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By Francesca Hangeior.

The Nigerian Home Grown School Feeding Programme, on Thursday, got a boost with a partnership between the Federal Government and the Partnership for Child Development, Imperial College, London.

President Bola Tinubu, on January 12, suspended all programmes of the National Social Investment Programme Agency for six weeks.

The four programmes administered by NSIPA are N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, and Home Grown School Feeding Programme.

A statement by the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, said the suspension was based on the investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.

But Yetunde Adeniji, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, who spoke at a stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja, said the partnership with the international organisations on the school feeding scheme was part of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Action plans.

Adeniji said that the workshop was to launch the Value for Money Study, which seeks to estimate the cost of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, to reflect on its multi-sectoral benefits and its impact on socio-economic, as well as human capital development of the country.

She noted that the objective of the study was also to determine the effectiveness of the school feeding programme in improving students’ attendance and academic performance, in other words, she said it was a comparative analysis of the benefits of investing in school feeding, versus other education interventions.

“This study, fully sponsored by the Imperial College, is research that improves the level of school feeding within the states. It will help evaluate the programme to know issues, indices, and whatever challenges the programme has had in the past.

“This programme or research will also help us when it comes to our international partners. Once Nigeria is certified, we know that we will be able to get more value, especially when we are talking to our foreign partners, foreign development agencies, and NGOs.

She said the study, which will first be launched in Kaduna and Osun states, will subsequently extend to six states, one from each geopolitical zone of the country, and fully cover the whole 36 states by the end of the year.

According to her, data for the study will be through primary and secondary sources, and youths in the states will be recruited to collect the primary data from relevant stakeholders including schools, state ministries, departments and agencies relevant to school feeding, cooks, farmers, and community members.

“These data would be forensically analysed by local and foreign experts, led by Prof. Lesley Drake of PCD Imperial College, London.

“The research is a commendable one, it is a huge one, it also is going to benefit some of our youths within those states, because once they are appointed to be part of the research, they will also get paid, and it will help them improve their status or whatever they are doing for a living.

“The Research will ensure transparency, and accountability, but most importantly, preventing bottling, the programme will ensure bottlenecks are actually cleared towards ensuring a better school feeding programme.

“With steps like these, we will ensure improved implementation, knowing that we have been certified by reputable institutions,’’ Adeniji said.

According to her, the stakeholders’ meeting marks the take-off of the programme, which will then be taken to the states, then to the local government areas.

She also said teachers, principals, traditional rulers, and community members, would be carried along in the implementation process that would be fully monitored by state governments.

“The end participants, however, are the kids.’’

Also shedding more light on the study, Abimbola Adesanmi, of the PCD, Nigeria Office, said the Value for Money Study was aimed at determining the cost of the programme and its benefits to the government.

“The essence of the study is to provide an empirical report to the government to guide it on the scale-up of investment on the school feeding programme,’’ Adesanmi said.

She said the study would help understand many issues such as; the cost of transportation, feeding, what teachers spend to have children in class, and the cost of infrastructure, all in a bid to improve implementation.

“All the research and study is to help us understand what the farmers are providing for us; is it season-based or on availability? What are the factors influencing the cost of the meals? All these are to enable us to ensure healthy and nutritious meals to school children, and local smallholder farmers are part of the programme.

“If we are able to marry those two goals together, definitely there will be impact on human capital development and economic empowerment in the country,’’ she said.

According to Adesanmi, it is a nationwide programme, and starting with Kaduna and Osun states is a proof of concept since it is also being supported by some partners within the country.

“By the end of the year, we hope to complete the 36 states and give the government a report to say this is what you need to improve, to restructure, and to redesign the programme appropriately.’’

Over the years, the Nigerian Home Grown School Feeding Programme has generated economic opportunities for smallholder farmers, local businesses, and women-led enterprises.

Other partners in the programme include; Harvard University, London, the Federal Ministries of Humanitarian Affairs, Education, Health, Agriculture, Budget and Economic Planning, and the Universal Basic Education Commission, among others.