N12bn Spent Monthly on National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, Says FG

Olawale Ajimotokan

The Federal Government has claimed it is spending about N12 billion monthly on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (MHADMSD).

The National Coordinator, National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), which is run by the ministry, Dr Umar Bindir, made the disclosure at a two-day stakeholders’ consultative workshop on the development of a national policy for NHGSFP in Abuja.

He said the national school feeding programme which was launched in 2016 was cost intensive as over N10 million children were captured under the scheme with each given a meal of N100 per day by the Buhari administration.

Bindir stressed the need for the country to have a national policy on school feeding programme to ensure sustainability.

“Today we are focusing on the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme with the support of the World Food Programme (WFP) to develop an inclusive policy for NHGSFP.

“This is to ensure that it is sustainable, measurable and highly impactful as directed by Mr President.

“As we speak we are feeding an average of 10 million children with the potential of that number increasing to 12 million probably in the next few weeks or months.

“Based on the impact of the programme – attracting children to school, ensuring the children are healthy, the children of the poor and vulnerable attending school longer it is necessary that the programme is sustained,’’ he said.

In his remarks, the Head, Capacity Strengthening and Policy Coherence, UN World Food Programme,

Kim Do-Hwan, noted that the objective of the workshop was to engage critical stakeholders, to jointly identify and agree on key components of a national school feeding policy.

Kim said that the policy development process would take into account broad considerations that would benefit the NHGSFP as it was being implemented across the country.

He further said that the policy would serve as a foundation for the success and sustainability of the NHGSFP and as a guiding document that ensures continued investment from national and sub-national stakeholders beyond any singular political dispensation.

He described the school feeding programme as a key pathway for the federal government to achieve one of its own objectives to advance progress towards the Sustainability Development Goal (SDG 2) on zero hunger.

“This aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.’’

He, therefore, assured UNWFP’s commitment to support the achievement of SDG 2 in the country through effective partnerships, knowledge sharing and capacity strengthening.