Why HarvestPlus Partnered Nollywood
Only five movies, out of over 2,000 entries received by the organizers
of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) from filmmakers
across Africa, made it to the final shortlist as “Best Movie 2014”.
Yellow Cassava, produced by Zeb Ejiro in partnership with HarvestPlus
Nigeria, ran neck-to-neck with big budget movies of 2014: Kunle
Afolayan’s “October 1”, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen’s “Invasion 1897”, Steve
Gukas’s “A place in the stars” and Frank Rajah Arase’s “Iyore”. When the
final call was made, it was Afolayan’s October 1 that got the AMVCA’s
gold statuette and a cash prize of N1 million.
It appeared that Yellow Cassava had a very stiff competition in Kunle
Afolayan’s October 1, as the latter won in the two categories: Best
Movie 2014 and Best Script, for which Yellow Cassava was also nominated.
The Yoruba title of Yellow Cassava movie, “Dada Onipaki”, by Fidelis
Duker, was also nominated in the Best Indigenous Language category.
In retrospect, HarvestPlus is glad that its movies produced as
info-edu-tainment tools to sensitize Nigerians on the benefits of
Vitamin A Cassava, also known as yellow cassava, did very well a few
months after their production. The movies, when finally released to the
general public, will not only create amusement among movie viewers, but
will educate them on the need to choose and eat healthier and more
nutritious foods rich in essential micronutrients required by body cells
for optimum performance. AMVCA’s nomination is an endorsement for the
movie’s credibility, excellent quality of production, thrilling content
and the array of Nollywood stars it parades.
Yellow Cassava tells the story of a young and beautiful, agricultural
extension worker, Vero, played by Nollywood star Monalisa Chinda. Her
posting to the rural village of Amuro to sensitize the populace on the
bountiful yield of yellow cassava as well as its health benefits soon
becomes the source of tension in her relationship with her fiancé, Dan
(Chidi Mokeme). Other industry giants featured in the movie include:
Segun Arinze and Emeka Ossai, among others. But beyond the love story
of Vero and Dan, Yellow Cassava showcases the well-worn fact that people
are usually slow to adopt new initiatives. In the end, it also points
inevitably to a truism that “Better crops lead to better nutrients.”
“Partnering with Nollywood to make four movies in English and three
major Nigerian languages – Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba – in 2014 was a strategic
move by HarvestPlus to inform Nigerians on the need to produce and
consume more nutritious crops,” said Paul Ilona, Country Manager,
HarvestPlus Nigeria, who was also present at the awards ceremony. He
thanked Nollywood and AfricaMagic for the honour and called on
stakeholders in the country’s agricultural and health sectors to assist
HarvestPlus in ensuring that every household in Nigeria gets access to
more nutritious foods and a copy of the Yellow Cassava movies. This, in
his opinion, will enable them get adequate information on nutrition as
well as tips on how to practice agriculture as a business. This will in
turn yield maximum gains for the country when the socio-economic impact
of the movie comes to play in their day-to-day life. People’s health
will improve, jobs will be created and the economy will gradually
stabilize, adequately diversified from oil.
Nollywood, Nigeria’s film and television industry is rated third
biggest in terms of gross earnings and quality of movies produced in a
year behind America’s Hollywood and India’s Bollywood. Nollywood is
further rated second behind Bollywood when volume of movies produced per
year is taken into consideration, condemning America’s Hollywood to
third place. Its revenue in the last four years is estimated between
$500m and $1b, providing steady jobs to a teeming population of Nigerian
youths.
pix: Babyface, Soriyan and Okwundu.jpg
pix: Babyface, Soriyan and Okwundu.jpg
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