Discussion on ‘Nutrition education as a strategy to strengthen family farming households and improve people’s diets.’
Charity N. Musembi: National Commission for Science, Technology and innovation / University of Nairobi, Kenya
There is an urgent need to improve the dietary quality and dietary diversity of households especially in the sub-Saharan countries; where levels of malnutrition are at an all time high. Community/home/ school gardening, where a variety of vegetables and small livestock are raised is one of the most promising strategies in dealing with micronutrient malnutrition.
I visited a community garden in Bangkok recently (courtesy of ISPC / CGIAR and AVRDC). ‘Eighty poor families have come together and rented approximately half acre piece of land from the government, where they grow a variety of vegetables, trees and keep chicken, ducks, fish and pigs. The community also has a groceries’ shop. Members get goods from the shop or from the farm by exchanging with collected garbage. They collect garbage, organic kitchen waste, papers, plastics etc. The organic waste is used to feed the livestock and fish. It is also used to prepare compost and liquid fertilizer after addition of molasses for the farm. The inorganic waste is sorted and sold to recycling companies. The money is used to buy goods for the shop.
The members exchange the garbage with food items from the farm or groceries from the shop. When visited by well wishers, the community accepts only material gifts e.g. seeds, not money. They have set aside a space with a shelf full of books where children come and read. They also make handicrafts which they sell to restock the shop or give to visitors as gifts.’ This is a glimpse of how innovative ideas can transform a community. For this community; there is improvement on their diet quality and dietary diversity; biodiversity and environmental conservation and social wellbeing.
We need governments, NGOs, International Organizations and all stakeholders to campaign for home/community/school gardening with the same zeal the war against AIDS pandemic has been won. Home gardening concept is not new, it has been around for more than fifty years. However, the evidence that these programs contribute to nutritional, educational and economic outcomes is not well documented and largely unreliable. What we need is to reinforce the concept and seal the gaps. In Kenya and probably in other many countries, only a very small segment of the stakeholders is really involved in tackling malnutrition. To change this, adequate resources should be availed and policies enacted. These include:
Resources to be provided: Seeds for a variety of vegetables and fruits especially traditional ones, extension services, simple drip irrigation systems, seed livestock, simple greenhouse building materials.
Organizations to be involved: Multilateral organizations, NGOs, governments, universities, health facilities, schools, private companies, research institutions, religious organizations etc.
People to be involved: Public servants, agricultural officers, researchers, farmers, school children, teachers, students, urban dwellers, religious leaders, local administration officers, the poor, the rich, mothers, fathers, senior citizens, the youth, famous personalities, workers and everybody, should be brought onboard.
Communication media to be used: Radio programs and advertisements, mobile phones text messages, bill boards messages, outdoor posters, television programs and advertisements, road show campaigns, sports competitions with nutrition messages, class lessons, seminars, community meetings, community agricultural shows, religious meetings, women groups meetings, facebook messages, tweeter messages etc.
Messages to be delivered: All messages should incorporate food items which the local communities can identify with and protection of traditional foods and knowledge should be encouraged. The messages should be related to: best farming practices, nutritional composition of different food items, dietary needs of specific categories of household members, importance of quality diets, importance of diet diversification, dangers of poor diets, correct infant and young child feeding practices, short-term and long-term effects of malnutrition on the economy, different recipes, importance of involvement of all family members, economic value of agricultural products, etc.
Policies that can assist: Urban areas must provide space for community gardens, rural families must have gardens with a variety of vegetables, fruits and small animals, right of farmers to extension services and seed materials, all schools to have gardens with a variety of vegetables, fruits and small animals, schools to have nutrition lessons e.t.c.
If we all tried and gave nutrition education and communication the focus it deserves, then the mind-recall-message for everyone would be, “……what I eat matters a lot and it will affect future generations…..’ Only then would we possibly see real improvement in dietary quality and dietary diversity of households.
Mme Charity Musembi