The Federal Government has partnered with the Imperial College, London and Partnership for Child Development (PCD) to restructure the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) in Nigeria.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on NHGSFP, Yetunde Adeniji, who disclosed this at a stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja, said it was part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Adeniji said the workshop was to launch the Value for Money Study, which seeks to estimate and reflect on the cost and multi-sectoral benefits of NHGSFP.
“This study, fully sponsored by the Imperial College, is research that improves the level of school feeding within the states.
“It will help evaluate the programme to know issues, indices and whatever challenges the programme has or had in the past.
“This programme or research will also help us when it comes to our international partners.
“Once Nigeria is certified, we know that we will be able to get more value, especially when we are talking to our foreign partners, foreign development agencies and NGOs.’’
She said the study will first be launched in Kaduna and Osun States.
It will subsequently extend to six states, one from each geopolitical zone of the country and fully cover the 36 states by the end of the year.
According to her, data for the study will be through primary and secondary sources, and youths in the states will be recruited to collate the primary data from relevant stakeholders.
The stakeholders are schools, state ministries, departments and agencies relevant to school feeding, cooks, farmers and community members.
“These data would be forensically analysed by local and foreign experts, led by Prof. Lesley Drake of PCD Imperial College, London.
“The research is a commendable one, it is a huge one, it also is going to benefit some of our youths within those states.
“Once they are appointed to be part of the research, they will also get paid and it will help them improve their status or whatever they are doing for a living.
“The research will ensure transparency, accountability, but most importantly, preventing bottlenecks, the programme will ensure bottlenecks are actually cleared towards ensuring a better school feeding programme.
“With steps like these, we will ensure improved implementation, knowing that we have been certified by reputable institutions.’’
She said the stakeholders’ meeting marks the take-off of the programme, which will then be taken to the states, then to the local government areas.
She promised that teachers, principals, traditional rulers and community members would be carried along in the implementation process that would be fully monitored by state governments.
“The end participants, however, are the kids,’’ Adeniji said.
Shedding more light on the study, Abimbola Adesanmi, of the PCD, Nigeria Office, said the Value for Money Study aimed at determining the cost of the programme and its benefits to the government.
“The essence of the study is to provide an empirical report to the government to guide it on the scale up of investment on the school feeding programme.’’
She said the study would help understand many issues such as: the cost of transportation, feeding, what teachers spend to have children in class and cost of infrastructure; all in a bid to improve implementation.
“All the research and study is to help us understand what the farmers are providing for us; is it season-based or on availability?
“What are the factors influencing the cost of the meals? All these are to enable us ensure healthy and nutritious meals to school children, and local smallholder farmers are part of the programme.
“If we are able to marry those two goals together, definitely there will be impact on human capital development and economic empowerment in the country,’’ she said.
Newsspecng reports that over the years, the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme has generated economic opportunities for smallholder farmers, local businesses and women-led enterprises.
Other partners in the programme include: Harvard University, the Federal Ministries of Humanitarian Affairs, Education, Health, Agriculture, Budget and Economic Planning, the Universal Basic Education Commission, among others.