Effective school feeding procurement to influence education outcomes in Rwanda

• In Event: Evaluating education outcomes in: school-based nutrition interventions, life satisfaction and workforce development

Proposal

Benefits of school feeding
School Feeding is recognized as the largest safety net in the world, reaching about 418 million school children globally. Approximately 41 percent of children enrolled in primary school worldwide currently have access to a free or subsidized daily school meal, rising to 61 percent in high-income countries. In recent years, international research has also increasingly recognized school feeding to achieve a wide range of benefits across several sectors, in particular education, nutrition and health, social protection, and – if the modality of Home-Grown School Feeding is applied – local agriculture and food systems. A cost-benefit analysis conducted in 2017 demonstrated that the Home-Grown School Feeding programme in Rwanda has been a very valuable investment. Every US $1 invested brings an economic return of US $4.80 from improved health, education and productivity. In the area of education, school feeding can act as a pull factor for children to attend and stay in school, thus leading to increased enrolment, retention and completion rates. Importantly, children who receive meals in school can better participate in and concentrate on their classes since they are not hungry, which leads to enhanced learning.
School feeding in Rwanda
WFP supports local and regional procurement in Rwanda by investing in smallholder farmer linkages to schools, reinforcing the home-grown school feeding approach under the National School Feeding Programme (NSFP). Local food procurement fosters a range of benefits that positively influence educational outcomes. For instance, local procurement has been linked to cost efficiency and budget savings, which allows Governments and schools to reach more students. In such, it is important to understand the local market capacity to meet the progressively increasing food demand by schools, and interlinkages with local and regional procurement.
Demand and supply study
WFP collaborated with the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM), the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and the Ministry of Local Government to conduct demand and supply mapping for the NSFP. This exercise has been carried out in 4 districts (out of 30) so far, with 5 further planned in 2024.
This paper focuses on the mapping exercise completed in 3 districts. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaires administered to 433 schools, 114 smallholder farmer cooperatives, 4 factories, and 201 traders from 3 districts Nyaruguru (southern province), Karongi and Rutsiro (western province); secondary data was collected through reports on food prices and seasonality. WFP’s experience implementing this mapping exercise with national government and the mapping’s findings on intersectoral collaboration are relevant for education programmes hoping to work collaboratively with other sectors and stakeholders to improve early childhood education.

The mapping estimated the school feeding demand and the capacities of local farmer cooperatives and food processing companies to meet it, in each district. It also identified challenges met by schools in procuring food and those met by producers and food processing companies. It further explored possibilities of building strong market linkages between schools and local suppliers (cooperatives and processing companies) and the technical assistance required for the system to carry out this exercise. Secondary information was used to give more context to the mapping results, mainly the production data from the National Institute of Statistics, and reports of experiences from other countries in implementing homegrown school feeding programmes.

The assessment therefore recommended continued support to local producers to increase their production, through capacity strengthening, access to finance and establishment of the needed production and post-harvest infrastructures. This is expected to increase supply to schools, thus benefiting students and their learning outcomes.
Lessons learned
Strong coordination and collaboration mechanisms are essential to enhance linkages and allow timely exchange of information about demand (schools and districts) and supply capacity (factories and farmer groups). Relevant Government institutions, farmers organizations, food processors, schools, must all contribute their expertise and resources to meet students’ needs and realize an effective NSFP. This lesson is not only relevant for this exercise but can be extended to other education-related procurement (e.g., learning materials).
The involvement of different stakeholders was essential during the mapping process. Each actor, from government institutions, schools, farmer cooperatives, food processing companies to traders brought unique insights to the mapping. This approach ensured a comprehensive understanding of both supply and demand. This collaboration is instrumental and crucial across and beyond the education sector.
Furthermore, the relevant local district staff were involved in the exercise and trained on the questionnaires used. The aim is for district staff to use them regularly to inform purchasing needs and patterns.
Digitalized and simplified data management
Another key lesson learnt during the assessment is the need for regular, timely data and information on food procurement by schools. In response, WFP is collaborating with MINEDUC to digitalize and integrate school feeding procurement and related indicators into the government’s School Data Management System. This system already tracks indicators on education outcomes, such as attendance, and is a prime example of how other indicators, such as procurement, can be embedded in education data systems instead of creating parallel ones.
WFP is also exploring how MINICOM and farmer cooperatives can use existing digital platforms to regularly share data and information of food availability estimates with schools and districts to inform the NSFP.
Institutionalization of impact
While WFP is supporting the Government of Rwanda’s NSFP, the assessment revealed that working with and through government institutions and institutionalization of tools is essential to sustain and ensure continuity of activity beyond the project timeline.
The mapping exercise not only influences school feeding programme implementation but also informs the entire education sector and beyond on how to enhance coordination, collaboration, and leverage on digitalization.
This abstract is relevant to the M&E special interest group (SIG) as it shares and elevates an innovative best practice, linking education to other sectors that impact education outcomes (procurement through school meals). The aim is to encourage practitioners in participative study designs with the government as well as highlight new learning areas.

Author

• Deus KAYIGAMBA, UN World Food Programme