The Final Evaluation Report of the Seeds for Tomorrow Project revealed that the activities carried out throughout the project contributed to the Republic of Congo initiating the process of revising its School Feeding Policy and developing its strategy in January 2026.
The document, published recently, is the first external evaluation of a WFP South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) project. This report assesses performance, documenting lessons learned, best practices and the transformative impact of South-South cooperation in shifting paradigms from dependence on international food aid to sustainable, locally driven solutions.
The main conclusions highlight the relevance and alignment of this WFP-facilitated cooperation initiative with global and national frameworks, including the SDGs and national education and agriculture strategies. In addition, the project’s effectiveness was assessed, with 100% achievement of planned targets and strong capacity gains for government institutions and local actors.
The project also had an impact on policies and practices, influencing the Republic of Congo’s commitment to expand school feeding with local products and inspiring interest from other African countries.
Model
The pilot project drew on good practices and lessons learned from the school feeding programme already jointly managed by the government and WFP. The IBSA-funded project included a pilot component in 10 schools and 10 agricultural cooperatives in three departments.
Building on good practices and lessons learned from the school feeding programme jointly managed by the government and WFP in these schools, the pilot project introduced local food procurement and tested a model that generated actionable recommendations.
These recommendations will be used in the expansion of the Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) model to other departments, reinforcing sustainability and national ownership.
The impact of the project was not only technical but also paradigmatic: the government recognised that local sourcing for school feeding is feasible and beneficial, with positive effects on agriculture, employment, nutrition and the cultural appropriateness of school meals.
The IBSA project helped to promote this approach and adapt it to the local context, while also contributing to filling this learning gap by testing local procurement models and supporting capacity development.
Finally, this initiative succeeded in bringing school feeding back onto the government’s high-level agenda and into political discussions.
Commitments
The Republic of Congo’s national commitments to the Global School Food Coalition were signed thanks to active advocacy by the WFP, working closely with government representatives.
Building on this achievement, the Republic of Congo is currently finalising its national commitment to the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, a government-led platform that can be leveraged to mobilise additional financial and technical resources.
These commitments will support the country’s transition plan from a WFP-led school feeding programme to a nationally led programme, while expanding national school feeding based on local production.
Decree No. 2025-450 of 13 November 2025 was signed by the President to establish the Interministerial Task Force, overseen by the Prime Minister and chaired by the Minister of Education. This group will be responsible for coordinating school feeding interventions in the Republic of Congo.
The first meeting of the task force, which will bring together some twenty representatives from different ministries, academia, technical and financial partners, and the private sector, is scheduled for 17 December 2025.
Next steps
In response to the government’s request, WFP will begin reviewing the School Feeding Policy and developing the strategy in January 2026; and will continue to build the capacity of the government at national and subnational levels to manage a national school feeding programme.
WFP will also continue to facilitate discussions between the governments of the Republic of Congo and Brazil to support the implementation of the HGSF Transition Plan (2025-2030) and explore new avenues, such as the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and the School Meals Accelerator, to catalyse additional technical and financial support.
The project
The project ‘Strengthening access to local markets for small producers in the Republic of Congo through South-South cooperation’, known as Seeds for the Future, is a landmark initiative under the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Fund, implemented from June 2023 to November 2025 in partnership with the governments of Congo and Brazil and the World Food Programme (WFP).
Its main mission was to improve and increase food security and nutrition for small-scale producers — especially women and school-age children — by promoting family farming and integrating local production into school feeding programmes.
Through South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC), the project promoted institutional and technical capacity building, training 65 policymakers at the central and local levels of the Congolese Ministries of Agriculture and Education.
In addition, it strengthened local systems by supporting 10 agricultural cooperatives and improving the capacities of 10 schools in the departments of Bouenza, Plateaux and Pool.
These activities — which included study visits, targeted training and equipment provision, as well as practical technical assistance — were based on Brazil’s experience with family farming and school feeding with locally grown products and adapted to the Congolese context.
WFP’s operational support ensured that this exchange of experiences translated into concrete improvements in policies, practices and service delivery.