Nigerian govt says it’ll enrol additional 5m pupils into school feeding programme by 2023

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar- Farouq has disclosed that the Federal Government has concluded plans to enrol about five million pupils into the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) by 2023.

With the mandate to reach the milestone, the minister revealed that over nine million pupils are benefitting one free meal a day during school terms nationwide.

Umar-Farouq made the remarks during a stakeholders meeting for the enumeration of beneficiaries and scaling up of the NHGSFP in Zamfara.

In a later statement released by her Special Assistant on Corporate Communications, Mrs Halima Oyelade, on Friday in Abuja, the minister said the NHGSFP stands as a huge potential for socio-economic development which needs to be strengthened, scaled up and sustained nationwide.

She said: “We have over 100,000 cooks employed and more than 100,000 smallholder farmers participating in this value chain.”

Umar-Farouq noted that the Zamfara and Federal NHGSFP teams, as well as key stakeholders, are working jointly and closely to verify existing numbers of beneficiaries on the programme and update the records for better effectiveness, transparency and accountability.

She continued: “To this end, while thanking the Zamfara Government for its commitment in implementing the NHGSFP, I also wish to encourage us all to do more to ensure more children benefit from this programme.

READ ALSO: Lagos joins federal govt in school feeding programme, sets aside N11bn

“The minister further stated that the NHGSFP was designed as a multi-faceted intervention to drive up school enrollment, boost the nutrition of the pupils, support local production of food and encourage employment and income generation.

“President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision to fight abject poverty was behind the decision to inaugurate the National Social Investment Programme which comprised of the NHGSFP, N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.”

By Victor Uzoho

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