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Video - Nigeria rolls out rice subsidy as economic woes deepen

With inflation hitting a near three-decade high of 33.4 percent in July, millions of Nigerians have struggled to keep up with rising food costs. This subsidy comes as a lifeline for many families teetering on the edge. However, the rice sale is limited to public servants and those with a National Identification Number (or NIN), leaving many out of the program.

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Video - Nigeria’s health authorities to fortify bouillon cubes to improve diets

Bouillon cubes, typically made from salt, sugars, starch, vegetable fats and proteins, as well as herbs and spices, are widely used in Nigeria. Experts say their fortification could vastly improve the diets of millions of families living on restricted budgets, as they cannot afford protein-rich meals like fish and meat.

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Video - Nigeria spends $1.5 billion annually on dairy imports

The growing demand for dairy products in Nigeria, coupled with limited local production, has led the government to spend $1.5 billion annually on imports. Currently, local dairy production meets only 40% of the country’s demand, as Africa's most populous nation continues to struggle with boosting its milk output.

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Is Nigeria, finally ready for McDonald’s?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Roswell to Guantanamo Bay, no matter where you are in the word, the famous Golden Arches often aren’t far away. However, McDonald's Africa is yet to be fully established.

Worldwide, there are 36,899 McDonald’s, stretching across 120 countries. When you map out where McDonald’s aren't, however, it shows one continent in particular is lacking the Big Mac: Africa.

The biggest obstacle blocking McDonald’s from Nigeria is a lack of adequate supply chains. Geographically, Nigeria lies too far from South Africa, Egypt or Morocco to simply expand existing supply chains.

Countries with no existing McDonald’s outlets are highlighted here in red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although Africa is home to over 1.2bn people, McDonald’s is present in just four African countries: Morocco, Egypt, South Africa and Mauritius.

Combined, these markets contain a paltry 387 McDonald’s. To give a better perspective, there are 393 McDonald’s outlets in Mexico alone.

As core Western markets continue to stagnate, fast food companies should turn their attention to the largely unsaturated African markets. And where better than the economic powerhouse, Nigeria.

In 2015, McDonald’s South Africa CEO, Greg Solomon, claimed that “it was not about if, but when” the brand would be entering Nigeria. However, news on the subject has since all but dried up.

Over half of global population growth will occur in Africa between now and 2050, according to a recent PwC report with Nigeria’s population alone expected to reach around 400m in 2050, which would make it the third most populous nation in the world.

Economically, the Nigerian market is also becoming increasingly attractive to fast food chains.

Nigeria’s GDP per capita has risen from $379.12 at the turn of the Millennium, to $2,177.99 in 2016, while 46 percent of people in Nigeria say their disposable incomes are increasing, according to a recent GlobalData survey.

The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index for 2018 also saw the country rise to 145th, up from 169th in 2017.

The McDonald’s brand -- due to being a US brand -- would likely be viewed positively compared to domestic fast food chains. GlobalData research found 48 percent of Nigerian consumers associate the US with high quality food and drink, higher than both Europe (34 percent) and Nigeria itself (30 percent).

"Is Africa, and Nigeria, finally ready for McDonald’s?" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.

Global Data

Poultry farming sector hit by inflation in Nigeria

Nigeria's poultry farming sector is experiencing widespread problems. Rising costs of feed, drugs, and production have led to the closure of 30 percent of farms within just six months.

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Health authorities in Nigeria issue warning against locally-made beverages

 

Nigerian health officials have cautioned against consuming locally-made drinks believed to contribute to the spread of cholera, which has claimed over 60 lives in the country this year. The drinks are often produced by unlicensed traders who often use untreated water. 

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Video - Tomato industry in disarray in Nigeria over attack by Tuta absoluta moth pest

The attacks by the pest have resulted in a tomato shortage, hitting markets very hard. Traders are also straining to maintain their regular output, while consumers are struggling to find alternatives.

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Ginger farmers in Nigeria struggle after outbreak of disease

Nigeria is one of the world’s leading producers of ginger, but a massive outbreak of fungal disease last year caused millions of dollars of damage. The Nigerian government has launched an emergency recovery intervention to help ginger farmers. Timothy Obiezu reports from Kaduna.

