The First Lady and Minister of Karamoja Affairs Hon. Janet Museveni launched the school feeding Programme in Karamoja by handing over 17,100 bags (about 355 metric tons) of maize flour for distribution to primary and secondary schools in the region. The maize flour given by the Ministry of Karamoja Affairs in the Office of the Prime Minister in partnership with the Uganda Prison Service and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) was grown and milled at the Uganda Prisons farm in Namalu Nakapiripirit District. This maize flour will be distributed by the WFP to 63 schools in Amudat and Nakapiripirit Districts for the second school term this year and is expected to benefit over 24,000 children.
While addressing the people who gathered at Namalu Prisons farm to witness the launch, First Lady Janet Museveni lauded the team work and partnership which has enabled the successful production of the maize to support the school feeding programme in Karamoja. “This is how Government departments are supposed to work in full cooperation. This project is an eye opener which should set an example to Government that when we have willing people working together things can be done and the sky is the limit”, she said.
She noted that the Ministry of Karamoja Affairs entered into an MOU with the Uganda Prisons Service to produce food to support the school feeding programme after the UN-WFP raised concern about the funding gap in their budget for this programme. “This will contribute to the retention of those children who have not been fully attending school because of hunger, and as you all know ‘a hungry stomach is a hungry mind”, she said. The First Lady saluted the leadership and staff of the Uganda Prisons Service who planted the 300 acres of maize, WFP for their post-harvest grain management support plus the participation of the Karamoja Affairs Ministry team and the Nakapiripirit District leadership. She encouraged the continued partnership as plans are under way to expand the project to ensure that in the near future all school children in Karamoja are fed.
The Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Mrs. Christine Guwatudde Kintu reported that the Ministry of Karamoja Affairs provided inputs worth 230 million shillings to facilitate the planting of the 300 acres of maize. The inputs included tractors, seeds, fertilizers, a grain milling machine and temporary storage facility. She said that 400 acres of maize will be planted this coming planting season and 200 acres of sunflower will also be planted to supplement the nutritional content of the food package to schools. To ensure this, three tractors are in the process of being procured for Uganda Prisons Service, irrigation will be done to ensure all year round food production and the food stores at Namalu Prisons will be renovated.
The Country Representative UN World Food Programme, Alice Martin-Daihirou described the launch as a dream come true for promoting home grown food for meals for the school children. This year, WFP has reduced rations to one meal a day while promoting local leaders, parents, teachers and communities’ involvement in producing, processing and preparing food for the school children.
“These events are extremely significant. First of all, the Government of Uganda is filling a major resourcing gap that WFP is faced with for school meals. Secondly, we are witnessing the potential of the Government to find local solutions to chronic food shortages in Uganda. WFP is extremely pleased with this collaboration and its potential future benefits” she said. More to that she noted that WFP is currently working with the Office of the Prime Minister and the National Planning Authority to draft a policy paper on school feeding for rural schools in Uganda.
The Commissioner General Uganda Prisons Service Johnson Byabashaija thanked God for enabling the success of the project and pledged their continued commitment to support the school feeding programme in Karamoja. The LCV Chairman Nakapiripirit, Lorot John, expressed gratitude to the First Lady for initiating the project and to Government for supporting the feeding of Karamoja’s school children and requested that the programme buys rice grown by the farmers in the region to supplement the maize flour.
The function was attended by the Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs Barbara Nekesa Oundo, the Chairman Uganda National Planning Authority Dr. Kisamba Mugerwa, senior officials from WFP, Uganda Prisons Service, OPM and Nakapiripirit District among others.