UCG : a solution to the problems of nutrition for each household (Business Mirror)

Read at :

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/component/content/article/53-agri-commodities/15215-urban-container-gardening-may-help-solve-urban-nutrition-woes

Urban container gardening may help solve urban-nutrition woes

Bong D. Fabe / Correspondent

(Part three of five)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY —Rapid urbanization and population growth in the Philippines, where an estimated 30 percent of the population is living below the national poverty line without access to basic necessities such as adequate sanitation and potable water, has led to serious negative consequences on both human and environmental health.

But community-based solutions that tackle these problems head-on are fast emerging. One such solution is the urban container gardening (UCG), perfected by Perfecto “Jojo” Rom, 35, as a strategy to “democratize agriculture and empower households to participate in food production and ecological sanitation [Ecosan].”

However, when Rom started UCG in 2002, he had no inkling that he had developed a program that answers a lot of questions that the government and the private sector have been trying to answer for a very long time, issues such as environmental protection, sanitation, food security and nutrition.

As he pursued the development of the UCG, however, he had slowly realized that growing food, especially highly nutritious organic vegetables in the household, is now a possibility in urban areas.

Aside from positively impacting food security, environmental protection, sanitation and economic problems of urban poor, UCG also positively impacts nutrition problems in the city.

Because most city dwellers rely so much on processed “instant food”, most residents now lack the proper nutrients needed for the body’s optimal function.

 “Malnutrition in the Philippines is caused by a host of interrelated factors – health, physical, social, economic and others. Food supply and how it is distributed and consumed by the populace have consequent impact on nutritional status. While reports indicate that there is enough food to feed the country, many Filipinos continue to go hungry and become malnourished due to the inadequate intake of food and nutrients. In fact, except for protein, the typical Filipino diet was found to be grossly inadequate for energy and other nutrients. In order to compensate for the inadequate energy intake, the body utilizes protein as an energy source. Thus, the continuing PEM [protein-energy malnutrition] problem in the country,” the UN’s FAO said.

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See also :

http://containergardening.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/follow-urban-farmer-perfecto-%E2%80%9Cjojo%E2%80%9D-rom-philippines/

Cape Verdean Minister visits Bonn (Google / UNCCD)

Read at : Google Alert – desertification

http://www.unccd.int/media/pressrel/showpressrel.php?pr=press23_01_12

The Minister of Rural Development and Agriculture of Cape Verde, Ms. Eva Ortet, visited the secretariat on 23 January 2012. During the exchange with the Executive Secretary the discussion focused on the significant efforts and successes achieved by the Rep. of Cape Verde in the areas of reforestation, land reclamation and the integrated management of scarce water resources.

They also discussed preparatory activities at the Rio + 20 Summit (June 2012), and the possible role of the CPLP countries that are all facing desertification, land degradation and recurrent droughts.

The cheapest and healthiest way of food production (Business Mirror)

Read at :

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/component/content/article/53-agri-commodities/15253-urban-container-gardening-empowers-households-to-produce-backyard-food

Urban container gardening empowers households to produce backyard food

Bong D. Fabe / Correspondent

(Part 4 of five)

BUT what really is urban container gardening (UCG)?

For its developer, it is a food-production system established in a limited space to serve as a nutrition garden of the household; a household activity that utilizes containers in growing fruits, vegetables and herbs for family consumption; the cheapest and healthiest way of food production as it utilizes household bio-waste as sources of fertilizers in growing crops; and a system that facilitates the utilization of household waste (including idle time) for productive activity.

“In short, it is an advocacy to democratize agriculture and empower households to participate in food production and ecological sanitation [Ecosan],” said Perfecto “Jojo” Rom of Davao City.

UCG is also effective since it enables households to practice intensive gardening method through maximum utilization of limited space; allows for intercropping (planting a variety of plants in one container) which ensures the health of plants due to diversity; conserves both soil and water since containers prevent runoffs of soil and excessive watering; makes use of urban wasteland (vacant lots, brown fields, unused parking lots, and roof tops);  provides meaningful employment for persons with limited skills and formal education; a very inexpensive way of growing food; and gives household opportunities to embark on creative ways to recycle containers that otherwise would be thrown into landfills while re-using bio-waste materials as fertilizers thus reducing material waste thrown into the garbage dump.

“Container gardening, as I see it, is the only doable strategy of democratizing agriculture where people will now have a form of control in the area of food security. Through container gardening, social enterprises flourish and more jobs are generated and lessen migration to other countries. This will also result in lower incidences of food-borne diseases or illnesses,” Rom said.

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Hunger and malnutrition in the Sahel : use bottle towers in the family kitchen garden ?

Building towers of recycled bottles and/or pots offers fantastic opportunities to grow fresh food with a minimum of water and fertilizer. One can grow at home, in cities and villages, all kinds of vegetables and herbs. Bottle towers are a wonderful tool to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. They can be build at the lowest cost by any family everywhere on earth, particularly in drylands and deserts.

Convince yourself  in 9 minutes and then take the right decision :

http://youtu.be/jBY2NN-T0fc

Maybe you want to know how to build a bottle tower ? Watch :

http://youtu.be/-uDbjZ9roEQ

Plastic bottles stacked into a bottle tower can be recycled to set up a vertical kitchen garden at home. The bottle towers are used for container gardening of vegetables and herbs. How to build such a tower is shown in different steps.

