Many rural and agrarian communities in Badin have benefited through Community World Service Asia’s Sustainable Agriculture and Food security project which started in 2015. This initiative, supported by PWS&D and CFGB, seeks to ensure food security and sustainability in rural areas by introducing and promoting innovative farming skills among local villagers. By doing this, they are positively impacting the community sustainably by guiding them on how to acquire their own necessities rather than merely distributing tangible products such as food kits or shelters. Through the project, villagers are encouraged to become self-sufficient instead of dependent on external assistance.

Using various methods, the project is equipping rural communities of Badin with essential knowledge on health, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture. The project recently held a Farmers Festival for women farmers to celebrate World Food Day and the achievements of these farmers over the last two years. The festival featured many performances, including poem recitals, song competitions, and two didactic dramas enacted by local children and the village’s theater group, which has been formed as part of Community World Service Asia’s projects in the area. More than three hundred and fifty women from Union Council Khairpur Gambo and Pangario of Badin and fifteen elementary school students from the same area participated in the festival. The children (students) enlightened the attendees at the festival on the importance of kitchen gardening, tree plantations, good nutrition, environment conservation and the history of World Food Day through tableau performances. Representatives from the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), Participatory Village Development Programme (PVDP), Arche Nova, Society for Safe Environment and Welfare of Agrarians in Pakistan (SSEWA-Pak) and Local Support Organizations (LSOs) also participated at the festival.

I came to this festival because the project staff has become like family. They teach us so much that I respect them. When I received the invitation to this festival, I was very excited to attend the event. The atmosphere in this festival is delightful. It is a wonderful opportunity for us women to come out of our houses, enjoy ourselves, and learn. What we learn will help us change our lives,

The mother of four children, aged between 4-11 years, Fozia deeply cares for her family. She hopes that her children will be able to learn vocational skills that will help them in the future but has not yet been able to find an opportunity for them. Fozia lives in Shukaraldin, a rural village of Badin, where her husband works as a farmer on a small plot of his own land. Due to the nature of his work, Fozia’s husband does not earn a steady monthly income. Fozia explained,

After every six months, my husband sells whatever crop he has been growing on the land, and we live off the profits. However, we have to wait for that income since some crops, like cotton and peppers, take six months until they are ready to sell.

Fozia is not able to do full-time work because of her young children, but she does sewing at home. She rarely receives sewing commissions, and when she does, they are usually from relatives. Thus, the family’s main source of income is through her husband’s farming. The family is dependent on the water and weather for their crop’s wellbeing, creating an unstable financial foundation for the family.

Two years ago, Fozia started growing a kitchen garden after the team came to her village and began to teach the community about health and nutrition. They encouraged the villagers to create kitchen gardens so that families would have food security and eat more healthily. Fozia shared,

We learn a lot from the project team who taught us about health and hygiene. Because of this teaching, my family has been able to prosper. We didn’t know anything about growing vegetables until they taught us about it. My family did not pay any attention to health, but now we are all very interested in this matter.

Community World Service Asia holds teaching sessions in Fozia’s village once or twice a month. The staff teaches the community members about agricultural techniques so that kitchen gardeners will be able to maintain their produce. Sessions for men on fishing and other food-gaining practices are also held.

Fozia confidently asserted that it is easy to maintain her kitchen garden, and she appreciates the change—in terms of finances and health—that it has brought in her family. “I am very happy,” she expressed,

I like eating my freshly grown vegetables. The healthiest diet for my family is to eat our homegrown vegetables.

Ever since Fozia’s family has been eating homegrown vegetables, the family has had some extra money, initially used to purchase vegetables. They use it on other household necessities, such as oil, sugar, clothes, and the children’s school books. Moreover, when Fozia’s kitchen garden has excess vegetables, she either sells them to generate more income, or she gives them to people who do not have any food.

Fozia has also noticed that her family’s health has improved. She estimates that in a year, there may be one or two illnesses among her children, but no more than that. Furthermore, she noted that her family is much more energetic than they were when they ate vegetables from town.

This kitchen garden has had positive effects on my family. We eat clean and healthy food which has improved our health,

Fozia’s children did not like eating vegetables before, so the family often ate lentils, the children’s favorite meal. Fozia did not know the nutritional value of vegetable before. However, after Community World Service Asia began holding sessions in her village, she discovered that their diet was unhealthy. Now, the family consumes vegetables at least once a day rather than only once or twice a week as they did previously. After Fozia began attending the sustainable farming sessions, her family has much more variety in their diet.

The vegetables that we used to buy in town are grown with polluted water, and they were always several days old when we bought them. On the other hand, the water I use to grow my vegetables at home is clean, safe water. Our homegrown vegetables are much fresher than the ones in town. We grow all sorts of vegetables at home, such as tomatoes, cauliflowers, pumpkins, squash, and many more. Homegrown food is optimal for my family’s wellbeing.

