We Spent ₦49 Billion On School Feeding Programme In 2 Years – FG

Mariam Uwais, special adviser to President Buhari on social protection, says the FT has spent N49 billion on the national home-grown school feeding programme .

The programme is meant for feeding primary school pupils across the country.The programme, a component of the government’s social investment, has been ongoing in the last two years .

Uwais said 8, 596,340 pupils were currently being fed in 46,247 public primary schools in 24 states .

She listed the as Abia, Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara ..

She added that through the programme, 90,670 Nigerians had been engaged and empowered as cooks while over 100,000 local farmers had also been linked with the programme to supply locally sourced farm produce.

Uwais said the government had achieved 30% improvement in school enrollment in the country since the commencement of the programme.

“We have created a value chain with significant economic benefits to the micro-economic development of the states.” she said.

“The value chain offers additional benefits of job creation and increased livelihood outcomes for both cooks and small holder-farmers, hence improving livelihood and the local economies.”

Other components of the SIP are N-Power, national cash transfer project, and government enterprise and empowerment programme.