Optimizing the local food supply for school feeding programs in Togo

 

In Togo, school meal programs based on local production face limited funding, a lack of coordination between stakeholders and the use of food production, processing and cooking practices that accentuate people's vulnerability to climate change and help perpetuate gender inequalities. As the government implements different local sourcing models across the country, it is imperative to conduct research to better understand how to optimize them for maximum environmental, resilience, food security and equality benefits.

The project aims to contribute to the improvement of school meal program supply systems in Togo through the study and comparison of models currently piloted by the authorities, the piloting of innovative models to increase resilience, environmental sustainability and women's financial empowerment, and advocacy for policy changes at the national level.

An inventory of school meal program procurement models will be drawn up on a national scale, with a particular focus on food provenance, the types of organizations involved, the practices used, the income generated by stakeholders and gender equality.

Following this inventory, 15 schools and six agricultural cooperatives in three regions (Savanes, Kara and Plateaux) will host trials that will test certain supply practices according to economic, environmental and gender equality criteria: the installation of school vegetable gardens; the promotion of agroecological practices among cooperatives supplying meal programs; the improvement of feeding practices for chickens destined for meal programs; and the establishment of school forests for energy and fruit production.

The quality of food produced using conventional and agroecological methods will be compared to determine their impact on meal quality. During the course of the project, the best avenues for improving supply models will be shared with the authorities and organizations responsible for implementing the national school meal program, in order to increase the scope of results.

This project is part of a cohort of projects that aim to catalyze the adoption and scaling of regenerative, equitable and inclusive practices in school meal supply systems in Africa, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the agroecological transition of local and national food systems.