Food security: how the Ukraine and Russian war affects you.

 

Food security means having, at all times, both physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet dietary needs for a productive and healthy life. A family is food secure when its members do not live in hunger or fear of hunger. According to reports there are 4.5 million food insecure people in Nigeria with the highest number in Lagos. Food insecurity is rooted in poverty with long-term impacts on the ability of families, communities and countries to develop and prosper. 

 

The scenario above was the status quo before the Ukraine-Russian war,now with all the sanctions, bans and restrictions on Russia things are going to be tough. According to Mr Aliko Dangote there is a forecast of food scarcity in the next four months. 

 All Countries with very close economic links with Ukraine and Russia are at particular risk of scarcity and supply disruptions and are most affected by the increasing inflows of refugees.

 According to reports that Russia is among Nigeria’s top 10 import trade partners between the third quarter of 2020 and the corresponding period in 2021, with a total import trade value of N993.38bn. Russia supplies the majority of wheat imported to Nigeria,meaning wheat and wheat products will skyrocket and become more inaccessible to majority. 

 How the Ukraine-Russian war affects you? 

 Wheat is one of the products Nigeria import from Russia.Wheat is typically milled into flour which is then used to make a wide range of foods including bread, noodles, pasta, biscuits, cakes, pastries, cereal ,bars, sweet and savory snack foods, confectionery and in animal feed. 

This means not only will food prices go up,animal feed costs will rise. This war can actually be the time to look inwards and promote alternatives to wheat such as CASSAVA. 

 CASSAVA OUR SUPER FOOD TO THE RESCUE. This is the time to scale up production of cassava as well as promote the processing to GARRI to produce food and confectionery. 

Did you know you could make pasta,noodles, bread and feed from cassava?

 Did you know you could turn garri to bread? 

 Did you know that promoting the processing of cassava to garri you will empower families especially women. 

 Did you know that by promoting the garri business/initiatives more children can be fed healthy meals? The time to shift is here now, Cassava------garri-= empowerment =foodsecurity==forex generation by exporting the Nigerian garri.

AGRIBUSINESS: Nutritional benefits of cassava.

Nutritional benefits of cassava.#Cassava is a perennial, usually grown in tropical climates, very simply propagated by using a cut portion of the stem. The roots, often compared to large yams, can weigh several pounds.The leaves are also used for food and contain 100 times more protein than the root, but both must be cooked and the water discarded. 

  Cassava roots are close to what is known as white potatoes, cassava contains almost twice the calories, and may be the highest-calorie tuber known. 

One cup of boiled cassava contains 330 calories, 78 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of protein and 4 grams each of fiber and sugar. Cassava is naturally gluten-free is extremely useful for celiac patients and others trying to avoid gluten. 

One aspect of cassava is that it's one of several root foods defined by the Philippines' Department of Science and Technology as having a low glycemic index (GI) and therefore good for diabetics. GI is a classification of food based on the blood glucose response to a food relative to a standard glucose solution.

 Low glycemic foods control the release of glucose into the bloodstream at a steady and sustained rate, keeping the body's metabolic processes and energy levels balanced. People with low glycemic diets or [who] eat low glycemic foods are said to have lower risk of getting coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. 

These food items that have low GI would benefit those who are already suffering from diabetes, since these would help in the proper control and management of blood sugar.

 As a low-GI food, eating cassava can also help improve physical endurance because blood glucose levels are moderated instead of dropping when insulin is produced.

 Low-GI foods also may help control triglyceride and other lipid levels in your blood. #Cassava has even been called a "weight loss wonder food" due to its ability to decrease appetite and decrease fat storage in fat cells.

 B-complex vitamins contained in cassava include folate, thiamin, pyridoxine (vitamin B6), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and riboflavin (vitamin B2). 

The root also includes a number of minerals that perform important functions throughout your body.

Cassava also contains saponins that can ease inflammation, break down organic body wastes like uric acid, cleanse mineral deposits from your joints and help balance your gut flora. #cassava #agribusiness #sme #money #entreprreneur