Food for Development in Nigeria

In 2004, the Nasarawa State Government (NSG), under the mandate of Nigerian President Obasanjo, collaborated with Tetra Pak West Africa (TPWA) in the development of a state‐wide school feed programme using Nutri‐Sip, a maize‐based meal supplement that had been developed and deployed in South Africa. As of December 2005, half of the targeted enrolled population of 150,000 had joined the programme, which was complemented by prior de‐worming of the children.

However, a change in the political leadership in both the federal and state governments led to the abrupt termination of the programme, stalling local production and the establishment of the proposed pan‐Nigeria school feed programme. In 2008, having demonstrated and evaluated the nutritional benefits of Nutri‐Sip, Tetra Pak West Africa transferred the rights to a local processor company interested in reinitiating the school feed initiative. Today, although Tetra Pak West Africa (TPWA) is without a school feed scheme, they are contemplating new sustainable options for milk‐based school feed programmes that encompass the lessons of the Nasarawa pilot and facilitate the implementation of the cow‐to-consumer model that ensures that these programmes will not only serve the nutritional needs of the children, but also address poverty in the value chain.

Further information


Categorisations

Partnership types

Doing business with the poor

Regions / countries / territories

Africa: Nigeria

Global issues

Agriculture, aquaculture and forestry; Food security and nutrition

Business sectors

Medical and health; Retail trade