By Mercy Gadia
The European Union and UNICEF have intensified efforts to boost local production of nutrition supplies in Nigeria as NutriK, a Kano-based manufacturer of therapeutic food, moves to phase out imported raw materials amid rising cases of child malnutrition.
A Team Europe delegation led by the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, visited the company’s production facility in the Kano Free Trade Zone to assess interventions supporting nutrition, health and economic development in northern Nigeria.
The delegation, which included representatives of EU member states and UNICEF, toured the facility as part of a broader mission to strengthen collaboration with public and private sector actors.
NutriK, a French-Nigerian company and subsidiary of the France-based Nutriset Group, produces Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food used in the treatment of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
The firm currently relies on imported groundnuts due to quality challenges associated with locally processed variants.
However, the Managing Director of NutriK, Abdoulkader Yonli, said the company was investing in local processing capacity and would soon begin sourcing groundnuts within Nigeria.
“Using locally grown groundnuts as well as soya will significantly reduce costs, allow us to expand production and impact the entire value chain, from farming and processing to distribution and employment,” Yonli said.
He added that demand for therapeutic food in Nigeria still far outstrips local production capacity.
“Currently, there are two facilities of this kind in Nigeria in Kano and Lagos and most of the RUTF products are being sourced abroad. The demand remains much higher than our production capacities,” he stated.
NutriK recently relocated to the Kano Free Trade Zone in an expansion financed by Proparco, the private-sector financing arm of the French Development Agency Group.
The expansion is aimed at strengthening local manufacturing and building a more resilient nutrition supply chain.
The company employs about 180 workers directly, with many others benefiting indirectly through agriculture, supply chains and related services.
As local sourcing expands, more farmers are expected to be integrated into the production value chain.
Speaking during the visit, Mignot said the facility demonstrated how investment and innovation could drive both human development and economic growth.
“The products manufactured here are helping to support vulnerable children while demonstrating how investment, innovation and business-friendly conditions created by Kano authorities contribute to development,” he said.
“We came here to learn more about the progress being made, engage with partners on the ground and explore how collaboration between Kano, the European Union, UNICEF and the private sector can continue to deliver results,” he added.
According to UNICEF, about two million children in Nigeria are currently suffering from severe acute malnutrition.