VOA

Video - Cost of making jollof rice in Nigeria surges

Jollof rice, one of Nigeria's most beloved meals, is becoming a rarity in many households as the prices of ingredients have risen by more than 150 percent over the past year.

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Nigerian farmers abandon farms after attacks, sending food prices higher

Hassan Ya'u, a 42-year-old maize and sesame seed farmer in Nigeria's northern Katsina state, was tending to his crops early this month when dozens of armed men on motorcycles rode towards his plot and started shooting at close range.

Ya'u and fellow farmer Musa Nasidi managed to escape, but at least 50 people - many of them farmers working their fields at the time - were killed in the attack in the latest in a series of deadly raids on farming areas.

An unknown number of people were abducted in the assault, which was carried out in broad daylight.
Ya'u and Nasidi said the gunmen had attacked their Kankara farming community because farmers had not paid a levy imposed by the armed gang.

Such raids are forcing many farmers to leave their fields, contributing to higher food prices and soaring inflation as Nigeria faces the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

"They set ablaze my produce and took away foodstuff worth about 4 million naira ($2,739.73)," said Ya'u, who has sought refuge in Daura town, nearly 200 km (124 miles) from Kankara.

"I don't have access to my farm because bandits have taken control of the area. Everything has been ruined," added the father of 13 children who faces an uncertain future.

Armed gangs demand as much as three million naira per village, depending on the size, to allow farmers to work.

"The farmers are even forming vigilante groups to make sure they are able to access the farms but it is still very difficult," said Kabir Ibrahim, president of All Farmers Association of Nigeria.

Northern Nigeria produces the bulk of the country's staples like rice, yam and maize, but it is also its most unstable region, as armed kidnapping gangs attack and pillage villages in the northwest while Islamist militants cause havoc in the northeast.

Nasidi, 36, fled to near Katsina town after the Kankara attack.

He used to harvest about 400 bags of groundnuts, 80 bags of sesame seed and 200 bags of maize, he said, but now faces a bleak year after part of his 8.5-hectare farm was set ablaze by bandits.

"The situation is beyond our control and I was left with no choice other than to leave Kankara because our lives were in danger," Nasidi told Reuters.

A World Food Programme report on the outlook for acute food insecurity globally said Nigeria has joined the world's "hunger hotspots", which analysts attribute to insecurity in farming areas and high costs of seed, fertiliser, chemicals and diesel.

Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence said 1,356 farmers in Nigeria were killed since 2020. This year, 137 deaths had been recorded, it said, adding that farming was becoming a dangerous occupation.

"The risk is very grave," said Confidence McHarry, SBM's lead security analyst, adding that gunmen also attacked farmers "on suspicion of collaborating with the military."

Defence spokesperson Major General Edward Buba said that with the rainy season under way, the military was prioritising farmers' security.

"The farmers union are keying into the farm protection plan of the armed forces to make the best of the rainy season," he said, without elaborating.

But for 22-year-old farmer Abdulaziz Gora in Zamfara state, next to Katsina, there is little hope of returning to his farm. He relocated to state capital Gusau after a violent attack on his village in May, abandoning his soybean and maize crops.

"Anyone caught there risks being kidnapped or killed," he said. 

By Ope Adetayo and Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters

Related story: Nigeria gunmen kill at least 25 in village raid, officials say

Nigeria Spends $600m Importing Palm Oil Annually

The National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN) says Nigeria spends $600 million on palm oil importation annually.

Alphonsus Inyang, the national president of the association, stated this in an interview with NAN yesterday in Abuja. He described the expenses as unhealthy for national development.

Inyang said the money could be saved and injected into the economy if the palm oil sub-sector was given due attention by successive governments.

The president regretted that Nigeria, which was self-sufficient in palm oil production in the past, now spends a huge amount to import the same product.

Inyang recalled that in the 60s, Nigeria was number one in palm oil production and exportation globally, controlling over 60 per cent of world palm oil.

He said that the reverse was the case at the moment as over 50 percent of what we consume is imported.

“At the moment, the country occupies the fifth position in the league of palm oil-producing countries after Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Colombia.

“Nigeria may even lose the position to smaller countries who are investing heavily in the sector.

