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Impact of School Vegetable Gardens on Vegetable Consumption among Primary School Pupils in Nigeria

Abstract

Inadequate consumption of vegetables among children is an important nutrition and public health concern because vegetables provide essential vitamins, minerals, fibre, and other nutrients required for healthy growth and development. Primary school pupils in Nigeria may have limited vegetable consumption due to food preferences, household income, limited availability, inadequate nutrition knowledge, cultural dietary practices, and increased preference for processed or energy-dense foods. School vegetable gardens provide an experiential approach to nutrition education by allowing pupils to participate in growing, caring for, harvesting, and learning about vegetables within the school environment. Exposure to school gardening may increase pupils' familiarity with vegetables, improve their attitudes toward vegetable consumption, and provide opportunities for practical nutrition education. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of school vegetable gardens on vegetable consumption among primary school pupils in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Social Cognitive Theory, the Social Ecological Model, and Experiential Learning Theory. Social Cognitive Theory explains how observational learning, self-efficacy, behavioural reinforcement, environmental influences, and direct participation may shape pupils' food choices and vegetable consumption. The Social Ecological Model emphasizes the influence of individual, family, school, community, and broader environmental factors on children's dietary behaviours. Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes learning through direct participation, observation, reflection, and practical experience, making it particularly relevant to school gardening activities. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how participation in school vegetable gardens may influence vegetable consumption among primary school pupils in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise primary school pupils aged approximately 6–12 years enrolled in selected public and private primary schools across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, communities, schools, classes, and eligible pupils. School vegetable garden exposure will be assessed using indicators such as availability of school gardens, duration of garden programmes, frequency of pupils' participation, gardening activities performed, types of vegetables cultivated, harvesting activities, nutrition education incorporated into gardening, teacher supervision, and opportunities for pupils to consume or take home harvested vegetables. Vegetable consumption will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of vegetable consumption, variety of vegetables consumed, quantity or portion consumed, consumption of leafy vegetables, consumption of other locally available vegetables, willingness to try unfamiliar vegetables, frequency of vegetable consumption at school and home, and dietary diversity measures where appropriate. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires or age-appropriate pupil assessment tools, food-frequency questionnaires, dietary-recall instruments, school garden observation checklists, school meal records where available, and relevant school health or nutrition programme records. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize pupils' characteristics, household and school food environments, exposure to gardening activities, vegetable preferences, and consumption patterns. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of school vegetable gardens on vegetable consumption. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, vegetable consumption before and after participation in the school garden programme may be compared with that of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that school vegetable gardens have a significant positive impact on vegetable consumption among primary school pupils in Nigeria. Pupils who participate in school gardening programmes are expected to demonstrate greater willingness to consume vegetables and higher frequency and variety of vegetable consumption than pupils without comparable exposure. Direct involvement in planting, watering, caring for, harvesting, and learning about vegetables may increase pupils' familiarity with vegetables and strengthen positive attitudes toward healthy eating. Gardening activities may also provide opportunities for teachers to integrate practical nutrition education with science and health lessons, thereby improving pupils' understanding of the nutritional importance of vegetables. Involving parents and communities may further reinforce healthy vegetable consumption at home. However, seasonal conditions, availability of water, school resources, teacher workload, limited garden space, pupils' existing food preferences, household food practices, and limited access to harvested vegetables may reduce the effectiveness of school gardening programmes. The study therefore expects well-managed, sustainable, and educationally integrated school vegetable gardens to contribute significantly to improved vegetable consumption among primary school pupils in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on school nutrition, school vegetable gardens, vegetable consumption, child nutrition, nutrition education, school health promotion, dietary behaviour, food security, experiential learning, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, state ministries of health and education, primary schools, teachers, nutritionists, dietitians, community health workers, parents, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving children's dietary practices. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating school vegetable gardens into school health and nutrition programmes, strengthening practical nutrition education, promoting locally available vegetables, involving pupils in food production, encouraging parental participation in healthy eating initiatives, and developing sustainable school-based interventions for improving vegetable consumption among primary school pupils across Nigeria.

Keywords: School vegetable gardens, vegetable consumption, primary school pupils, school nutrition, nutrition education, child nutrition, school health, dietary behaviour, food production, Nigeria, public health.