Posted on: Fri 09-10-2020

A public health physician, Dr Adepeju Adeniran, has lamented that the fight against protein deficiency in Nigeria has suffered a setback as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Adeniran said this at the protein challenge webinar series 4, themed, ‘COVID-19 and Nigeria’s Protein Deficiency Situation.’

She said the food supply chain was severely threatened during the lockdown period as farmers, transporters and food sellers were restricted in movements.

“Availability of food groups dropped, prices of foods went up, household earnings went down, scarcity of food by displacement occurred from the rural producers to the urban consumers.

“Animal proteins take a long time to produce; humans consume mostly the adult form of animal proteins. Even dairy and eggs can only be produced by adult animals, which must have time to grow and develop,” Adeniran said.

She, however, advocated a well-developed processing and storage systems to be designed to augment the effects of COVID-19 on nutrition.

Corroborating Adeniran, a nutritionist, Mrs Beatrice Oganah-Ikujenyo, lamented that farm produce were trapped in farms during the lockdown period which led to the deterioration of perishable foods and a disconnect in the food supply chain, resulting in food scarcity and increase in prices of available foods.

She said, “Job losses due to the shutdown and resultant dwindling family income affected food choices in terms of quantity, quality, variety and food preferences.

“Therefore, specific nutrient deficiency is likely to occur, especially protein deficiency and among the vulnerable are infants, young children, pregnant and lactating mothers.”

She urged Nigerians to go back to the days where every family has cultivated land for food crops like okra, leafy vegetables and plantain, saying this would reduce the pressure on the available food for sale in the markets.

Source: Punch

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