**2.1 Strategy for value addition studies and scale up**

The value addition aspect of the work was conducted in the southwestern part of the country. The major aim of the value addition studies was to scale up the various innovations developed into adaptable forms for the poor resource populace. In achieving this aim, the project involved some Nigerian-based non-profit organizations, such as the Green Generation Initiative and the Institute for Agricultural Research and Training. Through these organizations, the project was able to scale up the innovations and delivered them to the rural end-users using an extension system called the innovation platform (IP) model (**Box 1**), which is aimed at ensuring innovation delivery systems


The IP is based on the thesis that improved interactions, through dialog along the value chain could help to forge linkages among stakeholders, which could result in enhanced communication and information exchange to address common challenges. This propels the adoption of innovation.

### **Box 1.**

*Innovation platform (IP) approach has the following activities:*

<sup>•</sup> Working with multiple actors for consensus building in vegetable value addition.


### **Box 2.** *Steps for establishing an innovation platform*

1. Training of the technical officers on the sensory evaluation template (12 staff).

2. Identification the respondents (41 locations, 250 persons/location, total 10,250 panelists).

3. Sensory evaluation implementation.

4. Reporting.

## **Box 3.**

*Sensory evaluation of vegetable-fortified foods*

that quickly bring innovations to women and rural farmers, therefore making increased adoption possible, notably through appropriate use of new information and communication technologies (**Box 2**). The recipes for the different formulations of vegetable value-added products were designed by the Department of Food Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The University of Manitoba took the lead and utilized its expertise in food chemistry, food processing food product development, and food/nutritional quality evaluation to enhance product and nutritional quality evaluation of vegetable-fortified products. The University of Manitoba with state-of-the-art facilities was used to train food scientists who were involved in the sensory studies of fortified food products in Nigeria (**Box 3**).
