Strengthening Food Security and Resilience

From its inception, the project aims to give targeted communities better access to food, specifically during the hunger gap. During this period, when there is usually no harvest, the population, relying on a dwindling grain reserve, finds itself in a critical situation. In order to decrease the vulnerability of these communities, different types of actions have been undertaken: securing produce and grain production through the supply of farming inputs; rehabilitating or digging wells (thus reducing the strain on women who have to walk from 30 minutes to an hour each day to get water for the home and the vegetable garden); offering training (improving crop techniques, efficient use of water); or money transfers to attend to the households’ immediate needs.

The 4th stage targets households affected by the food crisis in villages that were not supported through previous projects. Support for these vulnerable populations came in the form of grain and vegetable seed distributions, community farming tools, and livestock feed for households with small herds (5,988 animals identified as very weakened received feed rations).

The distribution of seeds and farming inputs has impacted 77,016 beneficiaries (40,048 men and 36,968 women). Over 6400 vulnerable households were supported (including 508 led by a woman) and have increased their cereal reserves by four months.

Farmers gained CAD 50,000 in profits from their crops and were also able to build up reserves.

13,500 women took part in the market vegetable production activities (distribution and training, maintenance and pest management). They made over CAD 13,000 in profits by selling vegetables while also feeding their own families. Furthermore, they planted 9,498 fruit trees in the vegetable gardens to help protect them from wind and extreme temperatures.

The project’s other component is to increase the resilience of targeted communities. Training sessions were planned in order to help them become less vulnerable. These covered many aspects, including ensuring household food security in a context of chronic drought, adopting alternative crop systems, storing seeds naturally, fighting parasites, and improving market access. The project also sought to build awareness on the need for community granaries for food security. A module was delivered across 25 training sites, with 20 people participating in each.
To extend the reach of the information and cover the whole area, these subject matters were presented and explained during three radio programs broadcast by four different stations. 

Meetings were also organized with the supporting communities during the previous stages in order to strengthen their positive adaptation strategies. At the end of the project, it appears that the targeted communities have developed better strategies for resilience through the production of cereals and stocking methods, have improved their health through better nutrition, now live in a more serene environment with the reduction of food-related and economic stress, and have developed a better relationship with local authorities and government agencies. Furthermore, the women of these communities benefited from the strengthening of organizational capacities, which favours their empowerment.