TechnoServe Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) to improve the quality of meals served to millions of primary school pupils across the country.

The agreement was signed in Abuja aims to strengthen nutrition standards, improve food safety and support local farmers who supply food to the school feeding programme.

The NHGSFP operates under the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), which oversees key federal social investment programmes.

Speaking at the ceremony, the National Programme Manager of NHGSFP, Princess Aderemi Adebowale, described the partnership as timely and important.

“Today marks not just the signing of a document, but the strengthening of a partnership committed to addressing one of the most critical pillars of national development; the nutrition and wellbeing of our children,” she said.

Adebowale explained that the school feeding programme was created to provide nutritious meals to pupils while also boosting local agriculture and creating jobs.

However, she noted that many children still face malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and food insecurity, which affect their learning and future productivity.

She said TechnoServe’s experience in agricultural value chain development, nutrition programmes and capacity building would help improve meal diversity, food safety and monitoring.

Under the agreement, both organisations will work together to improve the nutritional quality of school meals, strengthen food safety systems and support menu planning based on locally available foods.

They will also promote sustainable agricultural value chains to empower smallholder farmers and use data-driven systems to track results and improve outcomes.

Country Director of TechnoServe Nigeria, Adesuwa, said the partnership builds on lessons from the West Africa Fortified Whole Grain Programme, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and implemented in Kano and Ogun states.

According to her, that initiative trained school caterers, organised cooking demonstrations, strengthened millers and supported regulatory compliance. She said the model has been tested and can now be expanded nationwide through the school feeding programme.

Stakeholders at the event expressed hope that the partnership would not only improve the quality of meals served to pupils but also strengthen supply chains and support economic growth in farming communities.