FG Targets 14m Pupils For School Feeding Programme By 2023 – Minister

The Federal Government says it will scale up the implementation of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) with enrollment of 14 million pupils by 2023.

Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, stated this at a stakeholders’ engagement on enumeration of beneficiaries and scaling up of the programme, on Thursday in Damaturu, Yobe.

Umar-Farouq, represented by Alhaji Ali Grema, North-East Monitor of the programme, said that over nine million pupils were currently enrolled in the programme accross the country.

She said the ministry was directed to enroll additional five million pupils, adding that over 100, 000 cooks were engaged under the scheme and 100,000 small holder farmers participating in the value chain.

“The NHGSFP is designed as a multifaceted intervention to drive school enrollment, boost nutrition of the pupils, support local production of food, and encourage employment and income generation.

“It is aimed at the provision of nutritious meal to all pupils in public primary schools in class one to three to achieve this objective,” she said.

She said the engagement exercise was aimed at capturing new pupils under the second batch of the programme as those on the first batch would be laid off by September when they advanced into class four.

The Minister commended the state government for its support and cooperation for the successful implementation of the programme.

In a remark, the state’s Programme Manager, Hajiya Fatsuma Accama, said that 106,797 pupils were enrolled under the programme across the 17 Local Government Areas of the state.

Accama said that some 215 cooks were engaged under the programme and provided with kitchen utensils by the state government.

She said the state government had also funded monitoring and validation of the cooks, provided pupils with bowls and spoons, and ensured that its nutrition committee designed meals with approval of the national office.

Participants of the engagement included the officials of the ministry, NHGSFP Programme Consultant and representatives of Yobe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) among others.

(NAN)