Rural women have been trained in kitchen gardening under the food security project. Fozia Iftikhar is just one of many women who have benefited from the project. Another woman farmer, Heeri, from village Prem Nagar, Jhudo, expressed herself at the farmers’ festival,

The kitchen gardening training build our skills and knowledge in growing vegetables at home. Before this, we always had to buy vegetables from the nearby market which was not only tasteless but also difficult to purchase due to high prices. With the kitchen gardening training and vegetable seeds provided by the livelihoods team, we are no more dependent on our men to fetch vegetables from the nearby market.

Nasreen, another farmer, from Shukarddin Araen village, Jhudo, further added,

Kitchen gardening is a ray of hope for me and my family. My family enjoys fresh and chemical free vegetables from our garden. In addition, I have earned PKR 35000 by selling fresh vegetables in nearby markets. This has improved our standard of living.

The community will continue these kitchen gardens. We did not force this project on people. All we did was sensitized and mobilized them. People are beginning to realize the benefits of kitchen gardens themselves,

Hundred percent of the target families have been trained in nutrition and kitchen gardening, providing fresh vegetables at the doorstep of villagers. Families were provided with vegetables seeds to grow in their kitchen gardens. This availability of vegetable at their doorstep not only increased diversity in their meals but also enhanced the quality and quantity of food consumption of the targeted families. A periodic survey report revealed that acceptable food consumption score of the targeted families have increased up to 70% at the end of second year of the project implementation. This was at 43 % initially. Through the teaching sessions in villages, the food security project staff hopes to see continued development in the communities of Badin. The change evidenced in the lives of village women, such as Fozia Iftikhar, reveals that the project is bringing the world one step closer to achieving the second sustainable development goal: Zero Hunger.

My dream to become a teacher was left in vain. My family could not afford to send me to school and I was married off at a young age. I do not want the same for my children though. I want them to study and to live their dreams,

Meena was selected as a participant for a series of Kitchen Gardening trainings in 2016 under the three-year, Promoting Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture projectⁱ. One of the key components of the ongoing project focuses on promoting kitchen gardening among local women in Badin through conducting skill-building trainings on produce gardening, providing informative sessions on family and individual nutrition, arranging exposure visits to relevant institution and running awareness campaigns with the local communities. All of these activities are done to ensure the growth of kitchen gardening practices among households in Badin to reduce food insecurity and to improve the health and livelihoods of local agrarian communities.

As one of the participants of this component of the project, fifty-five-year-old Meena learnt effective and new techniques of plowing, preparing and watering her land and fertilizing the seeds that her family was provided under the project. After building on her gardening skills, Meena primed a patch of land outside her house in accordance to the new practices she learnt in the training and planted the seeds she received meticulously. Meena’s garden has been one of the most flourishing ones, with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables produced regularly. Her lush green garden produces cluster beans, apple gourds, ladyfingers, ridge gourds, spinach, carrots, radish and tomatoes.

Living with her husband and three married sons, Meena shared that her garden yields have made a huge impact on the health and nutrition of all their family members.

The quantity and quality of food cooked at home has improved immensely. My family loves the meals we cook at home now. My kitchen garden has allowed us to save the money that we previously spent on purchasing vegetables and fruits from the local market. In addition to fully providing for the nutritional needs of my family, selling of the surplus produce of my garden has helped me in generating a revenue of PKR 32,270 (Approx. USD 262).

Meena and her family were provided with additional fruit saplings of guava, sapota, mango, black plum, lemon, jujube, neem, moringa, phalsa and conocapus under the project in August this year.

Badin district is situated at the tail end of the canal irrigation system. With limited rainfall and no stored water, the area faces severe water scarcity. Each year the produce of large acreages of agriculture land is further reduced.

The undersized production of my kitchen garden forced me to explore ideas for water storage. My husband and I decided to invest the money I earnt through selling the vegetables in constructing a small water pit, which will help us store water. So, we have now constructed a water pit with a water pump beside it to pump the water out of it. The savings have helped us take quick decisions such as this to help us sustain our garden and our household.

ⁱPromoting Sustainable Agriculture Practices to improve Food security and Livelihoods of Vulnerable and Marginalized Farmers project in Badin is supported by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank through Presbyterian World Service & Development.

An exposure visit to Faisalabad of twenty-seven farmers and seven project staff from Badin, Sindh was conducted from the 10^th to 12^th of May this year. The group visited the University of Agriculture and the Ayub Agriculture Research Institute in Faisalabad. A field excursion to the Gatwala Forest Park in the city was also completed. This exposure visit provided the farmers of Badin an opportunity to observe, understand and learn the various and advanced activities carried out in these state of the art agricultural institutions. Most importantly this visit aimed at bridging the linkages between on-ground farmers and leading agriculture research institutes.

