02 Mar 2026

Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Ms Nono Kgafela-Mokoka, has announced a significant expansion of Botswana’s home-grown school feeding programme, with total allocations for 2026 reaching approximately P1.6 billion.

Presenting Botswana’s national position during the 11^th African Day of School Feeding in Gaborone, Ms Kgafela-Mokoka said P630 million had been earmarked specifically for primary schools. 

The allocation forms part of a broader investment aimed at strengthening food safety systems, infrastructure upgrades, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) integration, and digital monitoring mechanisms.

She said the increased funding aligned directly with this year’s continental theme of ensuring access to nutritious meals, clean water and hygiene in schools.

“Our investment reflects a deliberate shift towards safety, resilience and sustainability,” she said. “Every meal must be safe, nutritionally balanced and supported by strong systems.”

For 2026, she stated that Botswana would prioritise the introduction of food safety and traceability systems, scale up climate-smart and locally controlled procurement, strengthen WASH and kitchen standards, and improve digital monitoring and reporting.

Logistics coordination will also be enhanced in fragile and climate-affected districts to minimise disruptions.

Ms Kgafela-Mokoka said the programme would intensify support for smallholder farmers through aggregation models and predictable procurement frameworks to stimulate rural economies and reduce vulnerability.

Under the second phase of implementation, the Home-Grown Feeding (HGF) model will operate as a coordinated national platform linking the education, agriculture and health sectors. Agricultural production will be aligned with school demand, while the health sector will enforce nutritional standards and hygiene compliance.

“This integrated model strengthens governance, improves value for money and enhances sustainability,” she said.

The minister described Botswana’s programme as universally inclusive, institutionally governed and firmly anchored on safety and climate resilience.

“Every child will be fed. Every meal shall be safe. Every investment will count,” she said, adding that Botswana stood ready to collaborate with other African Union member states to advance sustainable school feeding systems.

Her remarks were reinforced by Vice President Ndaba Gaolatlhe, who earlier described school feeding as a strategic human capital investment and urged African governments to protect it through predictable financing and strong accountability systems.

Other ministers attending the summit echoed similar sentiments, highlighting the need to strengthen cross-sector coordination between education, agriculture, health and water ministries. 

They emphasised increasing domestic financing, expanding local procurement from farmers, and integrating water and sanitation infrastructure into school feeding investments to improve safety and learning outcomes.

World Food Programme Executive Director Ms Cindy McCain, in remarks delivered virtually, commended African governments for growing domestic contributions to school meals but warned that millions of vulnerable children still lacked access. She called for deeper partnerships, including private sector engagement, to close remaining gaps.

Child representatives also urged leaders to include children’s voices in decision-making and to ensure meals are nutritious, served on time and supported by adequate hygiene facilities.

The summit concluded with ministerial commitments to translate policy discussions into measurable action, as Botswana positioned its scaled-up investment as both a national priority and a continental model for resilient, home-grown school feeding. ENDS