The House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has called for stronger legislation to tackle malnutrition and improve Nigerians’ access to safe, nutritious and affordable food.
The committee’s chairman, Chike Okafor, represented by its clerk, Millicent Egenti, made the call at a World Food Day media briefing at the National Assembly in Abuja.
Egenti said persistent cases of stunting, wasting and anaemia, alongside low rates of exclusive breastfeeding, showed the need to strengthen existing nutrition policies with enforceable laws.
She disclosed that the committee was working to improve nutrition governance, including through a bill seeking to establish the Nutritionists Registration Council of Nigeria, which has passed its second reading in the House.
Meanwhile, stakeholders under the Let’s Go Planting initiative have urged the government to increase investment in local agriculture, organic farming and regenerative seeds to safeguard Nigeria’s food sovereignty.
They also called on Nigerians to embrace food production and promote safer farming, food processing and packaging practices to improve food security.
The stakeholders said stronger local agricultural production and safer food-handling methods were important to ensuring access to nutritious food and reducing dependence on external sources.
Their calls came as Nigeria joined other countries to mark World Food Day, with renewed attention on malnutrition, food affordability and sustainable agricultural practices.
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