Development of evidence based policy around homestead food production
by GOLDMAN, I, HART, T, JACOBS, P, MOHLABI, KALONGE, S & MULLINS D, 2010Research report prepared by the HSRC for Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development, 10 January 2010
Many South Africans are food insecure and suffer from nutrient deficiencies. Homestead food production is one element of a strategy for combating food insecurity in both urban and rural areas. NGOs and the government attempt to promote homestead production; however, the scale and impact of such support are not known. Practitioners of urban agriculture indicate the need for support for inputs, equipment and advice, although other support might be more appropriate. Some of the issues that need to be addressed in a programme to support homestead production include: Conducting systematic research on what is happening, where, the types of technologies, institutional arrangements, impact and cataloguing lessons learnt; Developing a programme that can fund a range of structures, building on the fact that many NGOs, churches, foundations or CBOs are applying homestead gardening; Identifying the modalities for scaling such interventions, through a community-based methodology (using e.g. NGOs to train and support community-level people to advise others); using the Community Work Programme or EPWP modalities to fund stipends for community-based workers; developing standardised, accredited training for community-based workers; providing access to water through support for rainwater harvesting and the use of grey water; developing an approach to scaling up with an inception phase in a few urban centres and some rural areas, followed by a phasing-up process; developing a community of practice and mechanism for learning and sharing experiences; and establishing a proper monitoring and evaluation system.
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