The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to expand its National Home-Grown School Feeding Program to cover all primary school pupils as well as out-of-school children, with the ambitious goal of reaching 50 million beneficiaries by 2026.
The expansion builds on the Alternate Education and Renewed Hope National Home-Grown School Feeding Project, which was launched in May 2025. Initially designed to target 20 million out-of-school and underserved children, the program is now being broadened to ensure wider inclusion.
Aderemi Adebowale, National Programme Manager of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), confirmed the development in Abuja on Sunday. She explained that the move was part of government’s strategy to tackle malnutrition, boost school enrollment, and provide social safety nets for vulnerable households.
“We are not only sustaining the school feeding scheme but scaling it up to ensure no child is left behind,” Adebowale stated. “The revised plan covers all primary classes and out-of-school children, creating a platform where education, nutrition, and social protection intersect.”
On funding, Adebowale noted that NSIPA has designed a new pricing model to ensure the program’s sustainability despite rising inflation and food insecurity. According to her, the agency has developed a framework that regulates food costs by directly engaging farmers, suppliers, and aggregators, thereby fixing prices at the source rather than relying on fluctuating market rates.
“This approach allows us to stabilize costs, guarantee quality, and ensure farmers get fair returns for their produce while eliminating middlemen who inflate prices,” she explained.
The Home-Grown School Feeding Program, first introduced in 2016, has been widely credited with boosting primary school enrollment, improving nutrition, and creating jobs in agriculture and food supply chains. However, it has also faced criticism over allegations of mismanagement and uneven implementation across states.
With this new expansion, the government hopes to not only feed millions more children but also use the program as a vehicle for poverty reduction and rural economic growth.
Analysts say the program’s success will depend on transparency, consistent funding, and effective monitoring at state and local government levels. If successful, Nigeria would host one of the largest school feeding initiatives in the world, potentially reshaping the link between education and food security across Africa.
