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Profiling Food Basket International Foundation on World Food Day- FOOD FOR ALL

 

Without balanced diet, medications become ineffective and even dangerous to the sick. Without food, children cannot learn well in schools; without food, the labor force can never be productive and effective, and without food on the table, several tasks will definitely be left undone.

 

Agriculture in Nigeria is a branch of the Nigeria’s economy that provides employment to about 30% of the population as at 2010 and contributes to over 25 percent of its Gross Domestic Product. Prior to the Nigerian civil war, the country churned out agricultural produce that sustained its population, however, but after the discovery of crude oil, agriculture unfortunately transformed to a neglected statue.

 

With core values of compassion and love for humanity, Food Basket Foundation International (FBFI), the very first indigenous nutrition-focused foundation in Nigeria founded in 1989 with the singular mission of helping low income families, particularly the vulnerable. FBFI through the years has provided interventions and services with the aims of alleviating the effects of poverty, promoting nutritious practices geared towards food security, and providing means of developing secured sustainable livelihood to the hungry.

 

FBFI continues to work, at the grassroots, alleviating the effects of poverty on vulnerable populations in a sustainable way; providing nutrition, education and acting as a bridge between those who need the assistance and those who can make the requisite changes to the policies that will make nutrition, food security and sustainable agriculture achievable for healthy lifestyle.

 

FBFI, going all the way to mitigate the effects of poverty, malnutrition, poor health and disease conditions in Nigeria through innovations is also in total readiness to assist low income families within the sub-Saharan African region to obtain a sustainable livelihood system, which would reduce poverty, malnutrition, disease and infant mortality rate.

 

With a focused target audience who randomly fall in the range of women, children and youths, these groups are currently provided with small-scale farming at Community-Based Technology Transfer Centre (CTTC), with the sole purpose to gaining access to new and innovative technologies for increased production and provision of nutritional services.

 

FBFI has provided nutrition education services to several communities – including Aremo community in Ibadan. FBFI organizes feeding programmes in Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Osun and Oyo States. The Foundation, at some point also facilitated the implementation of the Case Study on the Efficacy of Nutrition on Infants and Young Children.

 

Despite the numerous humanitarian projects, some other achievements include: Implementing Gender Informed Nutrition and Agriculture (GINA) project; the use of integrated agriculture and nutrition interventions to improve the nutritional situation of vulnerable groups, particularly children under age five; Accelerating Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) through Child Health Weeks in Ogun and Osun states in collaboration with Micronutritient Initiative (2006-2011); Developed HIV/AIDS and Nutrition training manual for agricultural extension workers in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture; Capacity building via Nutrition Education in Nutritional Care and Support for caretakers of OVCs and PLWHA in Plateau, Edo, Kaduna, Nassarawa, Kogi States and the Federal Capital Territory; Adaptation of curriculum modules focused on improving nutrition through home gardens for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Community-Based and Participatory poverty reduction planning, programe.

 

The Food Basket Foundation International supports the international community towards achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has been able to successfully complete a large number of field studies and publications focused on nutrition, maternal-child health, agriculture, sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction in Nigeria, facilitated training of street food vendors; provided water through deep wells and toilet facilities in several villages in the Akinyele local government area of Ibadan, Oyo State.