The wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Nonye Soludo, has flagged off the second phase of the Healthy Living Garden Programme for Primary Schools across the state.
The initiative, aimed at promoting agricultural literacy and nutrition among school children, kicked off with the participation of 63 schools drawn from the state’s six education zones.
To mark the launch, Dr. Soludo hosted student ambassadors from the Healthy Living Clubs in the selected schools, where she distributed essential farming materials, including seedlings of corn, watermelon, cucumber, okra, cabbage, pepper, and tomatoes. Pump sprayers were also distributed to help control pests and ensure healthy crop yields.
Speaking during the event, Dr. Soludo expressed satisfaction with the level of enthusiasm shown by the participating schools.
“Today, we successfully launched the second phase of the Healthy Living Garden Programme for Primary Schools in Anambra State,” she said.
“We’ve begun this phase with 63 schools from the six education zones in the state who have shown exceptional commitment to our programmes through their various Healthy Living School Clubs.”
She noted that the second phase was designed not only to expand the reach of the programme but also to revive the culture of school farming, which was once widespread and beneficial to young learners.
“What we’ve done today is to drive practical solutions and reform the once-thriving school garden projects,” she added.
Dr. Soludo also emphasized that this was only the beginning. She revealed plans to eventually extend the programme to all primary schools in the state.
“Of course, we’ve plans to keep increasing the slots until all the schools in the state are fully covered,” she stated.
The Governor’s wife further highlighted the long-term goals of the initiative, which include instilling a culture of self-reliance, healthy eating, and environmental responsibility in children.
She said her team would revisit the schools during harvest season to reward those with the best garden outcomes, encouraging friendly competition and consistency among pupils.
The Healthy Living Garden Programme forms a key component of Dr. Soludo’s broader health and wellbeing campaign through the Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo Initiative, which continues to champion preventive healthcare, nutrition, and sustainable living in Anambra State.