Re:Strengthening Food Security with Grain Amaranth Production

http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/strengthening-food-security-with-grain-amaranth-production/

THREE MONTHS OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN GRAIN AMARANTH RESEARCH

Manuela Filipuzzi has been working with rural grass root communities on grain amaranth production in Nangabo Sub-county, Wakiso district-Uganda, working closely with women groups and other community farmers at house hold level and schools in our Community Livelihood Project (CLP) . She has been working in Kabanyolo, Bamba and Kiteezi for three months were she has set up field experimental plots with rural farming communities. The major aim is to promote grain amaranth for food security at all levels. This work has been closely supervised by Prof. Moses Tenywa of Makerere University Agriculture Research Institute Kabanyolo and CLP team where plots equivalent to 1 acre have been setup this last season of 2011.

Nangabo vegetable Gardening

According to the 1996 World Food Summit, “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” There are important regional, local and intra-household dimensions of food security. This project is facilitating rural farming communities to improve food productivity and the health and nutrition dimensions of food security in Nangabo Sub county-Wakiso district.

Double wedged innovations that curb disabilities while achieving MDG goals

 Poor nutrition and starvation have been proven to have an effect on many areas of development. Hunger produces nervousness, irritability and a decreased ability to learn, thus it can have a negative effect on all aspects of a child’s development. Negative effects increase with the degree of malnutrition. Malnourishment is also associated with an increased susceptibility to infections.

According to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey for 2006, poor infant and young child feeding practices were responsible for high levels of childhood malnutrition in the country, with 38 percent of children under five being stunted and 16 percent underweight.

Local Innovations for Irrigation

 

  Local Innovative methods of irrigation are oftenly used where water is directed through improvised old tubes to water the vegetable gardens during dry seasons. Bottle irrigation  have also been applied as an alternative. during dry seasons. In this case, small outlets are created into used up water containers/bottles which are filled with water and then left to drip on the crops.