![\"HGSF](\"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/fom\/files\/2014\/06\/HGSF-programme-launched-in-Zanzibar.jpg\")
<\/a>On 28 May the Government of Zanzibar launched a new innovative Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programme in collaboration with Imperial College London’s PCD and programme donors Table for Two to feed over 5000 school children, whilst simultaneously supporting local smallholder farmers by sourcing their produce for the school meals.<\/p>\n\u201cThis programme is the first of its kind for Zanzibar and marks the Government\u2019s awareness on the value of school meals for society as a whole\u201d said PCD\u2019s East Africa Senior Programme Manager, Iain Gardiner. He continued, \u201cNot only will children be well fed in school but jobs will be created for farmers and other community members involved in the growing, processing and preparing of food for school meals.\u201d Find out\u00a0more<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n PCD\u2019s Executive Director, Dr Lesley Drake said \u201cThe meeting is an excellent example of high level inter-ministerial collaboration at the federal and state level to design sustainable school feeding programmes which will improve the lives of children and smallholder farmers across the country.\u201d Find out\u00a0more<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the target counties of Kilifi and Lamu, PCD together with SNV have launched the intervention to address challenges of farmer produce being sourced from large distances within Kenya and even outside of the country in neighbouring Tanzania. To ensure producers in the counties are secured of a reliable income and livelihood, so the “Home Grown” in HGSF is maximised, the project aims to achieve a more localised supply chain – to, in effect, boost the link between smallholder farmers, traders and recipient schools. Find out\u00a0more<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The training, carried out by Ghana\u2019s Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the GSFP and PCD, Imperial College London taught participants how to correctly apply and store the MNPs. The sessions which followed a \u201ctraining of trainer\u2019s\u201d approach will see participants organise step down trainings for caterers and cooks in their consecutive districts so lessons learnt are widely disseminated. Find out\u00a0more<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNigeria’s Federal Ministries collaborate to extend HGSF<\/h3>\n
<\/a>On 19 May 2014, PCD, Imperial College London with support from the Vitol Foundation convened a special high-level convening of federal ministers, state governors and international experts in Abuja to discuss how more of Nigeria\u2019s school children and farmers can benefit from Home Grown School Feeding programmes.<\/p>\nPromoting the Home Grown in Home Grown School Feeding<\/h3>\n
<\/a>PCD, Imperial College London alongside Dutch development organisation, SNV are working with Kenya\u2019s Ministries of Agriculture and Education to increase the access of coastal smallholder farmers to local markets supplying school meals in Kenya\u2019s Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programme.<\/p>\nAddressing Micronutrient Deficiency in Ghanaian Children<\/h3>\n
<\/a>60 stakeholders from Ghana\u2019s School Feeding Programme (GSFP) programme from national, regional, district and school levels across three regions of the country were recently trained on the use of Micronutrient Powders (MNPs) to combat micronutrient deficiencies found in school-aged children in the intervention areas.<\/p>\n