Urban Gardening for Improved Household Nutrition
FAO South Sudan
(
United Nations / Multilateral body
)
#SDGAction33389
Description
In April 2020, South Sudan recorded its first COVID-19 case, and as of 14 March 2021, a total of 9,554 cases have been confirmed. The impact of the pandemic has been felt the hardest in urban areas where livelihoods and incomes have been affected, increasing food insecurity. Furthermore, the pandemic affected supply chains and led to an increase in food prices. To alleviate food insecurity in these urban areas, FAO implemented a six-month project in the urban areas of Juba, Nimule, Wau and Aweil to support urban households to engage in home gardening of vegetables. A total of 35,444 beneficiary households were reached, out of which 21,226 were women-headed and 14,178 were male-headed.
The declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in South Sudan coincided with the start of the lean season, which is characterized by high food prices, especially in urban areas. FAO's urban agriculture project planned to reach out to 25,000 economically vulnerable households in the towns of Juba, Nimule, Wau and Aweil with vegetable seeds, a double-headed hoe and one watering can/water bucket. The target included 11,916 jointly targeted FAO/WFP SCOPE beneficiaries in Juba and 13,084 non-SCOPE beneficiaries in other parts of Juba, Nimule, Wau and Aweil towns. Additionally, 10,444 vulnerable households were supported in Juba by FAO and MAFS through the direct distribution of vegetable production kits. Overall, 35,444 vulnerable households (21,266 female-headed, 14,178 male-headed) were supported with vegetable production kits, accounting for a 42 percent increase of the original project target (25,000 household beneficiaries). The project was costed at USD 2,200,494. A total of 71 Community Extension Workers (CEWs) were trained to provide extension support to target beneficiaries and 71 Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) committees were established in addition to a free help desk and call line (515) for beneficiaries to raise project-related issues and grievances. 557 calls were registered, and responses were provided via the established communication channels during the project cycle. A rapid Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) was conducted on a representative sample size of 1 428 of the beneficiaries. Joint monitoring of project activities was also conducted with WFP, USAID's BHA and implementing partners in Juba. Output monitoring of the project was conducted through a Post-Harvest Assessment (PHA) and end-line survey.
FAO distributed vegetable production kits on vegetable gardening to beneficiaries and production groups in Juba, Nimule, Wau and Aweil towns. Through the project intervention, 35,444 households (21,266 female-headed, 14,178 male-headed) were supported with vegetable production kits. FAO and implementing partners established 300 household vegetable production demos across the project locations. A total of 6,284 beneficiaries (3,843 females, 2,441 male) actively participated in the establishment and management of the vegetable household gardening (VHG) demos. The project's capacity building activities resulted in the training of 71 CEWs who will continue to support the community even beyond the project by passing on the urban agriculture knowledge. The training material will also continue to guide other households on urban agriculture. All of these will help household access food and income to fight hunger and poverty, respectively.
Given the severity of the effects of COVID-19 on urban populations in South Sudan, USAID's BHA generously funded the intervention. FAO, using its beneficiary database and WFP's SCOPE system, was able to identify vulnerable, urban households to support under the intervention. Collaborations with other partners with existing complementary actions increased the impact of the intervention as it allowed for layering and sequencing of activities for maximum impact. The government’s participation also helped with beneficiary adoption of the agricultural technologies and practices introduced by the project, especially in an urban setting.
Identification and training of community extension workers from host communities was important in creating ownership and building local capacities for project sustainability which is an essential component in resilience programming. Demo plots were instrumental in the dissemination of knowledge and practices to beneficiaries as were public service announcements, radio talk shows and text messages that further disseminated knowledge and sensitized the communities on the importance of urban household vegetable gardening. COVID-19’s disruptions to the food systems, especially supply chains, has brought to the fore the importance of households of all types to engage in own crop production for food and income. The success of the project means that it can be expanded to other towns in the country, as well as rural households who can also engage in kitchen gardening. Training material produced can also be included in local academic curricula.
COVID-19’s impacts on the supply chains for food and non-food commodities meant that the project could only focus on the easily accessible urban areas. However, the success of the intervention and the lessons learned will be applied during the geographical scaling up of the agricultural practice to ensure that more urban households are able to produce their own food and earn incomes from the surplus production. It is also hoped that once the lockdown measures are lifted and people can move freely, some of the trained CEWs and beneficiaries will be able to pass on the knowledge to their relatives in other urban and rural areas across the country so that they can also benefit. FAO will support these households with seeds through its Emergency Livelihood Response Programme (ELRP).
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The main beneficiaries of the project were vulnerable urban households affected by COVID-19. The project was funded by USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs and implemented by FAO in partnership with WFP, CRS, FAO, MAFS and implementing partners (i.e. Caritas South Sudan, WVI, SDMIC, and ARUDA) to ensure that gaps were quickly identified, interventions were additive rather than duplicative, and sequencing opportunities were exploited.
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Nicholas, Technical Adviser - Food Security Information Systems & Analysis