Home Gardens: A promising approach to enhance household food security & wellbeing

With the global population expected to exceed 8 billion by 2080, the need to increase food production and buffer stocks is ever-present. This is especially critical for developing countries facing acute hunger and food scarcity. To meet the growing demand and avert food insecurity and famine, governments worldwide are adopting various strategies. Food insecurity occurs in three forms. Chronic food insecurity is the most severe, where individuals cannot consume the minimum food needed for a healthy life over a long period. The Food and Agriculture Organization projects an average consumption of 3,130 kcal per person per day by 2075.

One practical approach is strengthening and intensifying local food production. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in home gardens as a strategy to enhance household food security and nutrition. Home gardens are integral to local food systems and the agricultural landscape in developing countries worldwide.

What is a Home Garden?

Home gardens are small-scale subsistence agricultural systems in rural and urban areas. Modern agriculture began with subsistence production systems in small garden plots around households. Since the early studies in Java, Indonesia, extensive research has been conducted on their subject, functions, characteristics, and socioeconomic and cultural relevance.

What is Home Gardening?

Home gardening refers to cultivating a small portion of land around the household or within walking distance from the family home. These gardens often involve a mixed cropping system, including vegetables, fruits, spices, herbs, ornamental plants, and medicinal plants.

Characteristics of a Home Garden:

Located near the residence.
Contains a high diversity of plants.
Production is supplemental rather than the primary source of family consumption.
Occupy a small area.
Production systems that people with low incomes can quickly enter at some level.

Home gardens have been integral to local food systems in developing countries worldwide. Numerous studies highlight their benefits to Asian, African, and Latin American communities and families.

Benefits of Cultivating Your Food in Your Backyard:

Social Benefits:

Enhancing food and nutritional security.
Improving family health and human capacity.
Empowering women.
Promoting social justice and equity.
Addressing socioeconomic and political situations.
Preserving indigenous knowledge and culture.

Improving Health:

Plants provide medicinal resources for humans and livestock.
Herbs and medicinal plants grown in home gardens treat various illnesses and improve health.

Uplifting the Status of Women:

Women's participation includes land preparation, weeding, harvesting, and marketing, which vary across cultures.

Preserving Indigenous Knowledge and Building Integral Societies:

Home gardens foster social interactions and exchange of planting materials, contributing to social integration and social capital.

Economic Benefits:

Beyond food security, home gardens contribute to income generation, improved livelihoods, and household economic welfare, promoting entrepreneurship and rural development.

Environmental Benefits:

They support biodiversity conservation and nutrient recycling, resembling ecological agricultural production systems.

A case study in Nepal:

The project aims to improve dietary diversity and reduce malnutrition in Nepal by developing home gardens with underutilized indigenous crops. The project was initiated to:

Examine the increase in biodiversity.
Enhance nutrition and income.
Mainstream cultivated areas

Between 2006 and 2011, mean home garden species richness increased in 10 out of 11 sites. The Nepalese government found the home garden project to be an effective intervention for improving nutrition.

Constraints and Opportunities:

While home gardening offers multiple benefits, several constraints exist:

Lack of capital or credit.
Limited access to water, seeds, and planting materials.
Weak agricultural extension services.
Need for adequate access to suitable land.
Lack of land ownership.
Cultural acceptance issues.

Conclusion:

The literature supports promoting home gardens as an eco-friendly, sustainable agricultural practice to improve food security and economic growth. In the wake of the global food crisis and soaring food prices, enhancing local food systems is increasingly essential. Recognizing their value, numerous initiatives have been launched by governmental, non-governmental, and international organizations in many developing countries.