FG Plans School Feeding for 50 Million Pupils by 2026

By Omodele Adigun

The Federal Government has announced plans to expand the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme to reach 50 million primary school pupils by 2026, in what would mark the largest education and nutrition intervention in Nigeria’s history.

National Programme Manager of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, Mrs Aderemi Adebowale, disclosed that the scheme would cover children in primary one to six as well as out-of-school children. She explained that the expansion was structured to be rolled out step by step.

“We are working to include early years – primary 1 to 3, primary 4 to 6 – in the school feeding programme, and also out-of-school children, which we are handling step by step to integrate. So, by the year 2026, we are looking at feeding close to 50 million pupils in primary school in Nigeria,” Adebowale said.

She added that the government had pegged the daily meal cost between ₦500 and ₦1,000, stressing that quality meals could still be delivered within that range. The programme would be anchored on local food systems, with small-holder farmers, aggregators, vendors, and supply partners locked into fixed-price agreements to avoid market fluctuations.

The school feeding expansion builds on the Renewed Hope Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, inaugurated in May 2025 to provide meals for 20 million underserved and out-of-school children. Former Humanitarian Affairs Minister and now APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, launched the initiative as a flagship of President Bola Tinubu’s second-year agenda.

The government says the scheme remains a core component of the National Social Investment Programme, designed not only to boost education and child health but also to strengthen local food production and rural economies.