The Magic Recipe against Hidden Hunger

Short description

The project aims at availing self-watering vegetable and fruit tree pots to provide a sustainable source of micronutrients year round. The main goal is to fight chill mortality.


The problem we aim to solve

Iron deficiency is the leading cause of anemia in Uganda and according to Uganda Nutrition Data anemia prevalence among children aged 6-59 months increased from 49% (2011) – 53% (2016). Anemia is a dire concern for children as it impairs cognitive development, stunts growth, increases morbidity, predisposes to premature deaths and is one of the top 10 causes of children deaths in Uganda. There is slow national development due to the increased malnourished children born as a result of rising prevalence of anemia in women of reproductive age.


Our solution

Based on the feasibility success of this idea in India where a variety of vegetables such as tomatoes, Carrots, Onions and many others have been successfully grown, there is interestingly low input in terms of financial costs, manpower and time henceforth the potentiality of achievement of this same approach here in Uganda. Putting into consideration the aspect of climate change severely affecting the parts of the country such as the Karamoja sub region and the West Nile regions where the prevalence of malnutrition is high, the normal practices of agriculture and the existing interventions are becoming seemingly unreliable. The credibility of this undertaking stems from the fact that we are able to successfully grow these vegetables in this setting both indoors and outdoors thus achieving our goal of providing sustainable micronutrient supplements to our diet. Therefore, abundant production and consumption of the diverse vegetables will steadily help to eliminate micronutrient deficiencies and may be of financial importance when produced in excess. The project involves intensive training of representative household members, local leaders and youth groups on how to establish, manage and maintain the self-watering vegetable and fruit tree pots. The local leaders are trained on this technology to be able to monitor the involvement of locals in the success of the project in their communities. As a team we intend to evaluate the impact of the project on the nutritional status of the children in the implementing communities.


The innovativeness of our approach

Reliable and sustainable production of agricultural products for consumption and economic benefit at household level has not been widely practiced in most parts of the country due to costs and climate effect. However, this technique is innovative in that;

  • The materials used are locally available and cheap e.g. empty plastic containers which can be recycled
  • It has not been commonly practiced to curb hidden hunger.
  • Its climate friendly hence can be done all year round.
  • It can be practiced both indoor and outdoor.

Technologies and Methods

  • Use of self-watering vegetable and fruit tree pots/containers.
  • Most importantly include the main pillars of our leadership structure like the local community and youth group leaders as well as encouraging schools to take up the initiative. Media houses such as local radio and TV stations
  • Materials like picture charts, animations, brochures in locally accessible languages will be used.
  • Community Focus group discussions will also be used to disseminate information and train locals.

Potential Partners

  • Ministry of Health
  • Ministry of agriculture, Animal industry and fisheries through National Research organizations
  • GIZ- German cooperation for International cooperation

VOTE FOR THIS PROJECT

Voting ends on June 24, 2018, 11:59 pm (CEST).

9108
Dankeschön!
The Magic Recipe against Hidden Hunger

Team: Dickson Opolot Okure

Ronald Olum

Solomon Aleper

Brandy Nantaayi

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