EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Global Child Nutrition Foundation

The Ministry of Agriculture has programs to improve farmers’
capacity so that schools have less difficulty accessing rations.
Schools represent additional markets for farmers, which helps
develop Kenya’s agricultural sector.
The Ministry of Public Health’s interventions improve the
health of children before they enter the school system, so they
arrive ready to learn. The school feeding program helps raise
the profile of nutrition as a cornerstone of health and
development—a critical Ministry policy objective.
The Ministry of Education’s policy goals are to improve
education access, equity, and quality. The school feeding
program keeps children in school, improving access; better
nourishment allows for better concentration and learning
retention, improving quality.
Kenya’s home grown school feeding programs are
improving health, educational, and economic conditions in
the impoverished communities served.
The Partnership for Child Development (PCD) conducted a case
study and comparative analysis of Eradicating Hunger in Kenya
using robust analytical methodology. Primary data was collected
from surveys of community members, school officials, 4K club
members, farmers, and others affected by the program;
secondary data sources were used as well.
Documented benefits of the program include:
Increased school enrollment.
Better nourished children.
Parents who are more knowledgeable and educated about
nutrition.
Community empowerment, improved nutrition, higher
household incomes.
Community learning about food production and supply chain
processes, including agricultural technology, food storage, and
food distribution.
Program sustainability. Schools and farmers are able to raise
funds to continue the program when outside funding tapers off.
Increased community awareness of nutritional indigenous
foods that had been abandoned.
The program faces challenges, however. Notably, Kenya
experiences severe food supply shortages in regions with
frequent droughts.
Scaling Up Sustainability: Linking School Feeding with Agriculture
Development to Maximize Food Security
May 3-7, 2011
Nairobi, Kenya
© 2011 GCNF and PCD. All rights reserved. Page 12
The study also noted the need for improved coordination of
procurement and distribution processes and that this problem
requires more government support. Another challenge noted was
the lack of funding for scaling up the beneficial program.
Among the best practices observed: Some farmers are joining
together to sell their produce through one distributor. This allows
schools to procure a variety of foods at less effort and expense.
P4P is advancing the school feeding program’s success by
helping to overcome food supply challenges.
Purchase for Progress (P4P) is a five-year pilot project of the
World Food Programme (WFP) that works to raise the proportion
of food that WFP buys from smallholder farmers.
By creating additional markets for smallholder farmers and by
enabling them to get the training they need to solve business
problems, P4P helps alleviate the food shortages that pose
problems for Kenyan schools trying to procure local food. P4P
was called “a strong partner of the government” in the Eradicate
Hunger in Kenya effort. P4P has been operating in Kenya since
2009.
P4P’s model has three components:
1) Using WFP’s purchasing power to promote economic
development by helping farmers;
2) Forming supply-side partnerships to ensure sufficient food
supplies for WFP programs; and
3) Sharing knowledge and training farmers in the agricultural and
business skills they need to meet their challenges.
Like PCD, P4P has identified challenges in the Kenya school
feeding program, including:
Lack of adequate food storage facilities.
Climatic conditions that impede farmers’ ability to supply all
of the food that WFP desires to buy.
WFP’s procurement processes, which deter the participation
of farmers who need immediate cash payment.
Farmers who tend not to respect contracts for future delivery
during times of rapidly rising food prices.
Illiteracy, which prevents some farmers from reaping the P4Penabled
opportunities.