[afro-nets] Low Input Gardening: Growing Positively (2)

[Peter Burgess <Profitinafrica@aol.com>]

Low Input Gardening: Growing Positively (2)
-------------------------------------------

Dear Colleagues

A message about low input gardening: growing positively was sent
to the list early in September... but I did not read it until
today.

I grew up in London during the war (that is World War II), and
as I recall everyone in the UK was growing vegetables to supple-
ment the rather small amount of food that was available under
the "rations". It was encouraged by the authorities, for obvious
reasons.

Over the years I have observed small scale farming going on all
over the "south" and to the extent that I was able within the
constraints of my working "Terms of Reference" I was an advocate
and supporter of the idea of small scale personal agricultural
production. But rarely was there any interest from the "offi-
cial" relief and development assistance (ORDA) organizations and
the international experts. After the John Perkins book (Confes-
sions of an Economic Hit Man) and the Action Aid report (Real
Aid) it is not too difficult to connect the dots and conclude
that these small scale interventions had little value in the
"Phantom Aid" sub-sector.

It is therefore very encouraging to see the support for small
scale gardening described in the message. It will be interesting
to follow this and see to what extent the work is truly value
creating for Africa, or is merely something that looks very good
on paper, but in practice turns out to be rather ineffective.

Which leads to the question of how to have an independent feed-
back about the performance of this project that is not "con-
trolled" by either the implementing organizations or the funding
agencies? I would be very interested in getting feedback about
what feedback "process" would work... and also any specifics
about this particular initiative.

I tried to find the Handbook on LIG referred to in the message
(http://www.jsieurope.org) but did not find it... there were
many other reports, papers, etc. It might have been there but
did not jump out at me.

Sincerely

Peter Burgess
Tr-Ac-Net in New York
Tel: + 1-212-772 6918
mailto:peterbnyc@gmail.com
The Transparency and Accountability Network
With Kris Dev in Chennai India
and others in South Asia, Africa and Latin America
http://tr-ac-net.blogspot.com



In a message dated 9/2/2005 1:25:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
SNath@jsieurope.org writes:

 > Subj:[afro-nets] Low Input Gardening: Growing Positively
 > Date:9/2/2005 1:25:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time
 > From:SNath@jsieurope.org
 > Reply-to:afro-nets@healthnet.org
 > To:afro-nets@healthnet.org
 >
 > Low Input Gardening: Growing Positively
 > ---------------------------------------
 >
 > The erosion of household coping mechanisms due to AIDS and mas-
 > sive food shortages have contributed to the food security crisis
 > in Zimbabwe. With DFID funding, John Snow International, Europe
 > (JSI Europe) began distribution of food aid to some of the most
 > vulnerable urban households in Zimbabwe through AIDS service or-
 > ganisations in 2003.
 >
 > A baseline assessment carried out by JSI Europe in January 2003
 > found that 46% of households had some type of vegetable garden.
 > Building upon this strength, JSI Europe began the Low-Input Gar-
 > dening (LIG) initiative in high-density urban areas, in collabo-
 > ration with its food aid NGO partners. The main aim of the pro-
 > gramme is to improve the quality of the diet of households af-
 > fected by AIDS through consumption of a greater quantity of nu-
 > tritious foods and to realise cost-savings by minimising in-
 > puts.
 >
 > Specifically designed for urban areas, the LIG programme maxi-
 > mises the diversity of food that can be grown in small plots.
 > Growing vegetables and herbs in small mixed plots and contain-
 > ers, including grow bags and tin pots, using minimal inputs, has
 > been enthusiastically taken up by different partner organisa-
 > tions who in turn pass on the approaches and techniques to rela-
 > tives and neighbours.
 >
 > In addition to having far-reaching effects on increased food
 > production, LIG has helped raise awareness of HIV and AIDS is-
 > sues. To date, hundreds of gardens have been established - at
 > community centres, schools, households, and on city council land
 > and in each case, LIG has been the entry point for talks on
 > positive living, good nutrition, and mitigating the effects of
 > HIV and AIDS. A number of NGOs are scaling-up their gardening
 > outreach through monthly training courses, advocating for in-
 > creased access to city council land, and expanding to community-
 > based organisations and rural partners. In the case of one of
 > the school garden projects, all the produce is sold to raise
 > funds to support the orphans in the community.
 >
 > Through a recent household survey, JSI Europe found that in ad-
 > dition to increased food yields, LIG has produced a number of
 > other benefits, such as: increased self-esteem amongst people
 > with HIV and AIDS, dietary improvements, financial savings, im-
 > proved soil and reduced water use, and income generation. Moth-
 > ers with disabled children who require extensive care are also
 > pleased with these gardens as they are not labour intensive,
 > giving the mothers more time to spend with their children.
 > Chronically ill persons and their caregivers report improved
 > quality of life and less stigma and social isolation as commu-
 > nity members combine their efforts to tend to the gardens and
 > share the produce. As one HIV+ LIG volunteer noted, "Before my
 > neighbours would ignore me. Now they are always asking for my
 > advice."
 >
 > In mid-2005, JSI Europe partnered with ActionAid International
 > to integrate the LIG programme into NGO capacity building sup-
 > port.
 >
 > To further support the programme, JSI Europe has produced a con-
 > cise handbook on LIG as well as a booklet on the culinary and
 > agricultural uses of indigenous and exotic herbs. A quarterly
 > newsletter is distributed to all of the volunteers involved in
 > the programme. (See http://www.jsieurope.org to download copies
 > of these publications.)
 >
 > Shampa Nath
 > Knowledge Management Advisor
 > John Snow International - Europe
 > 66 South Lambeth Road
 > Vauxhall, London SW8 1RL
 > United Kingdom
 > Tel: +44-20-7735-7149
 > Fax: +44-20-7735-4890
 > mailto:SNath@jsieurope.org
 > http://www.jsieurope.org