Sustainability in home garden interventions to improve food security: Results, challenges, and future directions

Abstract

Food and nutrition security (FNS) is a priority for human development since different facets of malnutrition still prevail in many parts of the world. Home garden interventions (HGI) have been proposed to improve FNS, generally obtaining positive results. This review aimed to evaluate reports of HGI, discussing their characteristics and outcomes in terms of three sustainability dimensions (social, environmental, and economic). A total of 40 papers (n-number of papers) were included, mainly published since 2009. According to literature review, measurement, or discussion of economic (productivity, n=20) and social (diet improvement, n=33) outcomes has taken precedence over environmental ones (agrodiversity, n=15) in HGI’s impact assessment (IA). Furthermore, sustainability has not been assessed beyond the continuity of the proposed changes (n=5). Future HGI should apply Systemic-Transdisciplinary approaches with adequate metrics and multidimensional IA methodologies linking FNS and sustainable development. This would allow a contextualisation of the research, establishing the current situation of the study system and identifying precise needs. Also, it would be possible to identify and monitor trade-offs and synergies of the intervention. Such approach would generate a strong body of scientific evidence and awareness of the benefits of a sustainable agricultural system in the prevention and treatment of the double burden of malnutrition (hidden hunger and overweight/obesity).

Ethnobotanical study of peraq api ritual in Sasak Tribe of Lombok Island, Indonesia and its potential for sustainable tourism

“…The huge number of plant species in the homegarden makes it as a natural gene bank (Hakim 2014). Home garden conservation supports the SDGs achievements, including Goal 15, namely: life on land, especially sustainable management, and biodiversity (Rooduijn et al 2018;Dominguez-Hernandez et al 2022;Hong and Zimmerer 2022;Kassa et al 2023).…”

Consumers’ Preference and Attitude Towards Dried Corchorus olitorius L. in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria

“…To make the leafy vegetables available to consumers both in the rural and urban areas all year round, there is a need for processing and storage of the leafy vegetables which will increase the shelf-life without reduction in its nutrient availability. Therefore, reducing postharvest losses through appropriate postharvest technologies for fresh and processed products would increase food availability to the growing world population [10]. This calls for processing techniques like drying to preserve quality, reduce losses and ensure year round availability to consumers.…”