A delegation from Team Europe led by the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, has visited NutriK’s production facility in Kano as the company intensifies efforts to expand local sourcing and strengthen Nigeria’s nutrition supply chain.
The visit, which included ambassadors and representatives from European Union Member States and UNICEF, was part of a wider mission to assess initiatives supporting nutrition, healthcare, sustainable livelihoods and economic growth in northern Nigeria.
NutriK, a French-Nigerian company and subsidiary of the French-based Nutriset Group, produces Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a specialised nutritional product used in the treatment of severe acute malnutrition among children.
During the tour of the company’s facility at the Kano Free Trade Zone, NutriK Managing Director, Abdoulkader Yonli, disclosed that the company is working with local producers to improve the processing of Nigerian groundnuts to meet required quality standards.
According to him, NutriK currently depends on imported groundnuts due to challenges with locally processed supplies but expects to begin using Nigerian-sourced groundnuts in production within the coming months.
“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 the company remains committed to tackling malnutrition through both treatment and prevention, noting that demand for RUTF products in Nigeria is far above current production capacity.
“Currently there are two facilities of this kind in Nigeria, in Kano and Lagos, while most RUTF products are sourced abroad. The demand remains much higher than our production capacities,” he stated.
The company’s recent relocation to the Kano Free Trade Zone was supported by Proparco, the private-sector financing arm of the French Development Agency Group, as part of efforts to promote local manufacturing and build resilient nutrition supply chains.
NutriK currently employs about 180 people directly, with many more benefiting indirectly through suppliers, service providers and agricultural activities connected to its operations. The expansion of local sourcing is expected to increase opportunities for farmers and other players across the value chain.
Speaking during the visit, EU Ambassador Gautier Mignot praised the company’s contribution to 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 the Kano authorities contribute to human development and economic growth,” Mignot said.
He added that the visit was aimed at understanding progress made on the ground and exploring ways collaboration among Kano, the European Union, UNICEF and the private sector could continue to deliver sustainable results.
UNICEF estimates that about two million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition, highlighting the urgent need for increased local production of therapeutic nutrition products.
