By Dungrila Pascal Mbimenyuy. | I.A.A Director/Project Leader.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
This project is designed to address this food shortage, so that poor families will be able to grow vegetables during dry season and during prolong dryness. I.A.A have partnered with a local agricultural cooperative formed by women members to develop a model garden in Kumbo, Mbuluf village.The objective of the project is to implement and mainstream innovative, sustainable, affordable and locally owned approaches to improve food security amongst 250 of the most vulnerable people (malnourished households in Kumbo.
The specific objective of the project is to enhance the capacity of resource-poor and poverty-stricken farmers and herders at low income brackets to produce a wide variety of vegetables using sustainable and environmentally-friendly technologies with integrated social ownership and management and involvement.
The goal is to increase local availability of safe, quality vegetables to enhance food security as well as achieving nutritional balance for 250 households through diversification of diets of the poorest segments of the vulnerable populations in target area. Priority in selection of target groups and project beneficiaries was given to, female-headed households, newly settled families, resource-poor herders and farmers, and other vulnerable groups without access to secure livelihood.
IMPACTS.
Integrated Agricultural Association (I.A.A) provided training on sustainable crops production (Vegetables), environment management, irrigation, kitchen garden techniques, ecological farming and adequate nutrition to 195 families (Women& Men), and planted 85 kitchen gardens for 85 malnourished households through purchase and distribution of seeds and farm tools and established a model garden which is progressing well and will continue to sustain the project over time. On the 27 of August 2022, women and men participated in harvesting tomatoes from the project model garden in Mbuluf and four baskets of tomatoes were distributed to the participants. In April 2022 they received seed inputs and farm tools including: 5 different types of vegetable seeds, cutlasses and tropical hoes to support them establish individual farms to improve nutrition and food security at the family.
CHALLENGE.
The main challenge was limited financial capacity to respond to the food insecurity situation for everyone in need who were interested in the project. I.A.A intended to reach 250 households in this project, unfortunately, over 500 families were facing food shortage and poverty which the resources available could only give a significant support to 85 families. Another challenge was inflation, where prices of everything including transport fair was very high and due to the budget constraints all the project needs could not be met.
WAY FORWARD.
1.) Formation of Farmers Club: Now the training of the identified farmers/women is complete, I will support them in formation of farmers club. All the members of the farmers club will meet and discuss their learning and will ensure that they pass on their knowledge to other farmers in their communities. The farmers club will be a community level initiative where the trained farmers will help other farmers to adopt sustainable good agriculture practices in their respective fields.
2.) I will establish common facility and library center in Kumbo for farmers to have access to information on good agriculture practices, seed inputs, agriculture supplies, manure, weather conditions and market. I aim to provide these services to 5000 farmers by 2025.
3.) I want to scale up this project by extending to the West Region of Cameroon with goal to plant 10,000 kitchen gardens for malnourished households by 2025 in Cameroon.
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