Food and Nutrition Security
Enhancing adaptive capacity of women and ethnic smallholder farmers through improved agro-climate information in Mai and Samphanh district, Phongsaly Province, Laos
The Agro-Climate Information for the Adoption of Resilient Farming Practices by Women and Ethnic Minority Farmers (ACIS2) is implemented by CARE International in Lao PDR. The project financed by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development (MECDD) in Luxembourg, is designed to support poor and vulnerable households in remote, rural areas and to enable women and ethnic minority farmers in Mai and Samphanh districts (Phongsaly province) to better anticipate risks and opportunities related to climate variability thus improving their response through participatory and equitable agro-climatic planning. The project’s aim is to contribute to SDG 13 by increasing climate resilience of women and ethnic minority farmers in northern Laos.
The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the project’s success in implementing activities and in attaining the project’s goals and expected results. The ACIS2 has implemented a wide variety of activities to increase the resilience of ethnic communities to climate change and climate variability. The project has been successful in achieving its objectives and expected results. Project provide the weather forecast and agriculture advisory and support for cardamom production, intercropping galangal, pineapple, fruit trees, bee keeping, vegetable gardening, improved rice production and support to women’s savings and loans groups which has resulted in reducing the impact of climatic hazards and improving farmers’ incomes.
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The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the project’s success in implementing activities and in attaining the project’s goals and expected results. The ACIS2 has implemented a wide variety of activities to increase the resilience of ethnic communities to climate change and climate variability. The project has been successful in achieving its objectives and expected results. Project provide the weather forecast and agriculture advisory and support for cardamom production, intercropping galangal, pineapple, fruit trees, bee keeping, vegetable gardening, improved rice production and support to women’s savings and loans groups which has resulted in reducing the impact of climatic hazards and improving farmers’ incomes.
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Contributing to sustainable food production in Cuban municipalities – PROSAM.
The emphasis of the project is on strengthening the capacities of the Agricultural Municipal Delegations (DMA), the Soil Institute, and the producers, their productive forms, to promote local food self-sufficiency in the municipalities of Artemisa, Bejucal, Guanabacoa, Güines and Madruga located in the Provinces of Artemisa, Havana, and Mayabeque; as well as the promotion of sustainable environmental technologies and agro-ecologies and the mainstreaming of the gender practices approach that guarantees the full participation of women through equitable access and control of project resources in terms of inputs, equipment, and knowledge. Appropriating the work for gender equality in the daily life of the Soil Institute is essential for the coherence of its leadership with the different actors involved in the project. Read More...
Final Performance Evaluation of the ENSURE Development Food Assistance Program in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is rich in human and natural resources. However, for decades it has experienced food insecurity and poverty rooted in recurrent drought, economic instability, and policy decisions that severely undercut economic growth, agricultural production, and employment opportunities. The ENSURE project goal was to increase long-term food security among chronically food insecure rural households in 66 wards in six districts of Manicaland and Masvingo provinces, where food insecurity and stunting are higher than the national average. ENSURE’s main activities were to 1) improve nutrition among women of reproductive age and children under five years of age (CU5), 2) increase the income of vulnerable households, and 3) improve household resilience. Promoting gender equity in decision-making, access to financial services, and participation in project activities were cross-cutting priorities, as were environmental protection and disaster risk reduction. Read More...
CARE Rapid Gender Analysis – North-west Syria: SACRIFICING THE FUTURE TO SURVIVE THE PRESENT
The war in Syria has fueled one of the world’s most complex protracted humanitarian crises. The combination of mounting insecurity, economic decline, environmental stressors and the Covid-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic impact. After 11 years of conflict, north-west Syria, which is home to more than 4.6 million people, continues to experience recurring waves of violence and forced displacement and disruptions in the provision of humanitarian assistance. Idleb governorate recorded the highest death rate as a result of the conflict countrywide in 2021, accounting for more than 19% of the national toll, followed by neighboring Aleppo with 18%.
More than 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line, compared with 10% before the start of the conflict, and as of the end of 2021, 60% of the population were food insecure, a 57% increase on the figure for 2019. The agricultural sector continues to decline, and average food prices have risen by more 97% in a year.
The situation in the north-west is even more acute. Food prices have gone up by more than 120%, further increasing households’ dependency on humanitarian aid.5 The ongoing food crisis is expected to significantly amplify stressors on the most vulnerable, particularly the region’s 2.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs), as well as female-headed households, widows, women in general and children.
All participants in this rapid gender analysis (RGA), including adolescents, identified food, livelihood and health support as their main needs. Adolescents also highlighted the need for better education opportunities. The conflict and severe economic strain have led to more women becoming main breadwinners, but social and cultural barriers continue to impede their greater participation in decision making in the household and the public sphere. Read More...
