THE NIGERIANACADEMY OF SCIENCE

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Website: http://www.nas.org.ng
The Nigerian Academy of Science,
Cover Pix: The Nigeria Academy of Science
ISBN: 978 978 1533990
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ABOUT THE NIGERIAN ACADEMY

OF SCIENCE

he Nigerian Academy of Science was inaugurated on 8th of January

1977 by an initial group of forty-one Foundation Fellows comprising
distinguished scientists in the pure and applied sciences. It is therefore
one of the oldest scientific academies in Africa. The Academy has since grown
in membership and diversity into the highest scientific honour society in
Nigeria. It has a membership of distinguished scientists from several fields in
the physical and biological sciences.
Since inception, the Academy has operated as a voluntary organization,
independent of government control, but collaborating with the government in
the growth and development of science and technology in Nigeria .The Nigerian
Academy of Science is now the highest intellectual body in the field of Science
and Technology in Nigeria, and highlights evidenced-based research so that
the policies and reforms of the country are suitable to prevailing conditions
and peculiarities. The vision of NAS is to be the foremost adviser to Nigeria
on scientific development.

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PREFACE

igeria is considered to be a food secure nation, but malnutrition

persists and is a large and increasing public health challenge despite
increasing agricultural production and programmes. There is a need
to better understand the reasons for the weak linkage between agriculture
and nutrition and to find ways forward to strengthen the links to improve
nutrition.
The Nigerian Academy of Science, in collaboration with the US National
Academies, and with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,
organised a two-day workshop titled Agriculture for improved nutrition of
women and children in Nigeria to promote linkages between agriculture and
nutrition with the aim of improving the nutritional status of women and children
in Nigeria. The specific objectives were to convene multi-sectoral stakeholders
to discuss and assess the impact of past national agricultural interventions in
improving nutritional outcomes; to review present national agricultural and
nutrition policies and intervention programs and discuss their problems and
prospects in improving nutrition outcomes; and to propose ways forward in
linking agriculture and nutrition for improving nutrition of women and children
in Nigeria. This workshop took place on November 30 and December 1,
2010 at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre Ballroom of the Sheraton Hotels
and Towers, Abuja, Nigeria, and attracted 103 participants from the academia,
government, civil society, international agencies and the media.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

he Nigerian Academy of Science thanks the following individuals for

their participation in the review process:

Efiom Ene-Obong FAS - Professor/ Vice Chancellor, Cross River University

of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria
Tola Atinmo Professor of Nutrition, Department of Human Nutrition,
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Maureen Gallagher - Nutrition Specialist, Action Against Hunger International,
Abuja, Nigeria
Ibiyemi Olayiwola - Head of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta, Nigeria
The review of this report was overseen by the NAS leadership, which was
responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report
was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review
comments were carefully considered. Although the reviewers provided many
useful comments, they were not asked to endorse the final draft of the report.
NAS gratefully acknowledges the sponsors of this workshop, the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation. Special thanks are also extended to Lauren
Alexander, Patricia Cuff and Christian Acemah of the USNAS for their close
collaboration with the NAS staff in planning, implementing and disseminating
all workshop activities as well as to Dan Sellen and Joanna Nwosu who
assisted with transcripts and writing the report of the workshop activities.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................. Vii
1. CORE CONCEPTS ....................................................................... 1
Concepts .............................................................................................. 1
Indicators ............................................................................................. 4
Conceptual frameworks ........................................................................ 6
Links to agriculture .............................................................................. 12
Summary ............................................................................................. 13
2. MALNUTRITION AMONG WOMEN AND YOUNG
CHILDREN ................................................................................. 14
Measures available .............................................................................. 14
Broader impact .................................................................................... 22
Summary ............................................................................................. 25
3. ADDRESSING NUTRITION SECURITY NEEDS
THROUGH AGRICULTURE .................................................... 27
Challenges to meeting food and nutrition security needs ......................... 29
Past agricultural interventions to improve nutrition ................................ 33
Experience in other countries ................................................................ 38
Summary ............................................................................................. 41
4. AGRICULTURE AND NUTRITION POLICY ......................... 43
Governance ......................................................................................... 43
Challenges for national coordination ..................................................... 48
Proposal for a National Nutrition Council (NNC) ................................. 49
Summary ............................................................................................. 50
5. INTEGRATING NUTRITION INTO AGRICULTURAL
RESEARCH ................................................................................ 52
Role of nutrition scientists ..................................................................... 52
Nutrition research relevant to agriculture ............................................... 52
Constraints on integrated research in nutrition and agriculture in Nigeria . 59
Summary ............................................................................................. 59