“Indonesia occupies the first position, producing 50 million metric tons, Malaysia second with 19 million metric tons, Thailand 3.28 million and Colombia 1.9 million metric tonnes,” he said.

The president attributed the challenge to the neglect of the sector by successive governments.

Inyang said that based on the U.S. The Department of Agriculture, Nigeria currently occupies fifth position in the league of palm oil-producing countries with 1.5 percent or 1.4 million metric tonnes of the world’s total output.

“Nigeria was overthrown as the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter by Malaysia and Indonesia in 1966.

“Currently, Nigeria is the largest consumer of the product in the continent, consuming approximately three million metric tons yearly.

“Domestic production stands at less than 1.4 million metric tons, leaving a deficit of over 1.6 million metric tonnes,’’ he said.

Inyang specifically called on the federal ministry of agriculture and food security, to support NPPAN members with seedlings to develop 250,000 hectares per year.

“Our members can plant up to 250,000 hectares per year through the association’s National Oil Palm Strategy Development Plan; all we want are inputs.

“The government does not need to give and develop land for us, we need seedlings, fertilisers, logistics and implements to close this gap within four years.

“We will also create new millionaires in 28 states of the federation,” he said.

Leadership

Related story: Video - Nigerian palm farmers eye lucrative opportunities in domestic market

Video - Price of ram skyrockets in Nigeria as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha

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Video - Hike in number of malnourished children overwhelms health facilities in Nigeria

Doctors Without Borders reported that its Nigerian health facilities are dealing with severely malnourished children with life-threatening complications. The group says the number of admitted cases doubled in April due to violent conflicts.

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Video - UNICEF fights malnutrition in Nigeria

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Nigeria strike: ‘My monthly pay won't buy a bag of rice’

As an indefinite general strike begins in Nigeria, one worker tells the BBC that it’s impossible to survive on what the government is proposing as a minimum wage as it is not enough to buy a bag of rice.

Security guard Mallam Magaji Garba says he needs 50kg of rice, which costs 75,000 naira ($56; £44), to feed his family each month, before taking other expenses into account.

The minimum wage is currently 30,000 naira, which the government is offering to double.

Nigeria's unions under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress are demanding it be raised to 494,000 naira, which they say reflects the current economic realities.


Nigerian information minister says accepting the union demands would cripple the economy and lead to job losses because business would not be able to pay their workers and so have to close.

The walkout has caused disruption at the country’s busiest airport, Murtala Muhammed International in Lagos, with passengers saying they have been left stranded outside the domestic terminal.

Workers in health, banking, aviation and other major sectors are expected to stay away from work, a move that will cripple the West African country's economy.

Mr Magaji, who works for the education ministry in the northern city of Kano, says he and his family of 14 are struggling to survive.

“I am calling on the government to consider us and increase the minimum wage so that we can live and eat decently.

“It’s not fair that we have top government officials earning millions monthly and the smallest workers earn so little and finding it difficult to feed.”

The 59-year-old said he sometimes has to walk to work as he cannot afford to pay for transport.

Nigerians have been hit by a double whammy of the removal of a fuel subsidy and a collapse in the value of the naira since President Bola Tinubu took office a year ago.

Mr Tinubu says the measures are necessary to reform the economy so it works better in the long term but in the short term, inflation has risen to nearly 34%.

The government has ended the policy of pegging the value of the naira to the US dollar, allowing it to dramatically depreciate. Whereas 10,000 naira would have bought $22 last May, it will now only purchase $6.80.

Mansur Abubakar, BBC 

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Nigeria approves GMO Corn for planting

Amidst concerns over the adoption of Genetically Modified Crops in Nigeria, the federal government, in January, approved the commercial release of four “Tela maize” varieties for commercial planting in the country.

The move placed Nigeria second in the list of African countries that have adopted and commercialised the “T maize” varieties after South Africa, a report published in February, by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) noted.

“In addition to South Africa, Nigeria has become the second country in Africa to approve the commercialization of genetically engineered corn,” the report said.

Tela maize is a maize variety that has been genetically engineered for improved insect resistance and drought tolerance, to boost farmers’ yield per hectare and also complement existing demand gaps.
 

GMO debate in Nigeria

Over the past decade, the adoption of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), commonly referred to as GM seeds by crop farmers has been a subject of intense debate among scientists, environmentalists and even food activists in Nigeria and globally.

