted with oil, insisting that adding red oil was to mimic the natural yellow garri prepared from yellow cassava.
Onimawo said that Vitamin A- fortified yellow garri comes naturally fortified evident in the natural yellow colour of the cassava, lamenting that both the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture had abandoned the food fortification policy in the country.
The Vice-Chancellor of Ave Maria University, Abuja, called on the government to create awareness of the need for consumption of fortified cassava to address the issues of micronutrient deficiency in the country.
With a national prevalence rate of 32 percent of children under five and an estimated two million children in Nigeria suffering from severe acute malnutrition, Onimawo specifically tasked the Ministry of Agriculture to educate and encourage farmers to cultivate these naturally vitamin A-derived crops.
He said, “The issue of biofortification in the country has been overlooked partly because the research on the fresh yellow cassava was conducted in Nigeria at the Federal College of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State.
“Had this research been carried out in America, or any other place in the world, it would likely be widely recognised by now in Nigeria. This yellow cassava has the potential to address Vitamin A deficiency in the country, provided the Ministry of Agriculture enforces its adoption.
“Significant progress has been made with this cassava, which is not a genetically modified (food) organism, but rather a product of biofortification through a natural genetic hybridisation. This process involves crossbreeding different cassava varieties. Specifically, a white variety that exhibited a bright yellow colour was crossed with high-yielding white cassava.
“The initial progeny was not as yellow as the parent, but subsequent crossbreeding with another variety produced the current cassava. This variety not only exhibits a strong yellow colour but also has high resistance to pests.”
According to Onimawo, yellow cassava contains substantial amounts of beta-carotene, which converts to Vitamin A, and also reproduces like white cassava.
He noted that he involved a PhD student to study the retention of beta-carotene in cassava through various stages—harvesting, peeling, grating, dewatering, and fermentation, and found that beta-carotene was effectively converted to Vitamin A.
The research process, he noted, also included frying and storing the cassava for a month to assess beta-carotene retention, which proved to be quite reasonable.
Onimawo, a former Vice-Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, however, lamented that the Agric extension workers, who are supposed to disseminate research findings to farmers, are not adequately equipped or supported.
“Many people enjoy eba and garri, and sweet potatoes can be used to tackle undernutrition in the country. Despite ongoing research, including iron-fortified beans and zinc-enriched beans and rice, the Ministry of Agriculture has not promoted these innovations effectively.
“I am hopeful that during my lifetime, we will see these changes in Nigeria. It would bring me great satisfaction to visit a market and find yellow garri without added oil. This is achievable and not as complex as it might seem,” he added.
Austin Maduka
Speaking further, the immediate past Public Relations Officer of the Cassava Growers Association of Nigeria, Austin Maduka, confirmed that the vitamin A-fortified yellow cassava was not widely popular among farmers.
Maduka, pointed out that the government did not invest adequately in promoting this research, which has limited its distribution and availability.
He explained that the cassava, produced at Umudike, lacks sufficient marketing and distribution channels to reach farmers on a larger scale.
Maduka noted, “Only a few sticks were distributed to farmers in Gwagwalada, Abuja, but these were given to individuals without the capacity for mass production, making it unavailable to a wider audience. A few who received it cultivated it for personal use.”
He emphasised that cassava, which boasts high nutritive value and pest resistance, was intended to improve nutrition for the masses, especially since many Nigerians consume garri.
Maduka stressed that the government’s lack of support and inadequate budgetary allocation have hindered further development and distribution, saying that research efforts often stall due to these financial constraints.
He called for increased advocacy and awareness to ensure that farmers are informed about the benefits of this cassava, saying that with promotion and support, the cassava’s high-yielding capacity and nutritional benefits—especially for diabetics and individuals with sight issues—could be more widely utilised.
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