Nollywood films promote Vitamin A Cassava

Henry Ojelu

Nollywood top movie directors, in partnership with HarvestPlus, a global program to improve nutrition, have made four movies to entertain and inform Nigerians on how they can improve their diets and health using Vitamin A enriched cassava.

The movies will premiered on Wednesday 24 September at the 11th Abuja International Film Festival. The movies feature vitamin A cassava as part of their storyline.

In Nigeria, 30 per cent of preschool-aged children and 20 per cent of pregnant women suffer from vitamin A deficiency resulting in poor vision, blindness and sometimes death.

By eating this new yellow cassava variety, women and children can meet almost half their daily needs of vitamin A. But consumers first have to be convinced to switch over from the traditional white cassava.

“No doubt these movies will go a long way in addressing the scarce nutrition information we have in this part of the world. We are optimistic that they will help educate the Nigerian populace that consumes cassava,” said Zeb Ejiro of Smile Africa, which represents Nollywood’s top directors.

He noted that with more than 75 per cent of Nigerians watching Nollywood movies, both in rural or urban areas, the movies have an important role to play in encouraging all Nigerians to grow and eat this nutritious cassava.

The movies star Nigeria’s top actors – Segun Arinze, Monalisa Chinda, Chidi Muokeme and Emeka Ossai, among others. The four movies are: The Yellow Cassava (English), Dada Oni Paki (Yoruba), Ebiyebi (Ibo) and Sakani (Hausa). Each is in a different language to ensure that all Nigerians can learn about the benefits of vitamin A cassava.

The Ministry of Agriculture is promoting vitamin A cassava under its ambitious Agricultural Transformation Agenda
and has been a key supporter of Smile Africa’s vitamin A cassava-themed movies.

It has also supported HarvestPlus and its partners in distributing vitamin A cassava stems to over 500,000 farmers in 3,000 villages and connecting farmers, processors and sales outlets to ensure that vitamin A cassava is available to the average Nigerian.

“Nutritious foods are critical for good health, but a powerful communication channel is needed to drive this message home,” said Paul Ilona, the HarvestPlus Nigeria Country Manager.

“Nollywood produces the most popular and widely accessible films not just in Nigeria, but throughout Africa. This partnership will greatly expand the audience for our messaging on vitamin A deficiency and the nutritional benefits of vitamin A cassava. It supports our goal to reach 10 million Nigerians with this nutritious cassava variety over the next four years,” he added.

The Nigerian Actors Guild led by its President, Ibinabo Fiberesima, will attend the launch along with the films’ directors and stars.

Also invited to the premiere are Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, his counterpart in the Ministry of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, Directors-General of governmental parastatals and other regulatory bodies in Nigeria such as the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).