Italy bolsters trade with Nigeria following €346M food packaging industry investment to fight malnutrition

03 Apr 2023 --- Italy’s consulate-general to Nigeria, Ugo Boni, has announced Italy will expand its current US$2.4 billion trade cooperation with Nigeria at the West African Cold Chain Summit and Exhibition in Lagos. The theme of the event was “Delivering Food and Nutrition Security through Cold Chain in Africa.”

The event brought companies and organizations in Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries together to organize the different industry sectors participating in the cold chain supply of perishable commodities and products. 

This year, Nigeria became Africa’s largest investor in food and packaging technology, committing €346 million (US$374.8 million) to the industry. 

“For the first time since 2021, Nigeria became the largest investor in food and packaging technology in Africa with an investment of €346 million, ahead of Egypt’s €341 million (US$369.4 million) and South Africa’s €293 million (US$317.4 million), according to data from the Germany Machinery Association,” Boni said at the summit. 

Nigeria becomes the largest investor in food packaging in Africa.Food packaging to reduce waste
The consulate-general said the summit is critical as the world boosts its efforts to achieve food security, particularly for developing economies. 

He plans to invest in the food and agricultural sector as part of Italy’s effort to strengthen its trade relations with Nigeria. Boni continues that the priorities of Italian investors were agro-industrial and food-processing machinery. 

The exhibition showcases and works to create more cool and cold food packaging solutions to keep them fresh. 

Nigeria’s investment in food packaging technology could create more solutions to retaining the freshness of cold food products. This, in turn, could reduce food waste and provide fresher products to many countries that need them. 

Innovations to supply food
Lagos State commissioner for agriculture, Ruth Olusanya, said the government was working to make the state a key logistics hub to assist the flow of food trade and open market access.

She called on the private sector to partner with the government in the logistics sector, as the economy has grown fast in the food business. She also asked the private sector to partner with the government in the logistics sector. 

The minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, also spoke at the event. She said over ten million children across 57,517 schools benefit from Nigeria’s National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).

The NHGSFP was created to provide a nutritious and balanced meal to 5.5 million schoolchildren in first through third grade. Nigeria works to combat malnutrition with innovations in food packaging. 

Combating malnutrition 
Suzan Simpa, nutrition officer of the NHGSFP, says that through various agencies and programs, the ministry is working to achieve the set 2025 target of reducing the proportion of people who suffer malnutrition by 50%. The ministry plans to do so by scaling up nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions.

Sixty percent, or 799 million people, in Africa are affected by moderate or severe food insecurity, the highest level globally. 

Regional director of Technoserve Larry Umunna said food fortification was being promoted to improve the population’s malnutrition dramatically. He explained that food processing companies have the right tools and knowledge to track and enhance fortification, marking significant progress in fighting malnutrition in Nigeria and beyond.

In June last year, UNICEF warned that eight million children below five years old are at risk of death from severe wasting in the horn of Africa.

It was noted that 126,927 women are employed as cooks and vendors, and thousands of smallholder farmers are given work from the program. 

By Sabine Waldeck