Addressing nutritional challenges and supporting women's empowerment in rural Pakistan

2021-12-06 15:53:46 By : Ms. Betty Jia

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“We make money by selling surplus vegetables to small vendors or shops. We use this money for other household expenses,” said Khair Bano, a satisfied beneficiary. She is eager to use her income for education to create a bright future for her children.

Watch the video below about the Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project.

"The kitchen gardening (KG) kit is provided in my name. It makes me happy. It also helps us save money. We are very happy to have fresh vegetables. We feed ourselves and our neighbors. We save a lot of money and only spend it on our necessities."-Amna, beneficiary of SIAPEP.

Amna runs a family of nine members. For many years, she struggled to support her family with limited resources. The Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project provided her with a kitchen gardening toolkit, and her life has been improved since then. She can better support her family and save money.

Prior to the SIAPEP project, households in rural areas of Sindh used traditional methods to grow crops. They use flood irrigation systems to grow crops, which results in low water use efficiency and low crop yields. They did not make full use of home gardening and missed out on very high-quality crops that can be grown at home with minimal effort. In addition, traditional agricultural practices do not allow women to work with men to help support their families.

With the support of the International Development Association (or IDA, a fund established by the World Bank for the poorest people), SIAPEP distributed and installed 10,100 kitchen gardening kits to 5,050 female-headed households and 5,050 landless farmers in rural Sindh. These families now use drip irrigation systems instead of flood irrigation systems. Drip irrigation system not only saves a lot of water, but also easier to manage.

The kit includes a drip irrigation system for a 400-square-foot plot of landless farmers and female breadwinners. The kitchen gardening kit also includes a pipe network for a 20x20-foot plot, a 200-liter bucket, basic tools, seeds and one year's fertilizer. With the help of these toolkits, farmers and their families can now grow enough vegetables for their families.

The project provides a convenient way to store water. "SIAPEP provided us with buckets (kits). Now we can save water, which benefits us a lot. Now, whether it is rainy or hot, we have enough water for every season. We can save us Crops," said Parry, the beneficiary.

Kitchen gardening activities are particularly focused on supporting women so that they can grow food in the land and gardens near their homes. In addition, the kitchen garden project aims to provide nutritious food to improve the health of the family and ultimately increase human capital.

Impact on the diet and financial situation of beneficiary families

Sana Khanzada, an expert on social and gender issues of the SIAPEP project implementation unit, added when talking about the benefits of eating organic food: “In rural areas, women’s vegetable intake has increased, which shows that overall good changes have taken place. Women. The health status of the children is getting better day by day, and the children are also experiencing the same positive changes. Diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and stomach upset have decreased." 

During the investigation, data was collected to monitor the health of women and children after using fresh vegetables and fruits grown with the help of KG kits. The number of disease cases reported by hospitals has been significantly reduced by 10% to 20%.

Beneficiary Aadhya said: “Before that, women used to buy unsanitary and inorganic vegetables from outside. This affected the health of mothers and children.”

In the past, pregnant women only had chili and dry bread for dinner. Malnutrition can cause health problems for mothers and babies. By eating their homemade vegetables, mothers have a more balanced diet, are less likely to get sick, and their babies are healthier when they are born.

Parry affirmed that the children's illness used to mean frequent visits to the doctor. Their children are now enjoying a healthier life. They are eating fresh vegetables grown in the vegetable garden. It keeps them and their children healthy.  

While providing healthy food, SIAPEP has significantly improved the financial situation of beneficiaries. They increased their income and savings in a short period of time.

“We make money by selling surplus vegetables to small vendors or shops. We use this money for other household expenses,” said Khair Bano, a satisfied beneficiary. She is eager to use her income for education to create a bright future for her children. She looks forward to improving the lifestyle for her family.      

Parri said the project was "good for the budget." She further added, “All the money we save is like lottery tickets. This will benefit us in the future.” 

Parri said the project was "good for the budget." She further added, “All the money we save is like lottery tickets. This will benefit us in the future.” 

Kitchen gardening's contribution to mitigating the impact of COVID-19

This project directly contributes to alleviating the social and economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the project to improve water management in the irrigation system, the acceleration of work related to river improvement will help create temporary employment opportunities. 50% of the mixing, fertilizing and irrigating employees are women. They provide home gardening services for other families to earn wages.

Peersun is the beneficiary who makes the most of the project. He said: “Due to COVID19, we have no work and no way to travel to the city. We are all sitting at home and idle. SIAPEP has helped us. My wife and I started to grow vegetables on a small plot of our land. We I am satisfied with the results, and the people in the nearby villages are also very happy."

One of the main operational objectives of the SIAPEP project is to support poor women in rural Sindh. The project helped women contribute to improving the living standards of their families.

A beneficiary emphasized this point, “In our culture, men are the only breadwinners in the family. Now, we (women) harvest vegetables and sell them by ourselves. We even save for the future through hard income, It also contributes to household expenses."   

The plan has recently gained wide acceptance and appreciation. Sana Khanzada, a social and gender expert at SIAPEP, won the 2021 Female Role Model Award.

On this occasion, Sana Khanzada said: “This project has changed women’s daily lives. Now they are involved in decision-making. Because of this intervention, their self-confidence has been improved. This achievement belongs not only to me, but also to the entire SIAPEP team. Partners who contribute to this."  

Other interventions for the project include improvements to the community’s water supply infrastructure, the promotion and installation of efficient irrigation systems, and support for the adoption of improved agricultural practices.