Reintroduce state farms to help school feeding - NORPRA

The Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA), a civil society organisation, has proposed measures to help deal with the recurrent problem concerning the release of school feeding grants in the three northern regions.

Currently, students of the second cycle institutions in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions who were supposed to report to school on April 20 are still at home as result of the inability of government to release the feeding grants.

NORPRA has proposed that as a long term measure to help deal with the perennial problem, there is the need for the reintroduction of state farms to produce enough foodstuff to feed the schools.

A statement issued by the Director of NORPRA, Mr Bismark Adongo Ayorogo and copied to the GNA in Bolgatanga, said it is important that government gives a careful consideration to the suggestion to help curtail the problem.

It said as an interim measure, all northern members of parliament (MP) could also contribute parts of their MP District Assemblies’ Common Fund to pay for feeding grants for the students.

The statement said a database be also established to capture details of every northerner who benefited from the northern scholarship scheme so that they would be urged to contribute to feed the students.

“Although, the economic conditions in northern Ghana that necessitated the introduction of the feeding grants in the 1950s have not changed, it is important that with the increasing numbers in our second cycle institutions, the policy is reviewed,” the statement said.