How school meals could transform Africa’s food systems
- savdysard
- Mar 18
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 5
Researchers from across Africa and the UK gathered in Rwanda to explore how school meals could help reshape food systems—and the results are inspiring.
In March 2025, Imperial College London led a multi-country project workshop on food systems transformation in partnership with University of Rwanda (UR), Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), University of Health and Allied Sciences (Ghana), and Action Health Incorporated (Nigeria). This project is part of the Research Consortium’s Food Systems Transformation Community of Practice. The workshop convened research teams from Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and the UK, in Musanze and Kigali, Rwanda, for a week of collaboration, learning, and visioning for the future of food, to advance progress of its Food Systems Transformation Through School Feeding project.
Funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the project explores how school meals can catalyse improvements in nutrition, agriculture, education, and community engagement in Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. During the workshops, participants shared project updates, discussed gender equity and policy engagement, and visited flourishing school farms—illustrating real change in action.
Dr. Samrat Singh, Principal Investigator from Imperial College London, opened the workshop by highlighting the project’s vision:
“While school feeding serves as a foundation for food security, agriculture, and public health in nearly every country, there is still a need to identify the limits within which meaningful food systems transformation can take place. These country projects represent targeted interventions with the potential to drive broader policy change when implemented at scale.”
The University of Rwanda presented their work establishing school-based farms in ten schools nationwide, where children now eat homegrown, micronutrient-rich crops like high-iron beans and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.
“This isn’t just about nutrition—it’s about empowering schools and communities to grow their own solutions,” said Dr. Jean D’Amour Manirere.
In Ghana, plans are underway to support the cultivation of neglected and underutilized species (NUS) for use in school meals. Dr. Phyllis Addo explained how the team is identifying key actors within the Ghana School Feeding Programme and preparing to launch a pilot that offers technical and financial support to farmers growing NUS crops.
“By supporting local producers and shifting what ends up on children’s plates, we’re helping revive lost crops—and reconnecting food traditions with nutrition,” she said.
The Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), shared progress from their project focusing on nutritious school diets, gender empowerment, and climate resilience. Dr. Simon Omondi opened with a striking truth:
“In many regions of Kenya, if there is no school feeding programme, children do not go to school.”
Their upcoming pilot will introduce climate-smart and inclusive learning models on school farms, where students will grow crops like nyota beans, vegetables, and watermelons. The team is also preparing for a national stakeholder roundtable to deepen policy engagement.
From Nigeria, Action Health Incorporated shared their progress on updating school menus with fortified foods and mapping biofortified crops. They are now planning community behaviour change campaigns and market access interventions to support smallholder farmers. Nigeria PI Abimbola Adesanmi remarked,
“The work ahead is about mainstreaming gender into local food systems through community-driven interventions while leveraging the Home-Grown School Feeding programme.”
The three-day workshop also included a field visit to one of the participating schools in Rwanda, where teams toured a thriving school-based farm and observed children receiving a hot, homegrown meal mainly based on micronutrients dense crops. Reflecting on the visit, UKbased researcher and project manager Savannah Dysard said:
“It was truly inspiring to witness the University of Rwanda team’s work in developing schoolbased farms. The flourishing farms demonstrated the immense potential of school feeding programmes. Watching children share a plate of nutritious, satisfying food underscored the vital role schools play—not just in promoting wellbeing, but in strengthening community bonds and celebrating the joy of sharing meals.”