Vihiga County is set to scale up its Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) Uji Premix feeding programme after a consultative meeting with the Sustainable Organic Farming and Development Initiatives (SOFDI).
The talks, chaired by County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Education, Science, Technical and Vocational Training Anne Desma, brought together SOFDI representatives led by International Director Autumn Totton.
Desma said that, currently, the programme is running in 55 schools, reaching 5,229 learners and plans are underway to expand it through a phased ward-by-ward rollout, which will strengthen monitoring, accountability and peer learning across schools.
The meeting also explored the development of a joint implementation framework to clearly define the roles of both Vihiga County and SOFDI, with built-in monitoring and evaluation systems. The county further highlighted the need for additional personnel to support the expansion process.
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SOFDI presented findings from its pilot phase, showing that the initiative had improved nutrition, boosted school attendance and enhanced learning outcomes among ECDE pupils.
CECM Desma emphasized that school feeding should be viewed as a long-term investment in children’s future. She also urged parents to embrace the integrated soya farming initiative associated with the programme, describing it as a step toward sustainability and community empowerment.
“This programme is not just about providing a meal, it’s about giving our children a better chance at education and life,” she said.
Vihiga County and SOFDI are expected to finalize an implementation framework before the next phase of the rollout begins.
By Godfrey Wamalwa
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