More than 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line, compared with 10% before the start of the conflict, and as of the end of 2021, 60% of the population were food insecure, a 57% increase on the figure for 2019. The agricultural sector continues to decline, and average food prices have risen by more 97% in a year.
The situation in the north-west is even more acute. Food prices have gone up by more than 120%, further increasing households’ dependency on humanitarian aid.5 The ongoing food crisis is expected to significantly amplify stressors on the most vulnerable, particularly the region’s 2.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs), as well as female-headed households, widows, women in general and children.
All participants in this rapid gender analysis (RGA), including adolescents, identified food, livelihood and health support as their main needs. Adolescents also highlighted the need for better education opportunities. The conflict and severe economic strain have led to more women becoming main breadwinners, but social and cultural barriers continue to impede their greater participation in decision making in the household and the public sphere. Read More...
Ghana: Bringing the inputs one step closer to the farmers
Worldwide, the Ukraine conflict is leading to unparallel price hikes in food, fuel, and fertilizer. Like most countries in the world, Ghana is being impacted by these shocks. In simple words, Ghana is already on the path to growing less food this year. Farmers are not producing enough food crops, which affects their households’ livelihoods, and impacts women and children. To understand more about the current impact of the global food crisis on smallholder farmers and their coping mechanisms in the local context, CARE engaged with farmers in Ghana. Read More...
Food Security and Gender Equality: A synergistic understudied symphony
As women keep feeding the world, we must give them the right space in our data collection methods and analysis to make the gaps they encounter visible and find solutions that include those. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between gender inequality values and food security scores worldwide combined with existing literature and rich studies on the links between gender and food in specific contexts to create powerful insights on the need that the world needs to produce, publish, and use more consistent data on gender equality and food. Read More...
The impact of commodity price hikes on poor and extreme poor households – SHOUHARDO III
Between June and July month, the SHOUHARDOIII program conducted its annual Beneficiary Based Survey (BBS) and captured the impact of recent price hikes on the life of the program participants. The SHOUHARDOIII program reaches over 475,228 members of 168,535 poor and extremely poor households in Bangladesh. The findings of the annual survey confirm that households are experiencing an increase in the price of essential commodities over the last six months. Read More...
Nigeria: VSLA Women and the Global Food Crisis
CARE Nigeria implemented discussions with Village Savings and Loans Associations (VLSA) engaged in the Food and Agriculture Organization, and CARE, where they implemented the Livelihood and Resilience Building Project in Mairi of Jere Local Government (LGA). The participant’s cohort was integrated by 10 women. The main goal of the discussions was to understand the impact of the current food crisis and how it is affecting food security, inflation, and raising the costs of living for small-scale farmers. Also, the project team attempted to understand how the current food crisis is aggravated by climate and by the 12-year protracted armed conflict in northeast Nigeria. Read More...
Sierra Leone: Smallholder farmers and the global food crisis
The war between Russia and Ukraine has led to unprecedented price shocks in food, energy, and fertilizer globally due to the centrality of both countries in the functionality of these markets. Like in most countries in the world, Sierra Leone is severely affected by these shocks. Prices of food and non-food commodities have also increased exponentially.
Poor smallholder farmers—who already struggled to produce enough food—are facing severe impacts because they can no longer afford inputs and related services. Food security, especially among the rural population who depend largely on farming as a primary source of livelihood, is therefore of grave concern. Farmers are reporting that they are only planting half the field size, the price of seeds and fertilizer has more than doubled, and "low production levels of food crops is inevitable."
To understand the current impact of the global food crisis on smallholder farmers and their (farmers) resilience in the local context, CARE engaged participants of its Solar Harnessed Entrepreneurs project in two communities in the north of the country. The aim is to obtain first-hand information on affordability of inputs, impact of these shocks especially on women farmers and farmers’ coping mechanisms in the wake of the current global crisis.
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Poor smallholder farmers—who already struggled to produce enough food—are facing severe impacts because they can no longer afford inputs and related services. Food security, especially among the rural population who depend largely on farming as a primary source of livelihood, is therefore of grave concern. Farmers are reporting that they are only planting half the field size, the price of seeds and fertilizer has more than doubled, and "low production levels of food crops is inevitable."
To understand the current impact of the global food crisis on smallholder farmers and their (farmers) resilience in the local context, CARE engaged participants of its Solar Harnessed Entrepreneurs project in two communities in the north of the country. The aim is to obtain first-hand information on affordability of inputs, impact of these shocks especially on women farmers and farmers’ coping mechanisms in the wake of the current global crisis.
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Harvesting the Outcomes of SHOUHARDO III’s Local Service Provision Model of Micro Seed Dealers and Micro Seed Retailers (MSD/MSR)
SHOUHARDO III aims to ensure sustainable agriculture and livelihood for its beneficiaries. Part of this entailed forming community groups consisting of both men and women farmers, as well as increasing their capability in terms of quality seeds, agricultural technology, input and output markets, and connections with public and private actors. Read More...