A Multi-Pronged Approach to Food Security
Program farmers Martine, Hamado and Mariam attest to the ways in which their lives and family food security have changed for the better after receiving training from local partner ODE.
Erratic rains, droughts, floods, erosion and soil degradation have reduced agricultural yields in the area over the years. The result is that pregnant and nursing mothers and children don’t get enough to eat, and malnutrition is a growing problem.
ODE takes a multi-pronged approach to addressing hunger in ten villages. The plan includes training in conservation farming techniques appropriate to the climate, improving soil fertility, establishing demonstration plots in each village for practice, and training Village Nutrition Groups on how to make nutritious porridges for children at risk of or suffering from malnutrition.
Martine reported that the improved seed varieties she received from ODE were superior to traditional varieties, which have a long growing period and are highly susceptible to drought. She said, “This year, our yields have significantly increased compared to previous years, and that will allow us to reduce the need to buy food during the lean season.”
Hamado, who set up and managed the demo field in his village, said that producers learned the importance of improved seeds and using compost and mulching to revive their soil fertility. He and his fellow farmers applied their practical training on their own farms and saw important increases in their yields, just like Martine. He went so far as to build a granary on his own land to ensure the safety and storage capacity of the grains he harvested.
Mariam, a member of the Village Nutrition Group in her community, greatly benefited from workshops on nutrition and using the grains she harvests to make a nutritious porridge for her children. Her group is committed to passing along to other women the knowledge they’ve acquired on nutrition, sanitation and hygiene to reduce cases of malnutrition and illness in their village.
Burkina Faso Boulkiemde Program
Led by Mennonite Central Committee and Local Partner Office de Développement des Églises Évangéliques (ODE)