In what has been described as both an educational investment and a national security strategy approach, the Federal Government on Friday said is targeting all 20 million children through the Homegrown School Feeding Programme by 2026.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, announced this today while speaking at the National Policy Forum on the Institutionalization and Implementation of the Renewed Hope National Home Grown School Feeding Programme hosted by the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion, in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria and other stakeholders held in Abuja.
Shetimma, represented at the event by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Office of the Vice President, Dr. Kolade Fasua, said the expansion under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, was the boldest yet in the history of the intervention.
According to him, the programme, relaunched earlier this year, is put in place 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, the 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.
Shetttima explained that with the integration of the National Identity Management Commission system, transparency would be assured so that “real pupils receive real meals, and every naira spent works twice—once for the child, and once for the local economy.”
He acknowledged that sustaining nationwide coverage could cost as much as one trillion naira, but added that the initiative should not be seen as a drain on public finances but as a nation-building investment.mm
“Ambition requires investment, and the federal government has acknowledged that sustaining national coverage may require around one trillion naira.
“But this is not a cost. It is a nation-building investment with high social, economic, and security return. This is why the school feeding must be understood not just as a social intervention but as a national security investment”, he said.
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 youth 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 called on partners, private investors, and state governments to key in with the federal government’s vision, explaining that the success of the scheme would be measured not just in hunger-free classrooms but also in safer, more resilient communities.
