The private sector is a critical partner in achieving the universally adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—UNDP 2022. As part of a national strategy to address malnutrition (SDG2), Large-Scale Food Fortification of commonly consumed staple foods and condiments with vitamins and minerals is a proven intervention that requires the concerted engagement of multiple actors in a country’s agri-food and public health ecosystems. Lessons from TechnoServe’s Strengthening African Processors of Fortified Foods (SAPFF) Program, implemented from 2016 to 2022 in Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, provide essential learnings about how to effectively engage, motivate, and improve the food fortification performance of the industry in compliance with national standards, through capacity building, responsive technical assistance, and multistakeholder engagement that builds trust and accountability of industry in the fight against malnutrition.
Background: Sustaining large-scale and good-quality food fortification requires strategies that incentivize food processors to invest in and consistently meet national food fortification standards where they exist. A standardized Micronutrient Fortification Index (MFI) piloted in Nigeria has provided a ranking of fortified branded products for each participating company based on a score aggregating the effectiveness and efficiency of the company’s systems and levels of product fortification. The MFI has demonstrated the significance of brands as a focal point for investment and industry accountability in food fortification and the power of harnessing the competitive nature of businesses to drive their food fortification performance. Results: The initiative started with a pilot consisting of well-known brands of 4 companies and has since expanded participation to 15 companies, representing 31 brands, having completed the first entire ranking cycle. The publicly listed brands on the Index now cover approximately 80% of the flour milling market, 40% of the edible oils market, and 88% of the sugar market in Nigeria, reaching over an estimated 134 million people in the country in 2022 (Based on analysis by TechnoServe Supporting African Processors of Fortified Foods [SAPFF] program in Nigeria. Underlying information as supplied by industry participants.). The data inputs are made through company-owned digital portals, and the results are published on a secure, web-based public portal which also serves as a gateway for stakeholders to access related information on micronutrient fortification and food quality ( https://technoserve-mfi.web.app/ ). The ultimate aim of the MFI is to serve as a leverage for private sector efforts to both digitalize quality assurance and business processes linked to industrial automation and to harness their competitiveness through voluntary participation in the Index to drive improved food fortification performance based on industry best practices and quality benchmarks.
Background: Inadequate coordination mechanisms and capacity to coordinate are limiting factors for maximizing the ability of agriculture to improve nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. Effective coordination requires the availability of a platform for stakeholder convening, planning, operationalization of ideas, communication, and accountability. Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development established one such platform to support the institutionalization of nutrition-sensitive agriculture. Platform members include several departments within the Ministry, other ministries, and development partners. While the platform achieved key milestones and fostered collaboration, some gaps remained. Objective: This study reports an assessment to understand the perspectives of members of the coordination platform and identify ways of increasing effectiveness. Methods: Desk reviews of relevant documents and 18 key informant interviews were conducted. Documents and interview notes were coded and analysed to identify recurring themes. Themes were appraised using a nutrition coordination framework. Results: Sufficiently understanding the nutrition role of representatives’ own organization/department and the purpose of the coordination platform and its activities was important for success. The profile and seniority of representing officers also mattered. While the leadership of the Ministry was committed to advancing nutrition through agriculture, the coordination platform could improve its functionality through consistent leadership, increased seniority of member representatives, and appropriate communication. Conclusions: Multisectoral coordination platforms are necessary but do not alone achieve nutrition coordination. Effective leadership and investments in time, strategic orientation, and training are critical to achieving a shared purpose, individual sector fulfilment of nutrition roles, and additional coordination success factors.
Background: Although recommendations exist for making agriculture and food systems nutrition sensitive, guidance about how to successfully operationalize these recommendations within national institutions is limited. Over the 13 years from 2010 to 2023, there were several undertakings to strengthen the enabling environment for sustainable nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) and food systems in Nigeria. Some studies were also conducted over the period to foster better understanding of the national enabling environment and facilitate effective actions. Objective: This article documents successes and failures from Nigeria’s experiences by reflecting on critical developments, events, policies, and programmes on Nigeria’s journey toward advancing nutrition through agriculture and food systems; as well as findings from conducted studies. Discussion: Successes include the existence of a Nutrition and Food Safety Division in the Ministry of Agriculture and an approval for a Nutrition Department, existence of an agriculture sector nutrition strategy, increased private sector engagement and commitment to nutrition-sensitive food systems, and increased funding for nutrition in the agriculture sector. Challenges especially remain for scaling up strategic, operational, and delivery capacity of both organizations and individuals involved in advancing NSA and food systems. Lessons learned include—institutionalizing NSA and food systems takes time; knowledge brokering is indispensable and requires several collaborating entities and stakeholders; and approaches used should be suited to available government capacity. Conclusion: More than a decade of efforts targeting different enabling environment factors has resulted in greater political commitment for nutrition within the agriculture sector and an improved enabling environment for NSA and food systems.
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