Enugu – Chief Edward Ubosi, the Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, has advised Nigerians to eat nutritious foods to ensure healthy living.
Ubosi made the call in Enugu on Wednesday at the ongoing Nutritious Food Fair organised by an international organization, HarvestPlus, in collaboration with the state government.
The speaker identified poor diet lacking adequate micronutrients such as Vitamin A, iron and zinc as the cause of some ailments and underscored the need for Nigerians, especially youths, to embrace farming in order to grow nutritious foods.
“People should go into farming as it is the only saviour for our economy and healthy living.”
The speaker expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the fair and pledged government’s continued support.
The Country Manager of Harvest Plus Nigeria, Mr Paul Ilona, said the fair was aimed at creating awareness on nutritious varieties of staple food crops that contain vitamin A, iron and zinc.
Ilona said that the three key nutrients played vital roles in the body system as well as boosts body immunity.
The country manager expressed concern that processed food had dominated Nigerian diets, creating room for all sorts of illnesses including cancer.
“If we have staple food with nutrients, we will contribute to boost health and reduce government expenditure on health.
“We lose 2,300 children and 145 women every day to malnutrition and this calls for serious concern,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the fair featured the exhibition on a variety of food crops including cassava, sweet potatoes and maize as well as agro-industrial machines.
Other activities at the fair included seminars on farming, processing and marketing of agricultural products. (NAN)