1. CIP Projects & Activities on Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Nigeria
the Advocacy meeting with Ogun state Government
Olapeju Phorbee-PhD
Country Director, CIP- Nigeria
15th Sept, 2017

2. Brief About CIP
The International Potato Center, known by its Spanish acronym CIP
It is a root and tuber research-for-development institution delivering sustainable solutions to the pressing world problems of hunger, poverty, and the degradation of natural resources.  
CIP is a global center, with headquarters in Lima, Peru and offices in 30 developing countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Working closely with partners, CIP seeks to achieve food security, increased well-being, and gender equity for poor people in the developing world.
CIP furthers its mission through rigorous research, innovation in science and technology, and capacity strengthening regarding root and tuber farming and food systems.
CIP is part of the CGIAR Consortium, a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food secure future.
CGIAR research is dedicated to reducing rural poverty, increasing food security, improving human health and nutrition, and ensuring more sustainable management of natural resources.
Donors include individual countries, major foundations, and international entities.

3. CIP has various approaches and strategies and one of them is
How is CIP doing?
CIP has various approaches and strategies and one of them is
Biofortication

4. Biofortification – the concept
Biofortification - increasing the density of vitamins and minerals in a crop through plant breeding or agronomic practices
The biofortified crops, when consumed regularly, will generate measurable improvement in micronutrient status
Hence, targeting of staple crops
Biofortification is a complementary tool to existing nutrition interventions.
Biofortification is cost-effective and sustainable on its own. Often a one-time investment.
Target group is farmers who produce and home consume large quantities of biofortified staple crops and typically suffer from MD
Generic: Our work: HarvestPlus and its partners are developing and promoting biofortified staple crops through plant breeding to increase the density of vitamins and minerals, sufficient to impact human health and nutrition. [All HarvestPlus crops released by governments to date are conventionally bred.]
Focus on iron, zinc and vitamin A

5. Strategies for Tackling Hidden Hunger

6. Biofortification in Vogue!
Kuwait 2016 Al-Sumait Food Security Prize for Development in Africa Awarded!
for their ground-breaking studies on the causes of undernourishment and solutions
Vitamin A rich sweetpotato (OFSP)
Vitamin A maize, cassava others
Biofortification - breeding critical vitamins and micronutrients into staple crops,
Helped reduce hidden hunger
Biofortification is gaining importance!
Seize the moment!

7. Why Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP)?
OFSP varieties of sweetpotato are improved varieties that are enrich with pro-vitamin A
Vitamin A deficiency is one of the major health problems in developing countries because of poverty, food insecurity
Other common white-fleshed varieties are rich in both micro and macro nutrients except vitamin A
Vitamin A is an important vitamin to all humans especially women and children
The crop can be grown in all the 36 states of Nigeria
It has short production cycle (3-4 months), which makes it a suitable industrial raw material

8. CIP Projects in Nigeria on OFSP since 2011
Reaching Agent of Change (RAC)
Sweetpotato for Health & Wealth in Nigeria (Rainbow Project)
Jumpstarting OFSP for Diversified Markets in West Africa
SASHA-Pre Basics
Building Nutritious Food Baskets Project in Nigeria

9. Reaching Agents of Change (RAC)
The main focus of RAC was on increasing awareness about vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and strengthening both the technical and advocacy capacity for the successful utilization of OFSP in nutrition interventions. The project advocated for increased investment in OFSP to combat VAD among young children and women of reproductive age, Also built the institutional capacity to design and implement gender-sensitive projects to ensure wide access and utilization of OFSP in selected African countries

10. RAC Preliminary Achievements
Raising of Advocates for OFSP in 3 states in Nigeria.
Multiplication of critical foundation material at NRCRI stations
National release of two OFSP varieties, Mother’s Delight and King in 2012/2013.
RAC collaboration with the Agriculture and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) Ilorin, Kwara state to establish an annual 10-day training course on Everything you ever wanted to know about SP.
MOTHER’S DELIGHT
KING ‘J’
Everything you ever wanted to know about Sweetpotato course Manuals

11. Rainbow Project Summary
Project Objective Building of a community of practice that will effectively contribute to the reduction of food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty in Nigeria through leveraging the unexploited potentials of OFSP and improving market opportunities for all types of sweetpotato. Project Implementer CIP Locations: FCT, Nassarawa, Benue, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kwara and Osun states Partners NRCRI, Umudike, FUNAAB, HKI & Kwara Poly, Offa, ADPs, FMARD Duration: 4 year but obligation is on yearly basis

