Federal government has set a target to reach 20 million children through the Homegrown School Feeding Programme by 2026, describing it as an educational investment and a national security strategy.
Vice President Kashim Shettima announced this Friday at the National Policy Forum on the Institutionalisation and Implementation of the Renewed Hope National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, held in Abuja.
The forum was hosted by the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion, in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria and other stakeholders.
Represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Office of the Vice President, Dr Kolade Fasua, Shettima said the expansion under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is the boldest step in the history of the intervention.
He explained that the programme, relaunched earlier this year, is designed to improve school enrollment and learning outcomes, while creating a guaranteed daily market for smallholder farmers, women entrepreneurs and local processors.
“This year, the federal government relaunched the Renewed Hope National Homegrown School Feeding Programme, signalling a decisive return to scale and systemisation. The programme is designed to boost enrollment and attendance, improve academic performance and raise smallholder incomes through stable local procurement.
“Alongside the core programme, government has inaugurated the Alternate Education and Renewed Hope School Feeding Project, an expansion that targets out-of-school and highly vulnerable children, with the ambition of reaching up to 20 million by 2026”, he said.
With the integration of the National Identity Management Commission’s system, Shettima added that transparency is assured so that “real pupils can receive real meals, and every naira spent works twice—once for the child, and once for the local economy.”
While acknowledging that sustaining nationwide coverage could cost as much as N1 trillion, the vice president argued that the initiative should not be seen as a drain on public finances, but as a nation-building investment.
“Ambition requires investment and the federal government has acknowledged that sustaining national coverage may require around N1 trillion.
“But this is not a cost. It is a nation-building investment with high social, economic and security return. This is why school feeding must be understood not just as a social intervention, but as a national security investment”, he stressed.
According to him, every hot meal served in a classroom also acts as a barrier against recruitment into violent groups, a reinforcement of the state’s presence and a source of hope in conflict-prone communities.
“A child with knowledge is less vulnerable to exploitation. A farmer linked to a market is less vulnerable to despair. Communities where youths are engaged are less vulnerable to insecurity.
“By bringing MSMEs, women and vulnerable households into the financial system, we shrink the shadows in which insecurity grows. When local markets thrive, when farmers see guarantees in demand, when cooks receive fair and timely pay, and when women micro-entrepreneurs build assets, the drivers of conflict weaken,” Shettima said.
He urged development partners, private investors and state governments to align with the federal government’s vision, saying the success of the scheme would be measured not just in hunger-free classrooms, but also in safer and more resilient communities.
In his keynote address, the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Tanko Sununu, represented by the Director, Social Development, Mr Valebtine Ezulu, called for a National Home Grown School Feeding Act that will provide legal backing for the programme.
He recommended the development of a nutrition guideline,
in line with global best practices, to ensure safe and healthy feeding for the children.
“We must work towards enacting a National Home Grown School Feeding Act that guarantees continuity across political cycles, while clearly defining federal, state and local roles within a cost-sharing framework.
“A National Nutrition Guideline for Home Grown School Meals which aligns with international best practices, must be developed and enforced to guarantee safe, balanced and quality meals for every child”, Ezulu said.
