From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Chairman of South-South Governors’ Forum and governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has advocated the need for relevant stakeholders to come up with policies to improve nutrition in the entire region.
Okowa lamented that the consumption of vital nutrients such as cereals, beans, animal protein, in the region was far below the recommended standard by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The governor spoke in Asaba, the Delta State capital, where he declared open a one-day Regional Exploratory Dialogue for the United Nations Food Systems Summit.
Organised by the state government in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, the dialogue was held for participants in Delta, Edo and Bayelsa states.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Chiedu Ebie, Okowa stated that the South-South region like other parts of the country has nutritional issues, which have resulted in gross undernourishment.
“Available statistics indicate that in the South-South geo-political zone of Nigeria, per capita production and consumption levels for cereal, beans/pulses, fat and oil as well as fruit and vegetables are constantly lower than the Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation recommended values.