The question of what role, if any, GMOs should play in helping to address a range of agriculture, nutrition, and climatic challenges in developing countries like Nigeria has been at the centre of discussions.

Also, concerns have emerged over the environmental and health impacts of GMOs, their impact on traditional farming methods, and issues around seed patents.

Governments in developing nations are responding to those concerns in a variety of ways with some banning GMOs outright, some embracing the technology, and others attempting to find a balance between the concerns and needs of all sides.

According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), at least 33 major food crops have been genetically modified globally. Of these, four (maize, cowpea, cotton and soybean) have been officially approved for commercialisation by the Nigerian authorities, with Nigeria listed among the six African countries leading in biotech crop adoption across the continent.

Tela maize is the latest GM variety approved for commercial planting in Nigeria.

Some experts have argued that planting GM seeds will help to produce enough food for the global population, hence achieving food security at a fast pace. Others have also argued that food productivity can be improved through natural methods.

A PREMIUM TIMES investigation in 2022 revealed that, while promoters of GMOs are working to counter criticisms and ensure safety, concerns are not the only challenge hindering the adoption of GMOs in Nigeria. It was discovered that across several communities in Nigeria, farmers growing GM crop varieties know too little to make informed decisions.
 

Tela maize potentials

According to the report by the USDA, in the marketing year 2022/2023, Nigeria produced an estimated 12.7 million metric tons (MMT) of corn, with an average yield of 2.2 tons per hectare. However, it noted that the adoption of the new maize varieties could increase the country’s production capacity significantly.

According to the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), yields of Tela maize could reach up to 10 tons per hectare if grown under good agronomic practices, the report said.

Reports indicated that the Nigerian authorities officially commercialised Tela maize varieties on 11 January, following an announcement by the Nigeria National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds/Fisheries.

At the time, the group approved twenty-three new GM varieties for commercial planting, including four biotech Tela maize varieties. This implies that seed companies can license rights to produce and commercialise the new Tela maize hybrids under their private brand from AATF.

The AATF also noted that the approved varieties are owned by the respective institutions that developed them including the national government research organisations, and that they will be licensed to local seed companies royalty-free through the AATF.
 

Background

According to the report, the Tela Maize Project was originally known as the Water Efficient Maize for Africa Project. Nigeria first joined the Tela Maize Project in 2019.

The project is perceived to have been driven by the move to develop a high-yielding maize variety that would be drought tolerant amidst lingering climate change effects, and at the same time be resistant to the highly virulent Fall ArmyWorm pest (FAW) that ravaged several corn fields across the country in 2016.

Some studies have posited that FAW can reduce corn production in affected areas by 20 to 50 per cent if not properly controlled, eventually leading to higher production costs through increased labour and pesticide applications.

However, the process towards the adoption of Tela maize in Nigeria began in 2021 after the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) approved the environmental release and field trials of the maize varieties categorised as SAMMAZ 72T, SAMMAZ 73T, SAMMAZ 74T, and SAMMAZ 75T.

Nigeria’s Institute for Agricultural Research carried out national performance trials of the four varieties across ten states with varied agroecological conditions.

According to reports, the trials showed average yields achieving 3 tons per hectare.
 

Controversies

The adoption of Tela maize generated controversies among anti-GMO groups in Nigeria, particularly the environmental think-tank Health of Mother Earth Foundation ( HOMEF) and several other groups, who issued a joint statement at the time condemning GMO adoption in the country.

While commending the intention of the Nigerian authorities to address food insufficiency in the country, HOMEF expressed disappointment over the release of the genetically modified varieties.

The group noted that there is no evidence of a risk assessment conducted before the release of the Tela maize on either the website of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), the agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating the uses of GMOs or the Biosafety Clearing House of the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, where parties are expected to upload updates on their decisions/use of GMOs/LMOs.

In his reaction, HOMEF’s Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey, said, “It is totally unacceptable that in the name of food sufficiency, the country is exposing its citizens to products of risky technologies without adequate, independent and/or long-term assessment on their impacts on human and environmental health.”

The environmentalist said there are many challenges associated with genetic modification crops that cannot be denied.

