WFP, the United Nations World Food Programme, expressed readiness to support the national General Education Ministry to implement its vision of school gardens activities.
Kiganzi Nyakato of WFP School Feeding Unit told CRN that the school gardens aimed at educating children and the community to boost farming practices and supplement school meals with fresh vegetables.
She said WFP wanted to support the Ministry to teach pupils that cultivation is good so that they are able to see the importance of growing food and supplementing what the WFP is providing.
Ms Nyakato explained that the second reason is to encourage community and family participation in the school activities.
She said WFP wanted parents to contribute with firewood, water and cooks’ salaries to ensure that they are involved in school life of their children.
Director of School Feeding Department in the Ministry of General Education and Instruction, Kenyang Cir, said the ministry wanted to impart the spirit of farming to school children.
He said the gardens aimed at orienting the school children about the importance of agriculture so that the pupils enlightened parents and relatives at home.
Both officials spoke ahead of the formal launching of school feeding and gardening activities in South Sudan on Friday.