Sha'awanatu Isiaka Habu 



Forum of Education Secretaries in Taraba State has rejected Yoghurt juice supply for the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme by aggregators in the state.


The forum further announced the suspension of the distribution of the juice.


 The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) is a government initiative of N70 per day school feeding programme that aims to improve the health and educational condition of public primary school pupils; It is base on farm produce locally grown by smallholder farmers to provide children nutritious mid-day meals on every school day. 



The programme also aims at injecting money into markets to boost the economy by empowering local farmers and petty traders.



Secretary of the Forum and the Education Secretary of the Gassol local government area Alhaji Yahaya Adamu made the announcement in Jalingo, the Taraba State Capital.


Giving reasons for the suspension order, Alhaji Yahaya Adamu explained that the quality of the Yoghurt juice supplied by the contractors for distribution to the pupils was so sub-standard and below dietary specifications.


The Education Secretary explained that the distribution of Yoghurt juice to primary schools will resume only when standard products were supplied bases on the agreement reached between the forum and contractors.



Alhaji Yahaya Adamu appealed to parents to be patient with the management of the Home Grown Feeding Programme in Taraba State as the measure was meant to safeguard the health of their children.


According to him, the forum has the mandate to protect and promote health of primary school pupils in Taraba State. He further announced that the management of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme in Taraba state regret any inconveniences the development might has caused the parents in the state.


 

Findings revealed that there is a newly introduced method of feeding under NHGSFP In Taraba State. The method involves contracting aggregators for the state who will be supplying the food to the vendors. 


The items to be supplied to them include beans, fish, meat and Yoghurt juice. The aggregators will be paid from the money deducted from the actual payment of the food vendors. 



The aggregators on Friday 19th November, 2021 started the distribution of the said items with a single fish and one measure of beans to cook for one week.


Meanwhile, in some local governments, the food vendors received from the aggregators, four measures of beans and four pieces of fish to be cooked for four weeks in their respective schools.



Also almost more than 70% of meat provided by aggregators for distribution were rotten as a result of lack of proper storage facilities and good channel of distribution. It was also gathered that the meat was grossly inadequate and for below specification for distribution.



There was growing outcry from the parts of food vendors, parents, pu,pills, and even managers of (NHGSFP) in Taraba State over the development.  The vendors complained that most of them received credit alerts of N60,000, N50,000, N40,000, N35,,000 and N23,000 respectively instead of N120,000, N100,000, N80,000, N70,,000 and N45,000 they have been receiving for the school feeding program in the state. 


Reacting to the development, the Taraba State Coordinator of Independent Moni rs supervising the Social Investment Programme of the Federal Government in the state Huzaifa Dalhatu decried the involvement of aggregators in NHGSFP. 


According to him, the development was a very big threat to the continuation of the program in Taraba and was a big blow to the initial intention of President BuharI- led government.