BY ANDREW DLAMINI
MBABANE – Director of Education Ntombenhle Dlamini, has announced the success of the homegrown school feeding pilot projects.
The initiative was implemented in 50 schools across the country, serving 24 000 school children. Dlamini was speaking during the dissemination of a report on homegrown school feeding pilot project child held in Manzini on Tuesday.
Dlamini stated that the homegrown school feeding pilot projects would also have positive impact on local farmers.
She said the initiative, implemented in 50 schools across the country, is aimed to address malnutrition among school-going children.
Dlamini disclosed that the farmers involved had consistently provided high-quality food supplements, aligning with the project’s oobjectives.
She said the Ministry of Education and Training, in collaboration with various stakeholders, recently launched the report to provide insights into the outcomes of the pilot project in different schools nationwide.
“The Ministry of Agriculture played a pivotal role in implementing this project,” said Dlamini.
She credited smallholder farmers for providing students with fresh fruit juice, enhancing the nutritional value of their diets.
She said government launched the program in 2019 to deliver nutritious food produced by local farmers to schools.
Deepak Shah, World Food Programme Country Director, emphasized the organization’s support for the project.
“As of now the pilot project is still ongoing. It’s serves around 24 000 school children in 50 schools all over the country. The main aim of this project is to link small holder farmers in basically the rural communities to the schools so that they produce, that they grow in small holder gardens to provide nutritious and supplementary commodities to the schools,” said Shah in an interview with Eswatini TV.
