For resource poor and HIV victim urban and pre-urban dwellers in developing countries, home garden is vital to enhance food and nutrient security. The availability of both ground and surface water in Bahir Dar city of...For resource poor and HIV victim urban and pre-urban dwellers in developing countries, home garden is vital to enhance food and nutrient security. The availability of both ground and surface water in Bahir Dar city of Ethiopia propels many poor families to produce vegetable and fruit crop for home consumption and income generation. Productivity of fruits and vegetables has been seriously affected due to lack of high yield with good quality varieties, poor knowledge of agronomic practices, poor water and fertilizer managements to exploit the full potential benefits of home garden to the area. To minimize those gaps, resource poor and HIV victim women headed households were selected and model home garden were established to demonstrate improved production practices. Subsequent trainings and experience sharing focused on the different techniques of vegetable and fruit crops production and management, methods of compost preparation and how to generate income from home garden were provided. The seeds of lettuce, Swiss chard, head cabbage, kale, carrot and improved banana sucker and coffee seedlings were supplied for each model home garden. Based on the training and experiences gained, different vegetable growing structures, such as old plastic containers, wooden boxes, vegetable growing shelves made from locally available materials and old used car tier, and ＂food always in the house＂ （FAITH） gardening techniques were established to maximize the potential of home garden both vertically and horizontally. Within one growing season, participants produced plenty leafy vegetable for home consumption and they started to generate income by supplying fresh vegetable products to the local market. Nowadays, participants have been sharing their knowledge and experiences to new neighboring gardeners through their model home gardens. Therefore, the respective stakeholders should provide continuous technical and financial support to strengthen the established model home garden as a training center to disseminate improved production techniques for Bahir Dar city residents for the future.展开更多
文摘For resource poor and HIV victim urban and pre-urban dwellers in developing countries, home garden is vital to enhance food and nutrient security. The availability of both ground and surface water in Bahir Dar city of Ethiopia propels many poor families to produce vegetable and fruit crop for home consumption and income generation. Productivity of fruits and vegetables has been seriously affected due to lack of high yield with good quality varieties, poor knowledge of agronomic practices, poor water and fertilizer managements to exploit the full potential benefits of home garden to the area. To minimize those gaps, resource poor and HIV victim women headed households were selected and model home garden were established to demonstrate improved production practices. Subsequent trainings and experience sharing focused on the different techniques of vegetable and fruit crops production and management, methods of compost preparation and how to generate income from home garden were provided. The seeds of lettuce, Swiss chard, head cabbage, kale, carrot and improved banana sucker and coffee seedlings were supplied for each model home garden. Based on the training and experiences gained, different vegetable growing structures, such as old plastic containers, wooden boxes, vegetable growing shelves made from locally available materials and old used car tier, and ＂food always in the house＂ （FAITH） gardening techniques were established to maximize the potential of home garden both vertically and horizontally. Within one growing season, participants produced plenty leafy vegetable for home consumption and they started to generate income by supplying fresh vegetable products to the local market. Nowadays, participants have been sharing their knowledge and experiences to new neighboring gardeners through their model home gardens. Therefore, the respective stakeholders should provide continuous technical and financial support to strengthen the established model home garden as a training center to disseminate improved production techniques for Bahir Dar city residents for the future.
