The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) is championing a new home-grown school feeding model that ensures children are fed with nutritious foods produced within their communities.
Dr Daniel Willy, AATF’s Senior Manager for Policy, Agribusiness and Commercialisation, disclosed this during a panel discussion at the ongoing World Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) in Kenya.
Willy said the model, which could be replicated across African countries, aims to end reliance on imported food by sourcing school meals from local farmers.
He explained that AATF was not introducing a new technology but rather an innovative procurement system to strengthen home-grown school feeding programmes.
According to him, the concept focuses on achieving self-sufficiency in food production to feed schoolchildren with nutritious meals independent of food importation.
“By so doing, we are also incorporating regenerative agriculture; simple farming methods that allow you to grow crops while caring for the land.
“It is about using more organic manure instead of chemical fertilisers, and practising crop rotation to help rejuvenate soil fertility,” he said.
Willy further explained that planting different crops in rotation helps restore soil nutrients and sustain productivity.
Speaking on innovative models to improve food and nutrition security, he said the approach would also boost farmers’ incomes.
He added that community food aggregators who buy in bulk for schools, as well as local processors of farm produce, would benefit from the system.
The AATF official, who leads the home-grown school feeding project, noted that implementing the initiative would require a robust coordination framework.
He emphasised the need for mechanisms to ensure sufficient production, efficient collection, safe storage, and timely delivery of food to schools, alongside policy support.
“We are working with all stakeholders to build a system that can sustainably deliver safe, nutritious food to schoolchildren without leaving anyone behind,” he said.
Explaining how Nigeria and other African countries could adapt the model, Willy said implementation would occur in phases, starting with design, followed by piloting in Kenya, and then refinement.
“The next step will be to package this model for replication across Africa, because school feeding is crucial not just in Kenya but across the continent,” he said.
Willy noted that replication in Nigeria would reflect local dietary preferences, but the underlying framework would remain the same
