School Feeding Programme, Smallholder Farmers, and Development of Rural Areas in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigerian Federal government under the Muhammadu Buhari led-administration attempts to develop rural areas in Nigeria by introducing the Home-grown School Feeding (HGSF) Programme in 2016 in order to boost local agricultural production, create employment opportunities, reduce out-ofschool children, boost nutrition and health status of schoolchildren, and ameliorate economic wellbeing of the rural areas as a strategy to grow and develop the Nigerian Economy. The study examines the linkages among School feeding Programme, smallholder farmers, and rural development in Nigeria. 

Keywords: Home-grown school feeding programme, smallholder farmers, economic development, rural, agricultural production, difference-in-differences (DID) method JEL Classification: O1, O5, Q1, R1