FG flags off ‘grow what you eat’ initiative in secondary schools

The Federal Government has flagged off ‘Grow What You Eat’ initiative in some selected senior secondary schools across the six geo-political zones and the FCT to empower students in agricultural and entrepreneurial education. 

The Executive Secretary of National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), Iyela Ajayi, during the flag off in Abuja on Thursday, at one of the pilot schools, Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Dutse, also presented a cheque of N300, 000 to the school to commence the project.

Ajayi said the initiative is a strategic effort to reposition senior secondary education system by reintroducing school farming as a cornerstone of practical learning, food security, and youth empowerment

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The initiative with the theme, “Grow What You Eat: Empowering youth through practical agricultural education”, will commence in 20 schools across the zones.

The Executive Secretary said the commission recognise that preparing their students for the challenges of the 21st century requires more than classroom theory.

He said: “We must bridge the gap between knowledge and practice. This initiative is our bold step in that direction. “Grow What You Eat” is not just a school project: it is a national intervention. It is a vision of transforming school farms into hubs of agricultural learning, enterprise development, and community service.”

“By engaging our students in structured agricultural activities, we aim to cultivate not just crops, but also discipline, entrepreneurship, responsibility, and resilience.

“This is not just about growing food, it is about growing futures. It is about raising a generation that will not only be literate but also productive, self-reliant, and solution-oriented.”

While noting that the schools were nominated by the Commissioners for Education from their respective states, he said the commission have trained state desk officers through a strategy and implementation workshop, developed detailed implementation guidelines, provided modest seed grants for startup support and designed a monitoring framework to track and evaluate progress

Also speaking, Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, said the “Grow What You Eat” initiative is not just about farming but cultivating a mindset of self-reliance, innovation, and responsibility among our young people.

“It is about reconnecting our students to the land and showing them that agriculture is not a punishment but a pathway to prosperity.”

Represented by the Deputy Director of Vocational Education, at the ministry, Kehinde Osinaike, Ahmed stressed that the pilot programme is designed to promote practical agricultural education through school farms, equip students with agribusiness and entrepreneurial skills and enhance food and nutrition security at the school and community levels.

“Today’s event marks the beginning of a new era, where school farming is repositioned as a tool for experimental learning, economic empowerment, and sustainable development. By integrating classroom knowledge with hands-on practice, we are not only preparing our students for examinations, but also for life.”

She urged all participating schools, teachers, and state Ministries of Education to take full ownership of the initiative.

“Let us work together to ensure that our students grow food, grow skills, and grow hope. My dear students, the farm is your classroom, and the seed is your lesson. What you plant today will feed your family, your community, and your future,” she said.

Earlier, the Head Teacher Development and International Partnership (TDIP) of NSSEC, Mohammed Salihu, said the gathering is a testament to their collective commitment to strengthen senior secondary education by making it more responsive, Inclusive, and practically oriented.

“We are particularly excited because this initiative speaks directly to the intersection of learning skill-building, and global best practices all of which are central to our Commission’s mandate,” he said.

“The ‘Grow What You Eat’ initiative is not just a programme, but a transformative strategy that will reconnect students with the land, instill a culture of productivity, and reinforce values of self-reliance, teamwork, and sustainability.

“It is also an innovative response to the realities facing our society particularly in the areas of food security, youth unemployment, and environmental stewardship.

“While we are providing a little seed money to these initial schools to kickstart their efforts, the Commission has ambitious plans to scale up this vital programme to all the senior secondary schools in Nigeria through strategic collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

“One of the most exciting aspects of this initiative is that it is student-centered and community-driven. Students are not only the primary beneficiaries; they are the actors, the innovators, and the winners of the change we seek. We believe that when teachers are empowered and students are inspired, the outcomes will transcend classrooms and transform entire communities.”