By Idris Auwal
The Nigerian government has announced plans to scale up the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme to reach 50 million primary school pupils by 2026.
This was disclosed by Aderemi Adebowale, National Programme Manager of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
“We are working to include early years – primary 1 to 3, primary 4 to 6 – in the school feeding programme, and also out-of-school children, which we are handling step by step to integrate.
“So, by the year 2026, we are looking at feeding close to 50 million pupils in primary school in Nigeria.
“Ideally, school feeding should be between N500 to N1,000 per child.
“Even at N500 per child, you should be able to still give the children a nutritious and delicious meal on a daily basis,” she said.
Adebowale explained that the agency regulates prices by creating an alliance of smallholder farmers, aggregators, supply chain actors, and development partners.
“So, we have to agree on prices from our suppliers, agri-vendors and farmers to arrive at a reasonable cost per plate. Once we do that, we will follow up on the payment and service delivery,” she said.