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Food systems in Nigeria need attention
Nigeria is a country where the nutrition transition is progressing rapidly, leading to a compounding problem of under- and overnutrition and rising disease burdens from unbalanced diets, in particular among urban consumers.
Within Wageningen University & Research (WUR) various research projects are ongoing which aims to perform diagnosis on this challenge and explore leverage points for steering Nigeria’s food system towards more favourable outcomes.
The projects analyze the so-called dietary gap to see how many percent of the population gets the recommended diet and which food products and nutrients are not consumed. The food system is being analyzed at national level to see how this evolves towards 2030. And what needs to be done to improve food quality and nutrient security on a national and lower scale level? In addition, it is important to find out the food choice motives of the Nigerian consumer.
At the beginning of November the interim results were discussed to exchange insights and experiences between the different research projects and to connect the projects. Key funders for this research are Kennisbasis Food and Nutrition Security, funded by Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the research program Food Systems for Healthier Diets (FSHD), funded the CGIAR-programme Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) and led by WUR. .