Still not convinced that one can combat hunger and malnutrition with container gardening ? See how many Filippinos do it (why should people in the Sahel be unable to prepare themselves for the new food crisis to come in the spring ?) :

http://youtu.be/LmcnDH77xNw

Different types of containers can be used to grow vegetables and tree saplings at home. Even in the smallest yard a nice family kitchen garden can be set up. Trays, flower pots, cups, crates, storage cabinets, sacks, bottles, tetra pots, in different forms and sizes, it all can be used to grow fresh food in the most adverse conditions of drought and desertification, even in the desert. While saving a lot of irrigation water, one produces a maximum of food. Container gardening is one of the most efficient tools in the combat of hunger and malnutrition. It is rapidly conquering all the continents. ANYONE CAN GROW HIS OWN FOOD.

Children under five and pregnant women will be the most vulnerable (Google / AlertNet)

Read at : Google Alert – images of the Africa Drought

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/one-million-children-in-the-sahel-at-risk-of-severe-acute-malnutrition-by-spring

One million children in the Sahel at risk of severe acute malnutrition by spring

Source: member // Action Against Hunger – UK

As the food crisis looms in the Sahel region of West Africa, Action Against Hunger has launched a response plan to mitigate the impact of food security on the nutrition of young children in the weeks ahead to avoid a deterioration of the crisis.

More than 10 million people across the region are at risk of food shortages* and Early Warning Systems are on high alert: poor harvests and food shortages threaten to push even more families into hunger; cereal prices are 60 to 85 per cent higher than average prices over the last five years; and thousands of families are expected to exhaust their food reserves before March.

This year the hunger gap in the Sahel (the period between harvests) is predicted to begin in March instead of July. Up to ten million families will have exhausted their food reserves and methods of coping before the next harvest begins in October. Families are still struggling to recover from previous crises, and the primary concern is how already-vulnerable communities will cope with further rises in food prices, one of the determining factors of how the emergency in the Sahel will unfold.

“Although the 2011 harvest has not been catastrophic, after the drought of 2005 there have not been two consecutive years of good harvests. Many of the most vulnerable households are still extremely weak from the situation six years ago, and unable to cope with the slightest shock,” explains the regional representative of Action Against Hunger in West Africa, Patricia Hoorelbeke.

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Irrigation Improvement and Groundwater Conservation and Soil Projects (Techno Green Corp.)

Read at :

http://www.technogreencorp.com/projects_yemen_groundwater_soil_conservation.htm#a3

Republic of Yemen – Groundwater & Soil Conservation Project

The Republic of Yemen, a country dependent on its agriculture industry faced serious economic collapse as the water necessary, after survey, to sustain the agriculture sector was found to have a finite future of 7 years. Immediate steps were taken by the Ministry of Agriculture & Irrigation to implement the Irrigation Improvement, and Groundwater Conservation & Soil Projects.

After diligent presentations of their water conservation product “Aqua-Feed” to the Minister of Agriculture & Irrigation and his technical staff, Techno-Green – Yemen was invited to field test in the Al –Hudiedah Tihamah farming belt.

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To generate high-resolution groundwater potential maps by remote-sensing (Google / Landsat)

Read at : Google Alert – images of the Africa Drought

http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/news-archive/soc_0032.html

Combating drought in the Horn of Africa

Source: UNESCO Natural Sciences Sector

UNESCO began mapping groundwater this January in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa, in order to bring the population a sustainable water supply. Drought has caused the region’s worst famine in 60 years, with 12 million people at risk of starvation. Those living in refugee camps are particularly vulnerable.

Thanks to advances in geosciences, it is now possible to detect the precise location of groundwater in arid climates like that of the Horn of Africa. UNESCO is using new remote-sensing technology developed by Radar Technologies International to generate high-resolution groundwater potential maps of the area under study. These maps will in turn guide partners in determining where to drill boreholes to bring the water to the surface in a cost effective manner. These partners include UNHCR, UNICEF, USAID and a number of NGOs.

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Infrared camera to see how drought affects plant physiology (ICARDA)

Read at :

http://icardablog.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/hot-shot-a-camera-that-measures-drought-tolerance/

Hot-Shot! A camera that measures drought tolerance

ICARDA scientists use the infrared camera to see how drought affects plant physiology.

The one thing dryland farmers fear, above all else, is drought. In many parts of the world, droughts are becoming more frequent, and more severe, as a result of climate change. ICARDA scientists are using a new tool — the infrared camera — to study how plant physiology is affected by drought. The results are helping to better understand the mechanics of drought tolerance, and develop new drought-tolerant varieties that could transform the lives of millions of farmers worldwide.

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Drought-resistant, perennial, heirloom Everglades tomato for all the drylands (You Tube)

VIDEO seen at :

http://youtu.be/vxAi3CfD6rE

Rare Perennial Everglades Tomato Grows all Year in South Florida

John from http://www.growingyourgreens.com/ goes on a field trip to Southern J Ranch in West Palm Beach, Florida to share with you the Everglades tomato, a rare, wild current-sized tomato that grows and fruits year round in South Florida. After watching this episode you will learn more about not only the Everglades tomato that grows like a weed in South Florida, but also the Bhut Jolokia aka Ghost Pepper, one of the hottest peppers in the world. In addition, you will learn about just a few of the edible plants and trees that Southern J offers at their nursery.

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College campuses are leading the way toward a greener America (Online Colleges)

Read at :

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/01/29/10-colleges-growing-their-own-food/

10 Colleges Growing Their Own Food

Like Cypher enjoying a juicy steak in The Matrix, ignorance is bliss when it comes to our food. For years we have been eating products without knowing where they came from, how they were grown (or created), or how they got to us. But lately it has been really hard to stay ignorant. Michael Pollan and Food, Inc. have shown us the ugly truth of how unsustainable and unhealthy our food practices are. College campuses, historically on the forefront of social change, are leading the way toward a greener America. Of the many schools across the country enacting some kind of green activities, here are 10 colleges growing their own food.

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