To further food security within Nigeria's Osun State School Feeding and Health Programme (O-MEALS) through increased rice production, rice stakeholders and farmers in Osun State have been asked to participate in Nigeria's Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) initiative.

Mrs. Olubunmi Ayoola, the Director and State Operation Officer for Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme – O-MEALS, made the request during a stakeholder meeting organized by the O-MEALS Office in collaboration with Imperial College Lonodn's Partnership for Child Development (PCD).

Mrs. Ayoola expressed the interest of the O-MEALS office towards increased rice production and how this would support farmers supplying their local produce to the school feeding programme menu. She outlined to representatives in attendance, including those from the Federal and Osun State ministries of agriculture, Osun State ministry of commerce and O'Meals vendors, that this will have a multiplier effect on the state’s economy and will drive community empowerment.

With Osun silos having the storage capacity of 50,000 metric tonne of quality rice, three local government areas in the state comprising Osogbo, Ejigbo and Atakumosa have been selected as the kick-off communities to pilot the initiative, according to the PCD's Programme Manager in Nigeria, Mrs Abimbola Adesanmi.

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