Enhance Food Security for 300 Returned Migrants

During this reporting period, ODOV continued to provide follow-up visits with the 50 training participants (32 women) who were selected to participate in ODOV project. These farmers received additional technical support from ODOV technical staff for every two weeks in the areas of vegetable and chicken production as their needs. Offering regular technical support by ODOV has enabled the farmers to be successful to produce their homestead food production activities through growing vegetables and raising chickens to increase their household food consumption and earn extra income to support their family living conditions.

Most of the farmers liked to grow including: kangkong, wax gourd, sponge gourd, cucumbers, wing bean, eggplant, yard long bean, amaranth, pumpkin, Chinese cabbage, white cabbage, mustard green, etc. The farmers accessed nutritious food, vegetables, and chicken meats as they harvested them from the gardens for their daily household’s consumption. Furthermore, they were able to earn additional income to support their families.

The result of the staff field monitoring confirmed that in the last three months, a total of 8,500kg of vegetables and 784kg of chicken meats were produced by these individual households. About 70% of food produced (vegetables and of chicken meats) were consumed by the individual household, the surplus food produced had been sold for incomes to support their families, and an average a household earned additional income $80 from the selling the surplus food produced.

Currently, these farmers still continued to grow vegetables and raise chickens to improve their livelihoods. Each household grew at least five variety of vegetates and raised 8 hens, two rosters, 25 adult chickens and 62 chicks. ODOV project will continue to provide additional technical support to them as needed.

“I am pleased that I was selected to participate in the training on food production. Before participating in the training, I seldom stayed in the village but since I participated in the training program, I gained knowledge about growing vegetables and raising chickens. I now stay in my village, growing vegetables and raising chickens. I am happy that my family is successful in growing vegetables and raising chickens. My family has vegetables and chicken meats to eat daily, reducing my household expenses from buying them at the market. My family also was able to earn extra income from selling the surplus food produced to support my family's living conditions” Said by  one of the training participants