For Food Friday, we often share recipes or fun food ideas, but this week, we’re sharing with you a story about an initiative in Cameroon to help the community grow its own crops and become sustainable – one bean at a time!
This story was written by Mirabelle Enaka Kima, and posted on the IFRC website.
Heavy rains and flooding are nothing new to the people of Cameroon’s Far North region. Almost every year, they bring devastation and misery. Last year was the worst in recent memory, with heavy downpours causing rivers to burst their banks, damaging and destroying homes, valuable farmland and people’s livelihoods.
To help families rebound quicker, the Red Cross launched a food security project with the goal to teach people improved farming techniques in order to sustain their livelihoods.
Project beneficiaries were allocated a total of 29 hectares of land for the cultivation of maize, rice, rainy season sorghum, groundnuts, beans and vegetables. The project also has a small ruminant and poultry rearing component.
Planting started in July and a couple of months later, crops of maize and sorghum, already as tall as people, now grace the landscape. However, there have been some challenges – weeds, insects, soil -- and crop yields will be slightly lower than expected.
The project is currently entering its second phase, which consists of preparing and guidance in marketing the produce. During this phase, crop-drying areas will be constructed and a training workshop on drying, storing and conservation techniques will be organized in October.
As part of the program, there are also lessons focused on the composition of local foodstuffs, good cooking methods for preserving food nutrients, and traditional food preservation techniques, such as drying, smoking and salting. In addition to these basic elements of nutrition, participants were also briefed on good hygiene practices, with the women participating wholeheartedly in the hand-washing exercise.