The Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programme-KAABE project implementing by SEDO with the support from WFP and funded by French Humanitarian Action is a cash transfer-based school feeding model designed to provide school children with safe, diverse, and nutritious food sourced from local markets. While meeting the immediate food and nutritious needs of children, The HGSF programme provides smallholder farmers a market for their produce, thereby strengthening local food system and boosting the overall economy.

The project commenced with meticulously designed and executed induction sessions for five new team members. These sessions aimed to thoroughly immerse the new staff into the project’s scope, objectives, and their specific roles, ensuring a cohesive understanding and approach to the project’s goals.

A significant milestone was the project kick-off meeting held in Bari. This meeting involved all key stakeholders, including the World Food Programme (WFP), collaborating partners in the Kobciye project (SADAR and SDC), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the School Feeding Program Coordinator. This meeting was essential for launching the project activities and ensuring all parties were aligned with the project’s objectives.

Community mobilization efforts were successfully conducted, engaging cooperatives in the target locations of Nugaal and Bari. This step was crucial for fostering community involvement and participation in the project.

A comprehensive list of 450 cooperative farmers from all eight locations was finalized for training. Training sessions for these farmers commenced in January 2024 and are ongoing across all target locations. The training covers Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), post-harvest loss reduction, and food safety in Garowe, Nugaal, and Bari regions (refer to the Annex for the training outline).

To facilitate training, the GAP manual intended for farmers was successfully translated into Somali. This translation ensures that the farmers can fully understand and implement the training content.

SEDO participated in a three-day onboarding training for cooperating partners in Puntland, held at Garand Hotel, Garowe. This training enhanced the skills and knowledge of the partners, ensuring a more effective collaboration.

Focused efforts were made to establish linkages between schools, cooperatives, and the Ministry of Education-Puntland. As a result, cooperative farmers were successfully linked to 26 schools under WFP support as part of the home-grown school feeding initiatives in Bari and Nugaal regions. This linkage enabled the delivery of fresh produce to schools, supporting local agriculture and providing nutritious food to students.

A training workshop on E-shop and Scope, as well as farmer cooperative orientation and school linkage creation, was organized and coordinated. The workshop, facilitated by WFP resource persons, was held in Garowe from March 18-20, 2024. This workshop aimed to enhance the farmers’ understanding and use of digital tools for better market linkages.

Scope machines were handed over to the cooperatives, with schools redeeming from the Scope card during transactions. This provision improved the efficiency of transactions between farmers and schools.

Introduction and inception meetings between Nugaal farmer cooperatives and target schools were facilitated, with meetings held at farmer cooperative locations in Bari and Nugaal regions. These meetings strengthened the partnerships and clarified the roles and expectations of each party.

Community engagement was furthered through two days of community conversations and engagement with the WFP team in Balley and Ana-Yaskah, Nugaal region. These conversations helped to address community concerns and gather feedback for continuous improvement.

SEDO participated in a one-day roundtable discussion at the WFP Puntland area office. Experts in climate change, regenerative agriculture, and markets and value chains from CO Mogadishu presented sessions aimed at fostering collaboration among partners to address challenges and opportunities related to food systems, sustainability, and resilience in the face of climate change.

A donor field visit was organized with WFP and SDC to Bally and Silliga Primary School. The French donor met with Kaabe/Kobciye beneficiaries, community leaders, and project stakeholders. They observed the agricultural inputs provided, such as farm fencing, drip irrigation, and small water tanks, which complemented the project’s water for production systems.

A field visit to Laacdheere and Al-Amal primary schools was facilitated, where the WFP communication team captured the linking program. They visited a farm in Laacdheere, interviewed a farmer, and observed the delivery of fruits and vegetables to the school by a cooperative member, documenting success stories and highlighting the impact of the program.

SEDO participated in the Kobciye review meeting held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MOAI) Puntland. Additionally, a training workshop on scaling up Farme2GO for Nugaal farmer cooperatives was organized and coordinated, facilitated by WFP and held in Garowe. This workshop aimed to enhance the farmers’ marketing capabilities and broaden their market reach.

Through these comprehensive activities, the project has made significant strides in enhancing agricultural practices, fostering community engagement, and strengthening the linkages between farmers and schools, ultimately contributing to the project’s success and sustainability.