So far, he claimed that GMOs have been linked to cancers, diseases, allergies, and all sorts of health challenges due to environmental implications because of their dependency on toxic pesticides and the destruction of biodiversity and nutritional diversity.

“We are also concerned that there is no way to label or inform our farmers that they are planting GMO maize. To deny Nigerians the right of choice is highly objectionable and wicked,” Mr Bassey noted.

He said it is expedient that the government conduct independent long-term feeding tests and environmental/biodiversity assessments before any GM crop is approved for use and not merely testing to confirm productivity or performance.


Mr Bassey charged the Nigerian government to understand the difficulties of recalling genetically modified living organisms and to quickly withdraw the Tela maize.

Meanwhile, according to a statement issued by the NBMA last week, the Director-general of the agency, Agnes Asagbra, claimed that Tela maize has not been launched in the country.

“It’s crucial to note that though it has been commercialised, Tela maize has not yet been launched; it is not available in the market. This demonstrates our commitment to thorough scrutiny and due diligence,” she said in a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES.

Mrs Asagbra described Tela maize as a variety that has been rigorously evaluated through risk assessments and regulatory processes before its approval.

She noted that the GM crops that have been approved were critically evaluated by Nigerian scientists who are professionals with vast experience and expertise in their fields.

“Their assessments are meticulous, ensuring that only safe and beneficial technologies reach our farmers and consumers,” she said.

She emphasised that the country’s biosafety law is critical in the quest for Nigeria to achieve food security.

“Biosafety is not just a policy; it’s a commitment to safeguarding our nation’s health, biodiversity, and environment. In regulating the activities of modern biotechnology, biosafety ensures that any technological advancements, particularly in agriculture, are beneficial and pose no harm to our people or our land, “ the agency said.

Mrs Asagbra urged Nigerians to embrace the advancements in safe modern biotechnology with an informed perspective.

“Let us trust in the rigorous processes that have been established to protect us all. Together, we can move towards a future where food security, environmental sustainability, and economic growth go hand in hand,” she said.
 

Experts react

In his reaction, the Executive Director of Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Lateef Sanni, said Nigeria is blessed with land and water resources to produce a wide range of agricultural products with high yield if research is taken seriously.

Mr Sanni, a Professor of Food Science and Technology, emphasised that Nigeria cannot continue to rely on breeders from other parts of the world for hybrid seeds.

He argued that the food situation in the country, the global acceptance of genetically modified foods, and the need for environmental sustainability, suggest that Nigerian farmers should accept Tela Maize for planting.

However, Mr Sanni said, this should not be taken as a permanent solution to getting the right breed of maize with good yield for farmers.

“Our breeders need to wake up to the task, and they need the support of government, private sectors, and farmers to be able to come up with quality seeds that will guarantee bountiful harvest,” he noted.

On his part, Qrisstuberg Amua, Executive Director, Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research, noted that citizens have every reason to be worried about Tela maize adoption in the country.

“Not only citizens, our political and economic leaders also have a lot to be worried about this development,” he told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview on Monday.

He said citizens should be worried about the new maize varieties for reasons ranging from its health implications and lack of sufficient details about the maize, adding that the health implications of GMOs are motley and that they are negative, coming in the forms of cancers resulting from hormonal or endocrine and immune system disruptions.

Mr Amua listed other possible health implications of GMOs to include fertility sterilisations, metabolic derangements, cardiovascular health disruptions, children obesity and attendant issues thereto, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders in children, mental health derangements and early memory decay (dementia) in individuals above 40 years of age and so much more.

He emphasised that the adverse health implications could emanate from both the genetic modifications of the organism which often involve recombinant splicing or stitching of DNA either through manipulations of specialised proteins that make the Messenger RNA (MRNA) or through what looks more like cut and join using the CRISPR (an acronym for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology.

Also, Mr Amua said from the many pesticides like glyphosate (the primary active ingredient in the commercially ubiquitous ‘Roundup’) and irks, that are used in the biotechnological engineering that ensures these GMOs are pest resistant, the varieties can tolerate the application of higher concentrations of phytotoxic pesticides as herbicides.

Based on this, the professor of bioinorganic chemistry said some of the GMOs are labelled as “Roundup Ready’ or RR” such as the RR Corn or RR Soy.

