FG, IFPRI Partner to Strengthen School Feeding, Child Nutrition Programme

The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to strengthen evidence-based policymaking and improve the implementation of Nigeria’s National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.

The agreement, signed between the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), under the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), and IFPRI, is aimed at improving policy, programme efficiency, monitoring and impact in school feeding, child nutrition and food systems.

The signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, described the partnership as a major step towards strengthening evidence-based policymaking in Nigeria’s social protection sector.

The minister, who was represented by his Technical Adviser on Poverty Reduction, Pharm. Augustin Ajijelek, said the school feeding programme plays an important role in improving children’s nutrition, encouraging school enrolment and attendance, while also supporting local agriculture.

He said the collaboration with IFPRI would enable the government to generate reliable evidence, strengthen programme implementation, improve monitoring and evaluation, and develop innovative approaches to make the school feeding programme more effective and sustainable.

Also speaking, the National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of NSIPA, Associate Professor Badamasi Lawal, said the MoU demonstrated the government’s commitment to ensuring that social investment interventions are guided by credible data, rigorous research and global best practices.

Lawal, who was represented by the Head of Legal of the agency, Barrister Rabi Iyimoga, said effective social protection required robust evidence, continuous learning, effective monitoring and reliable data to guide policy formulation and programme implementation.

According to him, the partnership would strengthen NSIPA’s institutional capacity in research, impact assessment, programme evaluation, policy development and data-driven decision-making.

He added that the collaboration would also support innovative approaches to improve programme efficiency, strengthen targeting mechanisms, enhance transparency and maximise the impact of government interventions on beneficiaries.

The National Programme Manager of the NHGSFP, Dr Princess Aderemi Adebowole, described the agreement as another milestone in efforts to strengthen the school feeding programme through evidence-driven policies and strategic partnerships.

Adebowole said the programme goes beyond providing nutritious meals to pupils, noting that it also contributes to increased school enrolment, improved attendance and retention, enhanced learning outcomes, better nutritional status and sustainable livelihoods for local farmers and food vendors.

She expressed optimism that the partnership with IFPRI would provide valuable insights for improving programme design and implementation, while ensuring that government investments in school feeding deliver measurable and lasting benefits to Nigerian children and communities.

She said the partnership also reinforces Nigeria’s commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those relating to Zero Hunger, Quality Education, Good Health and Well-being, Poverty Reduction and Partnerships for the Goals.

In his remarks, IFPRI Nigeria Country Director, Dr Oliver Kirui, said the institute would bring research, monitoring, evaluation, learning and technical expertise to bear on critical questions surrounding the school feeding programme.

Kirui said the collaboration would examine whether the programme was reaching children who needed support the most, whether the meals were producing the desired nutritional outcomes, and whether local farmers and food systems were benefiting from the intervention.

He stressed that IFPRI’s objective was not merely to produce reports but to generate practical evidence capable of informing government decisions and improving the lives of beneficiaries.

“Our ambition is that every piece of evidence takes us one step closer to a stronger programme,” he said, adding that data would help identify areas of progress while research and learning would support the scaling up of successful approaches.

The IFPRI country director expressed confidence that the partnership would serve as a model for effective collaboration between government institutions and international research organisations, while producing practical solutions aligned with Nigeria’s national development priorities.