State initiatives to support eco-friendly cooking in schools
State initiatives to support eco-friendly cooking in schools
State initiatives to support eco-friendly cooking in schools
A new initiative to maintain school food programs using eco-friendly cooking methods has emerged in the wake of government budget cuts.
Those involved are pushing for the adoption of steam technology rather than wood for heating.
According to Harun Yussuf, CEO of the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (Naconek), “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 as part of the innovative financing.”
On Monday, Yussuf delivered a speech on the fringes of the African Development Bank Group’s 2024 Annual Meetings.
In keeping with climate conservation goals, the new cooking model will also create a way to finance the school food program by building up carbon credits.
Projects that have reduced or eliminated greenhouse gas emissions produce carbon credits. One tonne of carbon dioxide, or another greenhouse gas equivalent, or CO2e, is removed from the atmosphere for every credit.
The school feeding program stands to gain up to Sh55 billion annually from the carbon credits associated with the transition to more environmentally friendly cooking techniques.
“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,” Yussuf said.
The model could also provide a solution to the underfunding that has plagued the programme over the years.
A 2023 audit by the Office of the Auditor General shows that in the past five years, Sh17.32 billion was needed for the school feeding programme but only Sh7.70 billion was availed.
This means the programme suffered a 56 per cent budget shortfall.
Currently, the school feeding programme is exclusively funded by the government after the exit of the World Food Programme.
Yussuf said the programme seeks to reach 4 million learners by end of 2024, and about 10 million by 2030.
Finer details of the project show that the government plans to construct 183 centralized steam-based kitchens for urban and peri-urban schools with a capacity of 30,000 learners to cater to around 5.5 million learners.
To serve 4.5 million students, there will be an additional 9,020 decentralized steam kitchens in rural areas, mostly in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (Asals), with a capacity of 500–3,000 students.
“We are still working together with important partners. In order to mobilize outside funding to support the program’s scaling up, we have been collaborating closely with the GPE through the World Bank, World Food Programme, and The Rockefeller Foundation,” he stated.
As per the 2023 AG study evaluating the school meal program, certain schools out of the 22 evaluated did not have energy-saving jikos, adequate ventilation, or access to clean water.