6. THE WAY FORWARD IN NIGERIA ........................................ 60

Strengthening links between agriculture with nutrition ............................. 60
Leveraging existing knowledge and capacity ......................................... 61
Prioritized list of actions ....................................................................... 66
APPENDIX A: LIST OF ACRONYMS ........................................... 68
APPENDIX B: WORKSHOP AGENDA ........................................ 71
APPENDIX C: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS ..................................... 76
APPENDIX D: WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITTEE .......... 81

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

espite recognition of the severe social, economic, and medical

consequences of malnutrition on pregnant women and young children,
malnutrition remains a major challenge for Nigeria. Information
gathered and presented at the workshop on Agriculture for improved nutrition
of women and children in Nigeria addressed four main objectives: to promote
collaboration between the two sectors; review the impact of past agricultural
interventions on nutritional outcomes; review present agricultural and nutrition
policies and their problems and prospects on improving nutritional outcomes;
gather lessons learned on linking agriculture and nutrition and propose ways
forward.
There is a paradox of agriculture in Nigeria; increased food production
alone is not sufficient to improve nutrition. The food supply in Nigeria is high
relative to other African countries and apparently adequate to feed the
population well, but nutritional indices are poor. Indicators of poor nutrition
security, undernutrition and, micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent in Nigeria,
leading to mortality, morbidity, diminished human capacity, delays in achieving
development goals and substantial economic losses. Trends have shown
stagnation or worsening of nutritional indices in women and children in Nigeria
over several decades. Hunger and malnutrition severely hamper Nigerias
economic productivity and development goals.
There have been numerous agricultural programmes in Nigeria, most
of which are donor-driven and few with improved nutrition as a specific
objective. The focus of most agricultural programmmes have been on economic
development and poverty reduction, perhaps with nutrition as an implied goal
but not an implicit one. The nutrition impact of past agricultural interventions
was either unmeasured or limited and future projects should focus on nutrition
security outcomes. Climate change is affecting agricultural production in Nigeria
and there are no policies in place to address or mitigate the associated
opportunities and threats.
There is limited synergy between Nigerias current policies on nutrition
and agriculture. Existing links between policy makers, independent researchers,
and the food and agriculture industry are weak in Nigeria. Nutrition interventions
are largely donor-driven, and are often not food-based, focused on livelihoods
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or sustainable, and usually do not address the root causes of poor nutrition.
Gender equity is important in agriculture and nutrition, because economic
and educational empowerment of women translates into better nutritional
indices in both women and children. However, few agricultural policies or
programmes focus on women producers. Nigeria is not keeping pace with
other countries in the African region, some of which have radically improved
nutritional indices in recent years through a combination of strategic
interventions in agriculture.
At this workshop, experts have offered a rich and impressive variety
of suggestions for action to address malnutrition through agriculture in Nigeria,
and these have been condensed into a prioritised list of actions. Strategies
that have been applied in other countries that offer untapped potential in Nigeria
include: cultivation of biofortified crops, credit lines for farmer cooperatives,
community-driven school meal programmes, urban agriculture, food
fortification, nutrition education targeted at both men and women, and improved
provision of clean water and sanitation. Progress in linking nutrition and
agriculture in Nigeria will depend on overcoming the weaknesses of previous
multisectoral collaboration and leveraging on existing capacity, especially in
agricultural extension and research.
The following proposals emerged at the end of the workshop:
1.

There is a need to incorporate a nutrition agenda with clear links to the

agricultural sector into the National Development Plan with reference
to the MDGs, Vision 202020, NEEDS 2, NEPAD, the National 7point Agenda, and the National Food and Nutrition Policy;

2.

The federal government should inaugurate, without further delay, the

National Nutrition Council (NNC) already approved by the Federal
Executive Council comprising representatives of all key stakeholders
including the agricultural sector, and empower this Council with the
mandate to promote and coordinate all nutrition-related policy and
programmatic interventions in Nigeria;

3.

Adequate funding should be allocated in the budgets of the relevant

government ministries and parastatals to promote and support linkages
between the agriculture and nutrition sectors in the areas of policy
development, research, planning and implementation of nutrition and
agricultural interventions.
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4.

Researchers should collaborate with the Ministries of Education, Health,

and Agriculture to develop and implement a curriculum that links nutrition,
agriculture and health together with the aim of producing graduates
who are better equipped to promote integration of the sectors.

5.

Private sector food production, processing, packaging and marketing

industries should be encouraged to build partnerships with research
and training institutions engaged in agricultural, nutrition and biofortification/biotechnology research and evaluation;

6.

International agencies and non-governmental organisations should

include a focus on strengthening synergies between agriculture and
nutrition in the development, implementation and evaluation of their
intervention programmes;

7.

The relevant coordinating bodies should be charged and empowered

to develop strong communication strategies, using the media as well as
NGOs and civil society groups, for dissemination of information about
and creation of demand for nutrient fortified agricultural products.

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