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Overview
Despite facing external challenges in 2023, such as border closures with Niger and rising gas prices linked to Nigerian reforms, the Government's dedication to social protection programmes – particularly the national school feeding initiative – was instrumental in advancing Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
In line with this, WFP reached 1.4 million people in need with vital food assistance throughout 2023. This primarily included school meals and assistance to conflict-affected populations. WFP also increased its efforts on capacity strengthening for development and emergency operations. This included the integration of gender equality throughout WFP programme design, implementation and monitoring, and a strong emphasis on data collection and evidence generation.
WFP assisted over 1.3 million children with nutritious meals each school day, which enabled schoolchildren to meet their basic food and nutritional needs, while improving school retention rates. School feeding programming went beyond hot school meals. It included an integrated, comprehensive, and multi-sectoral approach that complemented daily meals with initiatives and partnerships in agriculture, education, health, nutrition, and social protection to holistically support students’ health, nutrition and learning while also promoting local nutrition-sensitive value chains and supporting local agriculture.
Special emphasis was also placed on the home-grown school feeding (HGSF) approach in 2023. This included the promotion of local, nutritious food production through the procurement of food for school meals directly from smallholder farmers and processors, while also creating a stable market for them. This increased income generation within local communities, creating a powerful safety net for Benin's children, farmers, and communities.
WFP further supported the Government in strengthening and scaling up HGSF across the country. For example, initiatives were facilitated to create synergies and bolster local food production, improve post-harvest processing, and enhance local skills development in agriculture, processing, storage, and marketing throughout the agricultural value chain. Ultimately, the programme strengthened nutritional value chains, supported local economies, and empowered local communities.
By nurturing local agriculture, this programme holds the potential to catalyse long-term, sustainable development and fortify food security nationwide. In 2023, WFP facilitated access to the school canteen market for 30 smallholder farmer organizations from which 9,301 smallholder farmers, sold over 7,622 mt of produce, generating an estimated revenue of USD 3.6 million. This marked an astounding 800 percent surge in purchases from local smallholders compared to 2022. Moreover, 2,094 smallholder farmers, of which 47 percent were women, received training in post-harvest management, business skills, and marketing. This not only enhanced their skill set but also empowered them to optimize their agricultural practices. Looking ahead to the school year 2023–2024, WFP has been actively forging partnerships to safeguard livelihoods and bolster productive capacities for households and communities. This proactive approach has resulted in an increase in the number of smallholder farmer organizations, which could potentially serve as suppliers, to 71, collectively representing a total of 24,000 producers.
To effectively combat complex causes of malnutrition, WFP implemented a comprehensive package of integrated nutrition interventions. These included early detection protocols, rapid assessments of infant and young child feeding practices, and extensive nutrition education programmes. By targeting diverse community members, these initiatives tackled malnutrition's root causes – directly and indirectly – and empowered vulnerable communities to make lasting changes.
To empower communities and improve infant and young child feeding practices, WFP established community-based support groups and held cooking demonstrations. These showcased balanced meals using locally available ingredients and provided families with the knowledge and skills to prepare nutritious food for children and women. WFP also initiated formative research studies to understand existing community knowledge and habits. This valuable information will effectively help tailor communication strategies and channels to address malnutrition within the communities.
Using cash, in-kind food distributions, and programmes focused on social protection, particularly school feeding, WFP supported vulnerable groups, including pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls and children aged 6 to 23 months.
WFP's efforts also focused on building the capacities of local communities. This involved activities such as assistance in feeding infants and young children, maternal health monitoring, working to improve women's and caregivers' knowledge of nutrition, the provision of support for breastfeeding, and help in overcoming dietary challenges during crises.
As a key partner, WFP actively supports the Government of Benin in achieving its vision of eradicating hunger by 2030. This collaboration addresses technical gaps and strengthens the Government's capacity to respond to shocks.
In northern Benin, WFP continues to be a lifeline for over 26,000 refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers affected by the conflict in the Sahel. Through WFP’s partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), critical food assistance was provided through cash transfers and emergency distributions.
WFP's Government support also included helping to finalise the school feeding law, conducting the Fill the Nutrient Gap study and analysis, and strengthening the integration of nutrition within the school meals programme – one of its key areas of success.
WFP also delivered innovative training through digital and distance learning solutions. Over 450 participants were trained on crucial topics like school feeding management, logistics, monitoring, nutrition, and gender equality. Training materials were additionally developed for emergency responders.
Additionally, WFP continues working towards an efficient transfer of the national school feeding programme to the National Agency for Nutrition and Food Security (ANAN, in French) and supporting the development of a national school feeding law. It also included piloting different innovation and alternative approaches and implementation methods and strengthening the Government's capacity to manage programmes.
WFP recently completed an evaluation of its Country Strategic Plan 2019–2023 [1]. This assessed WFP's strategic approach, its effectiveness in achieving goals, and overall efficiency. Building on this success, WFP started its new CSP 2024–2027 in January 2024.