FG Targets 50 Million Pupils For Expanded School Feeding By 2026
The Federal Government has unveiled ambitious plans to expand the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) to reach 50 million primary school pupils by 2026, in what could become one of the largest social welfare interventions in Africa.
The National Programme Manager of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Aderemi Adebowale, disclosed this in Abuja, noting that the expansion will cover pupils from Primary 1 through Primary 6, as well as out-of-school children in phases.
“We are working to include all early years – from Primary 1 to 3, then Primary 4 to 6 – in the school feeding programme, and also integrate out-of-school children step by step. By 2026, our target is to be feeding close to 50 million pupils across Nigeria,” Adebowale said.
According to her, the programme is designed not only to provide daily nutritious meals to children but also to boost local economies by engaging smallholder farmers and strengthening agricultural value chains.
Adebowale stressed that feeding costs had been benchmarked to remain affordable without compromising quality:
“Ideally, school feeding should be between ₦500 and ₦1,000 per child. Even at ₦500 per child, children should be able to enjoy a nutritious and delicious meal every day.”
To prevent inflationary pressures from derailing the programme, the agency is working on a system that bypasses volatile market prices by aligning smallholder farmers, aggregators, supply chains, and development partners.
“With this alignment, we will control prices right from the rock bottom. We’re not going to be tied to market prices,” she added.
The NHGSFP, introduced under Nigeria’s National Social Investment Programmes, aims to tackle child malnutrition, improve school enrolment and retention, and support local farmers. If successfully scaled to 50 million pupils, it would represent a massive leap in both scope and impact, transforming classrooms while driving rural agricultural productivity.
