C’River to Establish Farms for School Feeding Programme

Under teacher’s diary

Bassey Inyang in Calabar

The Cross River State Government has announced a partnership with Akwa Prime Hatchery and Poultry to establish farms in five locations across the state for the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP).

The Special Adviser to the Governor on HGSFP, Mr. Gabriel Okulaja, and State Desk Officer disclosed this in Calabar while providing an update on the implementation of the programme in the state.

Okulaja said the programme is a multi-sectoral approach with a value chain system with children as the end beneficiaries, adding that the implementation of the project is in line with the local content policy of the programme.

He said most eggs and chickens currently used by vendors were being brought from outside the state. “In order to meet the local content policy of the programme, we have commenced partnership with Akwa Prime to set up farms in five locations in the three senatorial districts of the state.

“Our target is to raise 100,000 broilers between now and July from these locations so that we can produce eggs and birds for the programme in the state.

“Already, the one in Calabar is set to begin production with 30,000 birds with Akwa Prime having cleared the location. Other locations include Akpabuyo, Ikom, Ogoja and Obudu,” Okulaja said.

He stated that the programme has begun to achieve results in the state, especially in the area of increased primary school pupils’ enrolment.

“We have made some progress since inception of the programme in the state on October 2017. At the beginning of the first school year 2017, the state engaged 1,358 vendors and had 117,750 pupils.

“But presently, as we commenced the second term, the enrolment has increased to 168,069 while 1,963 vendors have been engaged.”

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