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Report 2 of 5:
Food
Security For Refugees - Tanzania
Introduction
Not all of the refugees in the Tanzanian camps are from Burundi. Some areas host people who fled the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) in 1996. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees operates ten settlement camps in Tanzania, along the Burundian border, with a total population of over 300,000 people. For years, the World Food Program has provided food rations but a steady diet of the emergency staples, which are easiest for international agencies to deliver, lacks the nutrients and the variety healthy bodies need over a long period. As a result, many of the refugees were undernourished.
Bringing together the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP) and other agencies involved with the refugee population, FAO introduced a programme to improve the nutritional status of the refugees. The project also provided income generation for the refugees and improved vegetable gardening techniques which could be replicated when they returned home.
Training in vegetable gardening
In November 1999, just before the rainy season arrived in Western Tanzania, FAO, through the United Nations and other relief agencies, distributed seeds and hoes on a pilot programme basis to thousands of refugees in these camps. The aid concentrated on the most vulnerable groups, including women, schools, youth and the elderly population in the camps.
Not all those in the Tanzanian camps were farmers in their homeland. Many of the refugee population fled from urban areas and many of these had been among their nations' educated. These people have assisted camp officials in translating information, most of it arriving in English, into Kirundi, the local language of Burundi and also into terms the farmers can understand.
Using a trickle down education system, trainers were selected who could learn from agriculture experts and then pass information down to the refugee farmers. Posters and flip charts introduced concepts, such as seed harvesting, using simple pictures that could be explained verbally in whichever language was most appropriate for group members.
Technical leaflets
- Nursery for your garden
- Garden management
- Soil fertility management
- Making your own natural pesticides
- The use of good quality seeds
- Production packages for amaranthus, okra, chinese cabbage, tomato, eggplant
Teachers at both primary and secondary levels have been teaching the importance of natural fertilisers and natural pest control by using school demonstration gardens. Best practices are being recognised and these young farmers are being encouraged to share their successes with their peers.
In the camps, as in most rural areas of Burundi, roughly eighty percent of the subsistence, or small-scale, farming is done by women. Working in groups on gardens or on other projects, such as handicrafts, provides opportunities for socialising that are lacking in the unsettled lives of the refugees. The opportunity for education cannot be underestimated. With time on their hands and little to occupy their interest, women are eager to learn new concepts and training sessions are welcome at all levels.
Principles of vegetable gardening
Vegetables were selected for their nutritional content:
Amaranthus for iron and vitamin A
Chinese cabbage for vitamin A
Tomatoes and African egg plant for vitamin C
Okra for calcium - good for strengthening the bones of the old and week
Crops were also selected on the basis that they would mature quickly and that they could easily propagate seeds for next season's planting. Spinach and cabbage were familiar to farmers but okra (umurenda in the local Kirundi language) was new to many camp residents. Nonetheless, some fifty percent chose to plant the new vegetable which can be added to beans or other vegetables or eaten by itself.
Leaders in the camp provide cooking demonstrations to show the women how to prepare the food to maximise nutrition and taste.
Farmers learn the importance of inter-cropping, crop rotation, composting and the importance of organic pesticides to limit destructive insects. They are taught remedies to discourage pests that may have already invaded their plants. A simple soap and water mixture is used for washing away insects living on the leaves of Chinese cabbage. The mixture is applied to the leaves using a small paintbrush, which has been made by tying a bunch of dry grass together.
Basic equipment needed for a vegetable garden for one family
- 40 grams of seeds of each of the following vegetables: tomatoes, amaranthus, cabbage
- 1 hand tool kit, including one watering can and one hoe
- organic compost
- natural pesticides
To make organic compost: Plant debris, residue of kitchen food, ash from the cooking fires and animal manure are mixed with soil in a pit and left for two three months. The compost is ready when it is crumbly, brownish and free of strong odours. It is then put on the soil before planting the seeds.
To prepare natural pesticides: Use local plant extracts - for example, papaya leaves, neem tree leaves, marigold (tagete) or tobacco dry leaves and onions. Pound all these together, add water and boil for approximately 10-15 minutes before adding soap or starch like cassava or miller flour.
Preparing the nursery
The nursery is the most important stage of the garden preparation and needs lots of attention. Always start by sowing seeds in a nursery, which should be located in a convenient site that can be attended and cared for on a daily basis. The nursery should always be fenced to keep out any animals.
The seed bed should consist of a fine soil, which has had all the sticks and stones taken out. It should be raised by about 15-20cm, although during the dry season, sunken seed beds are recommended.
Nursery bed on table
The germination bed (recommended soil mix is 20cm deep) is placed on an elevated straw top, under a partially shaded place. At the beginning, the germination bed should be covered with straw to maintain moisture and promote germination. The bed should be watered every morning and evening. The elevated bed helps to control pests moving around at ground level.
Standard nursery bed
A raised or sunken bed should always be shaded with a simple roof, made of wood with straw and palm leaves on top.
Soil mix
The source of the soil is the most important factor for successful nurseries. Virgin soil should be used, but if it is not, the soil should be sterilised. A nursery soil should comprise a mixture of some, or all, of the following: river sand, compost and local soil.
Local soil is best obtained from a nearby forest and should be loamy, that is, the soil should consist of a natural mixture of clay and sand, animal and vegetable matter.
River sand with very low clay content will promote good drainage.
Compost (organic matter) will improve the fertility and structure of nursery soil mixes.
Contaminated soil from around villages or areas frequented by many cattle should not be collected. The exact soil mix will depend upon the type of material locally available but as a guide, 1 part river sand, 1 part loamy forest soil should make a good mix.
After dividing the garden into parts, the seeds are planted in lines. Seedlings should be transplanted after approximately 6 weeks of growth, preferably in the late afternoon. Before transplanting from the seed bed, fertiliser and compost are put around the plots.
For further information, please contact:
ITDG would like to acknowledge the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), in particular Anne De Lannoy, Giuseppe Debac and Elaine Eliah, for providing the original material on improving nutrition through home gardening.
This document is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the DFID.
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