“Also, there are adverse health implications to the environment due to unregulated applications of these carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic arrays of pesticides, as a result of higher tolerance of these GMOs to pesticides, generally,” Mr Amua said.

These environmental toxins, he said, tend to persist in the environment and weave their way up the food chain and ultimately into humans through menu choices.

“This is one other reason for the burgeoning cases of otherwise not so rampant non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, cancer, hypertension, dyslipidemia, arthritis, etc. nowadays even in younger populations of our communities,” he said.

He stressed that the adoption of GMOs has adverse implications for the food production system and biodiversity, as their promotion encourages monocropping and eventual extermination of rather organic and even indigenous seed types.

“Lastly, they pose adverse economic implications and even strategic food and general security implications; as when a foreign multinational controls your food supply system (as these GMOs are patented products of non-national conglomerates), your economy and even strategic security can easily be compromised from outside of your shores,” he said.

He urged the Nigerians to reject all GMOs and also engage in various levels of personal and community education, sensitisation, and advocacy to demand the withdrawal/repeal of policies and legislation that allow licensing and indeed permit the cultivation, distribution and public consumption of GMOs.

“We should also rethink our consumption patterns to return to wholesome organic and indigenous foods that are not genetically modified,” he said.

By Abdulkareem Mojeed, Premium Times 

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Nestle accused of adding sugar to infant formulas in Nigeria

Nestle Nigeria, a subsidiary of Nestle, a global food and beverage company, has denied adding sugar to its products sold in Nigeria, insisting it is not violating the global guidelines for infant formulas.

This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday and shared with PREMIUM TIMES by the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Victoria Uwadoka.

Nestle Nigeria, a subsidiary of the Swiss-based multinational company, said it complies with the global requirements on the usage of sugar and supplies quality products to every part of the world.

The company’s statement is in response to an earlier inquiry by PREMIUM TIMES on the development. Ms Uwadoka had requested that a mail be sent by our reporter and pledged a response as soon as possible, saying she was far away from the office.
 

Denial

The statement counters the findings of a recent investigation, which revealed that Nestle had been selling substandard infant food products to Nigeria and other low and middle-income countries.

The investigation, carried out by the Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, in collaboration with the International Baby Food Action Network, revealed that Nestle provides its best quality to Europe and other developed nations but supplies substandard products to low- and middle-income countries across the world.

“For Nestlé, not all babies are equal when it comes to added sugar,” the report said.

Samples of Nestle’s baby food products sold in Asia, Africa, and Latin America were sent to Belgium for laboratory testing.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported some of the findings which significantly involved Nigeria.
 

Sugar in Nigeria Cerelac

Traces of sugar, such as sucrose or honey, were found in samples of Cerelac, a cereal for children between six months and two years old, and Nido, a follow-up milk formula brand intended for infants at least one year old.

Reacting to these claims, Nestle Nigeria said the multinational company provided the same nutrition, health, and wellness principles everywhere in the world.

According to the company, Cerelac may have slight variations in recipes worldwide.

It also said, “In Europe, Nestlé’s range of cereals comes with and without added sugars.

“ Like everywhere in the world, in Nigeria, we do not add sugars (sucrose and glucose) to Infant formula for children aged 0-12 months.

It said, “These principles are aligned with both international and local guidelines, noting that baby formulas in Nigeria for children 0-12 do not add sugar contents. Nigeria, our Growing Up Milk have no added sugars.

“Our milk and cereals for young children are fortified with vitamins and minerals such as iron to help tackle malnutrition.”
 

High sugar in Nigeria’s Cerelac

Cerelac from Nigeria had the second-highest sugar content, with 6.8g per serving. The country closely follows the Philippines, which has 7.3g.

The report said, “On average, our analysis found almost 4 grams per serving or about one sugar cube.”

Nigeria was ranked 7th out of 10 countries with high sugar content in Nido. According to the report, samples from Nigeria and Senegal, ranked 8th, had 0.6g.

The highest sugar content was found in Panama samples, at 5.3g per serving. Then came Nicaragua 4.7g; Mexico 1.8g; Costa Rica 1.6g; South Africa 0.9g; and Indonesia 0.7g.

By Beloved John, Premium Times

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