Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi

The Home Grown School Feeding Programme and Socio-economic Development in Benue State

Prof. David Aondoakaa Utume, Prof. Terkur a, Tarnande and Dr. Andrew AsooAmee

Abstract

The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme is a component of the National Social Investment Programme initiated by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2016. The objective of the programme is to promote primary education while reducing the scourge of poverty among the beneficiary communities and improve socio-economic development through the promotion of local agricultural production, creating employment and stimulating economic activities in the beneficiary communities. Communities, especially the local farmers, local traders, and local caterers, are through this programme, expected to derive some benefits. However, evidence of the impact of school meal programmes has been mixed. This prompted this study to assess the impact of Nigeria’s National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme on socio-economic development in Benue State. The study is anchored on the incrementalism model as its framework of analysis. Mixed methods research was adopted for the purpose of data collection and analysis. Primary data were collected using interviews. Findings have revealed that the implementation of the HGSFP has not resulted into an increase in school enrolment in the State. Instead, the enrolment rate has decreased by 61.5%. Despite this decrease, attendance rate increased by 11.12% during the implementation of HGSFP in the State. The programme enhanced the income of cooks but this was not sustainable due to the rising prices of food items without a corresponding increase in the funds paid to the cooks. It was found that the food supplied to schools was not produced in the host communities of the schools. As a result, the HGSFP as an ongoing programme is yet to achieve its objective of boosting agricultural production of the local farmers. The study concluded that the HGSFP has the potential to increase enrolment rates but several challenges have affected the implementation of the programme in the State.It was revealed that in spite of this however, more needs to be done to improve school enrollment and attendance as well as Job creation in Benue state in order to reduce poverty and achieve socio-economic development. The study recommended that there is need for the Federal Government to be consistent in disbursing funds to cooks. Also there is need for the Federal and Benue State Governments to collaborate to address the security challenges affecting the programme in the State. The Federal Government should increase budgetary allocation to the HGSFP in Benue State and other States implementing the programme. The current budget allocation of N70 per meal is no longer feasible due to the increase in prices of food stuffs.

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