from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
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Livelihood education programs build capacity to influence food production in Uganda |
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JAFSCD peer-reviewed article by Samuel Ikendi, Francis Owusu, Dorothy Masinde, Ann Oberhauser, and Carmen Bain (all at Iowa State U)
Food and nutrition insecurity is an ongoing and severe global problem. Moreover, due largely to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of food-insecure households is on the rise. Tackling this challenge requires multifaceted approaches, particularly in the face of extreme climate variability, economic contractions, and the Ukraine-Russia conflict causing supply disruptions.
In this new article, “Does participation in livelihood education programs impact household food security? A comparative study in rural Uganda,” Samuel Ikendi, Francis Owusu, Dorothy Masinde, Ann Oberhauser, and Carmen Bain describe the activities of Iowa State University’s Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL) in Uganda that adopted a “comprehensive lifespan approach to capacity development” through interrelated livelihoods education program to end hunger. Researchers drew their sample respondents from the “Nutrition education centers: A community-based approach to management of malnutrition,” simultaneously provided as a commentary paper.
Corresponding author Samuel Ikendi is now at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, affiliated with UC Merced. He can be contacted at sikendi@ucanr.edu. |
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KEY FINDINGS
Overall, participants in livelihoods education programs of the CSRL were 51.0% more food secure than 35.5% of nonparticipants who were food secure. Participants in agronomy and land use, post harvest technologies, and livestock integration were significantly more food-secure than nonparticipants.
Although not statistically significant, participants in nutrition and infant feeding, water supply and public health education, complementary services including therapeutic porridge to manage malnutrition, and community income-generating innovation programs were more food-secure than nonparticipants. Food security status was affected by many factors, and researchers employed a multilogistic regression model and found that:
Households keeping livestock, eating more meals during periods of food scarcity, participation in livelihood education programs, general cleanliness of water, sanitation and health facilities, and acreage of land owned, number of sick days of most adult males, social group membership, and time spent for a round trip to fetch water from primary water sources influenced households being more food secure than being food insecure or extremely food insecure.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH Since involvement with livelihood education programs has a substantial multiplier effect on learning, households should be encouraged to engage in these programs to build the capacity to manage activities that influence food production. For example, participants in: Agronomy and land use could learn how to use land-sparing techniques of production like sack, kitchen, and keyhole gardens. Postharvest management practices such as using hematic silos to improve grain storage and quality.
Techniques in sustainable livestock management, especially breeding programs in small livestock like goats and pigs, can also help to improve local stock productivity and access to veterinary services. Complementary services like therapeutic porridge help manage malnutrition among reproductive mothers, infants (0-24 months old), and children (24-59 months old). Techniques in constructing and managing WASH facilities including latrines, bathrooms, kitchens, plate stands, tippy taps, and rubbish pits could help to enhance personal and community health.
Income innovations enhance household sustainable livelihood strategies using the gifts of their hands in making bead products like bangles and purses, sewing machine products like backpacks and laptop bags, palm leaf products like mats, and raffia fiber products like baskets.
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Iowa State University’s Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods brings a ray of hope to Uganda through a comprehensive lifespan approach to capacity development to end hunger, a study by researchers from the University of California ANR, UC Merced, and Iowa State University finds. Read the full JAFSCD article for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2023.131.009 Also, the corresponding commentary:
https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2023.131.010 |
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