12. Our activities cover the entire value chain
Vine Multiplication
Vine Dissemination
Capacity Building/Strengthening
Product Development
Root Production
Demand Creation
Monitoring & Evaluation
Others: Triple ‘S’, research activities
Market Linkage
Administration

14. Specific Activities/Achievements
Osun State: Inclusion of OFSP in the School feeding program

15. School Feeding Sensitization

16. Inclusion of OFSP in the IYCF Program
CIP collaborated with HKI-SPRING Project on IYCF in 2 states-Benue & FCT
Vines were disseminated to the IYCF support groups
The support groups were trained on OFSP planting and basic processing
The inclusion successfully linked nutrition and agriculture
Other roles of HKI in Rainbow project includes advocacy, awareness and demand creation

17. Clinic Sensitizations

18. Jumpstarting Project Focused on creating diversified markets for OFSP.
Continue with scaling up of the school feeding program in Osun state
Today OFSP in pottage is served in over 174 public schools in Osun state

20. Pre Basics seed Production- SASHA Project
The Sweetpotato Action for Security and Health in Africa (SASHA) is a 10-year research project designed to improve the food security and health of poor families in SSA, by exploiting the untapped potential of sweetpotato.
SASHA is part of the continent wide Sweetpotato for Profit and Health Initiative (SPHI) co-led by CIP and FARA which aims to reach 10 million households across Africa by 2020.
Since July 2015 the SASHA project has collaborated with the National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike to develop and test a model for sustainable pre-basic seed production for the timely availability of quality sweetpotato planting materials.
Activities are implemented at the two stations of the NRCRI in Abia and Osun states and Kano and Kaduna states. These are important sweetpotato producing areas, and seed production activities are being linked into institutional markets for roots.

21. The specific objectives are to:
Ensure increased capacity for production of high quality sweetpotato planting materials by public and private sector
Enhance the awareness and commercialization of high quality sweetpotato planting material among stakeholders
Quality assurance of sweetpotato pre-basic seed and quality declared seed established
Achievements to date include
Infrastructure improvement
Training in tissue culture micro-propagation and screen house management
Production of 75,000pre-basic cuttings and drafting of seed standards for sweetpotato quality declared planting material

22. Building Nutritious Food Baskets (BNFB) Project
Three-year project (Nov 2015 –Oct 2018) funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Adopts a multi-crop – nutritious ‘food basket’ approach (biofortified beans, cassava, maize, sweetpotato)
Implemented in Nigeria and Tanzania - builds on the success of the Reaching Agents of Change (RAC) project

23. Building Nutritious Food Baskets (BNFB) Project
Led by the CIP and implemented through a consortium of partners with diverse expertise:
CIAT - high iron beans
CIMMYT - pro-vitamin A (orange) maize
CIP - orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP), advocacy and capacity development
IITA - vitamin A (yellow) cassava, pro-vitamin A (orange) maize
HarvestPlus - scaling up biofortification at country level
FARA - policy engagement and advocacy at regional level
Governments of Nigeria and Tanzania
Range of national, regional, international partners from public, private and civil society organizations

24. BNFB Goal, Purpose & Objectives
Reduce hidden hunger
OBJ 1: Strengthen enabling environment for investments
OBJ 2: Strengthen institutional & community capabilities
Purpose:
Demonstrate how scaling up of “multiple biofortified crops” can be achieved
“Scaling up is dependent on supportive policy environment, strong institutional capacities and proven technologies”

25. Project Outputs Improved supportive policy & investment
environment for
biofortification in Nigeria
& Tanzania
Strengthened institutional & community capabilities to produce & consume biofortified crops .

26. Some Achievements to Date in Nigeria
A series of high level advocacy engagements
National advocates identified
Enhanced capacity of selected Stakeholders
Inclusion of biofortification in the country plans
Nigeria Food security and Nutrition Strategic Plan
Strategy plan for the revised Food & Nutrition Policy-Nigeria
National advocacy brief-Nigeria
PVA (orange) maize - Nigeria
Nigeria – 3 tons breeder seed provided to seed companies for production and dissemination of PVA maize varieties

27. Invitation! You & I can make the difference!
Choose to be part of the solution!
Let us pull together to reduce hidden hunger!
African Union (AU)’s Agenda 2063
Malabo Commitment - end hunger, reduce stunting to below 10% by 2025
Sustainable Development Goal 2 Target end hunger & ensure access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food by all people by 2030
Global Nutrition Targets – cut down stunting by 40% by 2025

28. THANK YOU!!!!