Dike Onwuamaeze
Olam Agri Nigeria, a subsidiary of the Olam Group, has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that would Nigeria would attain self-sufficiency in local wheat production and to provide Nigerians access to quality, nutritious and affordable foods.
This was declared recently by the Country Head of Olam Agri Nigeria, Mr. Ashish Pande, who said that Olan’s wholesome inclination formed part of the four pillars of the business’ Seeds for the Future Foundation that was launched recently.
Olan Agric, which is a leading agribusiness in food, feed and fibre, said that the “Seeds for the Future” initiative is a multi-million naira, multi-year value chain intervention project that is targeted at driving Nigeria closer to attaining wheat production self-sufficiency.
The initiative was initially launched in 2021 but has since been scaled into a full-fledged foundation focusing on supporting farmers and farming communities to strengthen local wheat production; enabling wider education and skills development for young people; empowering women in farming communities; and promoting health and nutrition across the country.
According to Pande, the “Seeds for the Future’s” impressive first-year report showed that the business achieved its milestone of producing 10kg pre-multiplication wheat seed varieties that suit the unique local topography and climate, is a huge step towards enriching the country’s food production value chain. He also said that “we are making an extensive investment in our manufacturing plants, locating them in strategic locations. As well, we are investing in innovative food production processes and food fortification facilities such as Vitamin Premix to enrich the quality and safety of our deep line of packaged food portfolios.”
