‘Digitization will solve 90% of School Feeding Programme challenges’
More than 90 percent of challenges the School Feeding Programme (SFP) is enmeshed in will be addressed, with the current digitisation agenda the programme is undertaking Mrs Gertrude Quashigah, the National Coordinator of the SFP, has said.
She explained that the switch from manual to the digital method of operating of the Programme being championed by the Office of the Vice President would also ensure transparency and accountability.
Mrs Quashigah, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said aside from tightening the loose ends at the local level of the programmes, it would also address issues such as ‘double cooking’ and ghost cooking’.
Digitisation of the programme, she mentioned, would streamline the processes involved including, payment, validation, the flow of information and performance of caterers and inject some sanity.
Recounting some of the achievements, she said through her advocacy the feeding grant per beneficiary pupil had been increased from GH¢0.80 to GH¢1.00.
The programme, she said, had increased school enrolment, attendance and retention.
Beneficiaries of the programme, she said, had increased from 1,677,771 million pupils in 2016 to 3,448,065 million as of 2020.
Mrs Quashigah mentioned that with support from World Food Programme (WFP), a country countrywide Farmer Based Organisations Database aimed at boosting domestic food production had been set up for the first time in the history of the Programme.
She said donors especially the WFP, had supported the SFP to organised a series of nutrition and innovative training for caterers and head cooks in 11 out of the 16 regions between 2019 and 2020 to enhance the use of alternative sources of protein and local foodstuffs.
She said the caterers were trained on how to use green leaves such as nkontomire, cassava leaf, potato leaf, ayoyo and other local spices such as ginger, onion and garlic, which were less expensive and could be found in their communities to prepare different meals.
Mrs Quashigah said under her leadership and with the support of doners they had developed a menu planner, which guide caterers on how to serve the pupils with the right quality and quantity of meal.
She noted that the programme had created more jobs from 10,850 caterers to over 35,000 cooks working in 10,832 basic schools in all the 260 districts.