Getting a home garden improvement scheme started and expanded can be easier and more sustainable if gardeners and promoters join forces with others. As discussed earlier, home gardeners should consider joining or taking advantage of national and international groups.
Further information and resources relevant to less-developed countries are available from a number of institutions, some of which are listed below. Numerous technical bulletins, extension leaflets, training and instruction guides useful for home gardening are available, produced by private authors, seed companies, government agriculture departments, universities and development institutions. These can be found by investigating institutions'websites, commercial booksellers, government departments and libraries.
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FIGURE 31 A community worker in Viet Nam makes use of local information. (Source: C. Landon-Lane) |
· The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome. Relevant technical divisions include the Agricultural Support Systems (AGS), Plant Production and Protection (AGP), Forest Resources (FOR) and Fishery Industries (FII). Many related publications, guides and training resources are available; www.fao.org.
· Helen Keller International, Washington DC, USA offers publications and experience in home gardening for nutrition, gender and development; www.hkworld.org.
· The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, Kaosiung, Taiwan has centres in Bangkok, Thailand and Nairobi and offers research publications and training on vegetable production including home gardens; www.AVRDC.org.tw.
· The Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) offers technical publications from different disciplines. Relevant specialist institutions include the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) in Kenya, the International Centre for Living Aquatic Resource Management (ICLARM) in Malaysia, the Centro International de Agricultura Technica (CIAT) in Colombia and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines; www.cgiar.org.
· The International Institute for Rural Reconstruction, Cavite, Philippines offers training, research and publications; www.IIRR.org.
· The Intermediate Technology Development Group in the United Kingdom offers training and publications, especially designs and illustrations of tools and equipment appropriate for manufacture and use in smallholder farming systems; www.itdg.org and www.itdgpublishing.org.uk.
Ableman, M. 1993. From the good earth: traditional farming methods in a new age. Thames & Hudson, London, UK.
AVRDC. 1993. Home gardening: a technoguide. Bangkok, Thailand.
Carney, D. 1998. Sustainable rural livelihoods: what contribution can we make? DFID, London, UK.
FAO. 1995a. Improving nutrition through home gardening: a training package for preparing field workers - Southeast Asia. Food and Nutrition Division in collaboration with Plant Production and Protection Division, Rome. http://www.fao.org/es/ESN/Educate.htm.
FAO. 1995b. The farming systems approach to development and appropriate technology generation. Farm Systems Management Series, No. 10, Rome.
FAO. 1996. A guide to low-input sustainable agriculture for the Asian farmer. Farm Management Technology Bulletin Series, Nos. 34-38, FAO/RAP, Bangkok, Thailand.
FAO. 2000a. Improving nutrition through home gardening: a training package for preparing field workers - Latin America and the Caribbean. Rome, Food and Nutrition Division in collaboration with Plant Production and Protection Division., Rome. http://www.fao.org/es/ESN/Educate.htm.
FAO. 2000b. Small ponds make a big difference: integrating fish with crop and livestock farming. Agricultural Management, Marketing & Finance Service & Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service, Rome.
FAO. 2001. Improving nutrition through home gardening: a training package for preparing field workers - Africa. Food and Nutrition Division in collaboration with Plant Production and Protection Division. FAO, Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/es/ESN/Educate.htm.
FAO. 2001. The State of Food Insecurity in the World.
Helen KellerInternational HKI. 2001. Homestead food production: a strategy to combat malnutrition and poverty. Helen Keller Worldwide. Washington DC, USA.
Landauer, K. & Brazil, M. 1990. Tropical home gardens. United Nations University Press, Tokyo, Japan.
Marsh, R. 1996. Household gardening and food security: a critical review of the literature. Paper for the FAO Subregional round-table meeting on household horticulture and family nutrition programmes, Hanoi, Vietnam. FAO/RAP, Bangkok, Thailand. December 1996.
Marten, G. 1986. Traditional agriculture in Southeast Asia: a human ecology perspective. Westview Press. Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Mollison, B. 1991. Introduction to permaculture. Tyalgum, Tagari Publications, Australia.
Soleri, D., Cleveland, D. & Wood, A. 1991. Vitamin Anutrition and gardens: bibliography. VITAL, Office of Nutrition, Bureau for Science and Technology. Washington DC, USA.
