FG Plans to Feed 50 Million Pupils by 2026
The federal government is intensifying efforts to expand the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) to reach an ambitious 50 million primary school pupils by 2026.
Aderemi Adebowale, the national programme manager of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), disclosed this in Abuja during an exclusive interaction with journalists, obtained by PulseNets. Adebowale told PulseNets that the agency is broadening the scope of its intervention.
She explained,
“We are working to integrate early classes, from primary one to three and primary four to six, into the school feeding scheme. We are also gradually bringing out-of-school children on board, step by step, to make sure no child is left behind.”
Adebowale further revealed, “By 2026, our projection is to provide nutritious meals for close to 50 million primary school pupils across Nigeria.” She added that the government has calculated affordable meal costs for the plan to remain sustainable.
According to her,
“The ideal cost of school feeding should be between N500 and N1,000 per child. Even at N500 per plate, we can still provide a healthy and appetising meal every single day.”
PulseNets learnt that to maintain cost efficiency, the agency has created a system of collaboration between smallholder farmers, aggregators, supply chains, and development partners.
Adebowale clarified,
“Through this alignment, we can keep prices low. We will not depend on unpredictable market rates. We must negotiate and agree on fair prices with our suppliers, agri-vendors, and farmers to fix a reasonable cost per meal. After that, we will track both payments and service delivery closely.”
It was earlier reported by PulseNets that on May 27, 2025, the federal government inaugurated the Alternate Education and Renewed Hope National Home-Grown School Feeding Project. The initiative aims to feed 20 million out-of-school and underserved children by 2026.
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The inauguration in Abuja was overseen by former minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda, who is now the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress. The programme operates under the Renewed Hope National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (RH-NHGSFP) in partnership with the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education and the National Identity Management Commission.
Mr Yilwatda had previously highlighted to PulseNets that the project remains a key pillar of NSIPA’s broader initiatives, launched to commemorate President Bola Tinubu’s second anniversary in office.
