The Federal Government is set to roll out the national Home Grown School Feeding programme targeted at about 5.5 million Nigerians in the first year soon, the Presidency has said.
This will by preceded by a Stakeholders Forum today at the State House to be presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, in a statement said in the final rounds of preparation for the commencement of the free school feeding programme for primary school pupils, the federal and state governments will review the Strategic Plan for the rollout of the scheme which is part of the N500 billion Social Investment plans of the Buhari presidency.
According to Akande, the strategic plans will run until 2020 and aimed at providing a nutritious hot meal a day to over 24 million primary school children.
He said the the food for the programme will be sources from local farmers, adding “These programmes offer a ‘win-win-win’ for children, farmers and communities alike.
According to the Vice President, “not only will the Home Grown School Feeding programme help our pupils become better students, it will also boost the local economies, and create new jobs along the way.”
To achieve national coverage, the federal government said it is working in partnership with states and local communities for the successful implementation of the programme.
It is also partnering with United Kingdom Imperial College, London’s Partnership for Child Development (PCD) which is providing technical assistance to the Presidency.
Those expected at today’s programme are the Governors of Borno, Oyo, Osun, Enugu and Kaduna, other government representatives and stakeholders from all 36 Nigerian States as well as developmental partners.
Besides the strategic plan, the Vice President will also launch the ‘Global School Feeding Sourcebook: Lessons from 14 countries’, a joint Partnership for Child Development, the World Bank and World Food Programme analysis of national school feeding programmes from across the globe
