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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 fiancĂ©, 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

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