Schools to embrace clean cooking as state streamlines feeding plan

Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang and stakeholders during the launch of the global school meals coalition at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, Nairobi, on October 8, 2024. [Kanyiri Wahito Standard]

Primary schools across the country are set to undergo a major transformation in their cooking practices that will see the use of firewood and charcoal replaced with cleaner options.

At the same time, it will be a windfall for small scale farmers as government now moves to make them the primary suppliers of food stuff to schools, under the revamped school feeding programe.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang revealed that schools will transition to using gas, solar energy, and steam for cooking in the next two to three years.

Dr Kipsang emphasized that the school feeding programme has been a major contributor to deforestation, and adopting climate-friendly solutions will help protect the country's tree cover.

“The school feeding programme has been the biggest threat to achieving the 15 million tree coverage goal, thus moving to climate-friendly solutions will go a long way in protecting trees,” he said.

The announcement was made on Tuesday during the launch of the global school meals coalition at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in Nairobi. 

Kipsang highlighted that Kenya has significantly increased its investment in the school feeding programme, tripling funding from Sh2 billion in 2021 to Sh6 billion currently.

In addition to the change in cooking methods, schools will also be required to source their food locally from farmers around the school environment.

Under the new plan, the government through National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (Naconek), is contracting local farmers’ cooperatives to supply food directly to schools.

This will mark a significant departure from the current practice where the government sends money to the institutions for school heads to individually source food from suppliers of their choice.

“This will spur the economy of the community living within the school environment as we position schools as one of the markets for smallholder farmers,” Kipsang said.

The government is also taking steps to streamline the funding for the school feeding programme. By eliminating double dipping, where some schools receive funds from multiple sources, the aim is to ensure that resources are used efficiently and effectively.

The switch to climate-friendly cooking methods for the school feeding programme is projected to raise up to Sh55 billion each year from the carbon credits.

“These installations are poised to generate significant carbon credits, potentially yielding up to Sh55 billion annually to feed 10 million children and these installations will be regarded as a carbon asset,” said Harun Yussuf, Chief Executive Officer of National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (Naconek).

The model could also provide a solution to the under funding that has plagued the programme over the years.

“As part of the innovative financing, the Ministry of Education is developing a comprehensive plan to transition Kenyan schools from using biomass-based cooking methods to climate-smart-friendly steam technology,” said Yusuf.