Chinyelu Ikeaba-Obiasor Founder and CEO of Chiblenders Green is a seasoned entrepenuer , who believes in using food as a source for health and well-being, instead of drugs.
According to her, Chiblenders Green is a food technology and logistics company based in Abuja.It is fully committed to eliminating the waste of agricultural produce which exists within the logistics and supply chains in the Nigerian agricultural sector.
The company realized, she says, that the best way to achieve their goal is by converting fresh produce into nutritious and healthy powder form which saves all its nutrients for a longer shelf life. For the time being, their target food types are vegetables and fruits sourced from small scale farmers in rural areas. According to satistics 50% of produce that grow in Nigeria ends in landfills due to lack of storage, transportation, affordable technology and standard food processing plants .
Majority of food waste in Nigeria happen with small scale farmers mostly in rural areas. This limits their earning , leaving small scale farmers vulnerable and poor, a barrier to productivity . It also prevents food source that could support the impoverished especially in rural areas. The underlying causes of malnutrition include poverty and inadequate food intake. According to UNICEF, an estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition, 7% of childbearing age suffer same .With all the food waste; while about 30% of Nigerians go to bed on an empty stomach.This is indeed a health disaster.
Chiblenders Green transforms food waste with technology. About 75% of small scale farmers don’t have access to communication technology ( mobile phone).This becomes a productivity barrier for them to communicate with buyers in seconds in order to prevent post- harvest losses.
The service is to be creative with food waste and enhance food supply chain through buying surplus fresh perishable produce from small scale farmers in rural areas and converting to nutritious and healthy powder for longer shelf life. It is achieved by using local standard food processing plant in different community’s. Unfortunately the processing plants are not enough.
The organization is in the process of constructing fabricated mobile modular food processing plants that will be deployed to the locality with high cluster of small scale farmers.
In order to empower vulnerable farmers that lack communication technology
Chiblenders Green structured a plan with the farmers in their network. It has two packages.First is the most affordable mobile phone with torch and power bank .Second, there is a solar light, phone charging point and radio manufactured by Total Plc Nigeria.
Chiblenders Green pays cash for its purchase from small scale farmers, and those without mobile phone they exchange equivalent of their surplus produce with the most affordable mobile phone with torch and power bank; or secondly, using solar lights, phone charging point with radio this product is manufactured by Total Plc and it is less than $20 this works once it is mounted where sun can touch it. It can last for 48 hours. The farmers have the opportunity to pay for the above throughout the harvest time that year.
All these are means to empower the small scale farmers with communication technology. It will help improve their businesses , receive information on how to manage and improve the aspect of their business on farming which comes in different local dialect. The method has helped to drastically reduce waste from 30-40% in the community where the company has its members and it has improved the output by 45%. Now the farmers can receive or send messages in minutes.
Chiblenders Green has about 10 different plant-based products . There veggies and fruits powder when add to drinking water and baked food it becomes a new approach to fortified food because of the new findings about their phytonutrients.
Chiblenders Green is building Nigeria supply chain that can serve both home and abroad. Website- www.chiblendersgreen.com