Dr. Abdul Wakeel, Assistant Professor at the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad, welcomed the participants on the 10th of May and gave a brief introduction of the institute and its work to them. Farmers were taken to the university’s nurseries where they observed a variety of plantations and different experiments aimed at enhancing the productivity and yield of crops in process.  Dr. Asif Tanveer delivered a comprehensive and informative session on sustainable agriculture practices at the Agronomy Library at the institute which was followed by a questions and answers session with the farmers from Sindh. Many queries of the farmers were addressed and they were encouraged to implement the learnings to expect better outputs in their fields back home.

Similarly, the next day, Dr. Abid Mahmood, Director General Research at the Ayub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) in Faisalabad oriented and briefed the farmers group on the on-going researches and latest breakthroughs the AARI and its sister institute and substations have achieved. The Agriculture Research Officer and member of monitoring and evaluation and Quarantine committee at AARI, gave a thorough explanation of the sister institutes and substation of AARI. The farmers were made aware of the many services they could avail from the AARI institutes; such as acquiring seeds of new varieties and plant saplings, seeking recommendations for better productivity and being provided with copies of relevant IEC material.

Dr. Dilber and Dr. Khalid, Scientific Officers at AARI, informed the participants about rearing of beneficial insects, including Tricograma and Phenacoccus aceris, which play a key role in pest management during their visit of the Integrated Pest Management Laboratory. They were also made aware of the advance production technology available for different vegetables at the field site where a variety of crops were produced.  At the field area where cereal crop is produced, the farmers were updated on the development of Hybrid seeds, advanced production technology of a range of cereal crops and the availability of newly developed seed varieties at economical prices. After the AARI and on their last day in Faisalabad, the team from Sindh visited the Gatwala forest nursery and park where they explored different species of fruit, forest and ornamental plants.

The exposure visit enabled farmers from different communities to interact with and learn from each other, allowing them to view practical examples of successful integration of sustainable practices in farming communities like their own. This platform provided progressive farmers to expand their knowledge and skill by visiting agricultural sites where new technologies and techniques are adopted. The farmers learnt and understood a variety of different available methods utilized to increase and sustain their income.

Farmers’ Learnings:

I have learnt about farming of spreading tomato varieties in tunnel. I will practice this farming technique at my own field by making tunnels with available wooden logs to generate maximum revenue in scarce water conditions. I appreciate the efforts of Community World Service Asia for providing this learning opportunity to explore innovative crop production technologies.

I was excited to see the different high yielding varieties of vegetables and more contented to learn that we can get quality seeds of these vegetable at our door step at very reasonable prices.I am thankful to the livelihoods team for linking us to these national level institutes. We can learn much more in future for better and updated agricultural practices for productive outcomes.

This project is co-funded by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) and Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D). Special thanks to the government of Canada for supporting this project.

Agricultural farmers produce a variety of nutritious substances for human and animal consumption. Farmers all over the world generously contribute to the sustenance of all kinds of life and growth. Under its Food security and livelihood project^[1] (FSL), Community World Service Asia organized a farmers’ festival to encourage local targeted communities in the district of Badin in Sindh, Pakistan towards adopting sustainable agriculture practices. The festival also aimed at identifying ways to bridge linkages between farming communities and the civil society, NGOs and government departments working on agriculture in the area.

As one of the key components of the FSL project, this Farmers’ Festival which was primarily for men only, was attended by more than six hundred community members in Badin, promoted the adoption of sustainable agriculture through a variety of informational yet fun activities; interactive theater performances, tableaus and open discussions on experience sharing were all part of it. Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Farmer Field School^[2] members, local women trained in kitchen gardening and nutrition actively participated in the festival.

Relevant Government officials representing the district’s Social Welfare and Agriculture departments took part in the event and recognized the improvements in on-farm activities noted since the initiation of the project. They affirmed that this sort of progress will surely ensure sustainable development and food security in the area.

Other non-profit organizations working in the region were also given an opportunity to set up stalls, displaying local handicrafts and pictorial presentations reflecting their own project activities, at the festival. Models on Key Hole Kitchen Gardening and Biological Pests Control were also exhibited. Women from the local communities had also set up their own stalls to sell vegetables freshly harvested from their kitchen gardens.

Perbhat, a local theatre group, performed an interactive theater play to highlight the benefits of kitchen gardening, sustainable agriculture practices and how to maintain a balanced diet. The audience was also sensitized on increased tree plantations and how that would reduce the adverse impacts of climate change. In addition, students of Ram Kolhi Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) performed two tableaus under the direction of their teachers, in an attempt to amplify the importance of education in strengthening and improving agricultural practices for long-term food security.

Key speakers, representing government bodies, CSOs, NGOs and local farmers also addressed the visitors and attendees of the festival, highlighting the valuable role that the communities themselves play and need to continue playing for social, economic and agricultural development. Moreover, the government officials assured the communities about addressing issues of mismanagement and negligence and recommended to work towards resolving these issues together. Local farmers also invited the Government and local officials to visit their lands to be able to better understand how they work and identify ways of increased collaboration. The festival was seen as a bridge that addressed the existing gaps between community members, local farmers and government officials and a big leap towards enhancing agricultural development in Sindh.

^[1] Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Practices to Improve Food Security and Livelihoods of Vulnerable and Marginalized Farmers of Badin Project

^[2] A group-based adult learning approach that teaches farmers to shift towards more sustainable production practices.

This project is co-funded by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) and Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D). Special thanks to the government of Canada for supporting this project.

Under the Food Security^[1]project initiated in Badin, Sindh in 2015, continuous technical support and business development services are provided to rural farmers to achieve high quality agricultural production in order to promote agri-based enterprises. To further strengthen the skills and expertise of these agrarian communities, an exposure visit to the Arid Zone Research Institute (AZRI) in Umerkot was organized in the last week of February this year. The visit was conducted in three groups, one day allocated to each group. Sixty farmers, nineteen men and forty-three women, from three Union Councils (UC) of Badin participated in the visit. Project staff and AZRI officials facilitated the visit.

Dr. Atta Ullah, Director AZRI, welcomed each group at the start of their exposure visit and briefed them on the importance of sustainable agriculture and the various methods they will be exploring at the institute. At the AZRI, the farmers observed many ongoing researches and activities underway. Some of these included kitchen gardening activities using the drip irrigation system, pitcher gardening schemes, solar desalination units and hydroponic cultivation systems.

The Drip Irrigation System and ways of cultivating vegetables using this system was explained to the farmers.  This irrigation method was introduced during a time of water scarcity in the area. It was through this system that 70 percent of the water was saved at the time. Many vegetables, namely tomato, garlic, onion, spinach and coriander are cultivated through this technique.

Farmers learnt how saline water is converted into drinking water using the Solar Desalination Unit at the institute. Eight liters of saline water is converted into drinking water each day, making this technology highly useful in area that lack clean water.

The farmers from Badin found the Hydroponic Cultivation method most interesting as this was very new to them. Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture, which is the growing of plants in a soilless medium, or in an aquatic based environment. Hydroponic growing uses mineral nutrient solutions to feed the plants in water, without requiring any soil. The staff at the AZRI shared with the farmers that the use of hydroponics had increased since pesticides and other toxins produced during traditional farming practices increased the risks of damage to crops.  Plants produced by hydroponic techniques do not have any pesticides; therefore they are absolutely safe for human consumption. Qadir Bux Mirza, one of the farmers from UC Khair Pur Gambo, Badin remarked,

Hydroponic cultivation was a completely new innovation for me as I never knew such a quick way of growing nutritious fodder like maize, wheat and oat for animals even existed. I plan to implement this new technique of farming when i return to my lands.

Other units such as the Bio fertilizer Mill and Compost Making, Drip irrigation for the Crafted Jujube Orchard and Bio Remediation System where wastewater is treated and used for irrigation purposes were also shown in detail to the farmers’ group. They were sensitized on the use of biofertilizers as one of the most important components of integrated nutrient management, being cost effective as well as being a renewable source of nutrients to supplement chemical fertilizers.  Plantations of date palm, agro forestry of arid trees, nursery garden of different grasses, shrubs & trees were also shown to the farmers during their visit.

Staff at the AZRI encouraged the farmers from Badin to adopt agricultural practices that use less water as Badin is facing a major scarcity of irrigation water. They further advocated the growing of crops and orchards which require less water. The farmers were enriched with learning new techniques of farming including drip irrigation, drought resistant plants and development of fodders by the end of the exposure visit.

Rabia Khatoon, a kitchen gardener from Babar Kaloi village of UC Khairpur Gambo, shared,

It was amazing to see such a large variety of fodder that can be grown with limited use of water. This is highly beneficial for farmers like us who reside in water scarce areas. I have also been provided with some seeds which I will grow on my field. In addition, I will share my learning with other farmers in my village so that everyone can benefit from these new techniques of sustainable farming.

^[1] Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Practices to Improve Food Security and Livelihoods of Vulnerable and Marginalized Farmers of Badin Project implemented by Community World Service Asia. The project is co-funded the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) and Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D). Special thanks to the government of Canada for supporting this project.