In order to mitigate the malnutrition problem in the town of Chacraseca, Nicaragua, we, as consultants to the Food and Agriculture Organization Country Representatives, have decided to implement certain strategies that would allow the rural farmers to create self-sustainable farms and improve the wellbeing of both the small town and over time the entire country. Our group was tasked with evaluating existing FAO strategies as well as giving suggestions to improve what is in place as well as pilot our own program in the town. Our deliverable focuses on the areas of irrigation, food education, farming education and financing. Our research has shown that both the lack of food and farming education as well as unclean water has contributed to the
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Conventional farming is defined as the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides in farming. The problem with this method is that if these practices are not used correctly, it will drain the proteins from your crops and contaminate the soil especially if the farmer is not rotating his/her crops. Rotating crops adds nutrients back to the soil but if not, the soil becomes at risk for erosion when high winds or heavy rain comes. Without good soil, the crops being grown will not have the necessary nutrients that is needed for the human body to stay healthy. Due to these issues, we feel like the first step to finding a solution to this method is to properly educate the future farmers of this community about how to properly farm. Not only in a classroom setting, but with hands on teaching as well. The best way to do this would be to have a school garden. This way the kids will learn the proper way to grow their crops and be able to practice what they learned in the garden. We are also aware that a lot of children do not get the opportunity to attend school because they have to work for families due to their living conditions. With the school garden, the children will be able to take the crops they produce home to their families. This way not only are they obtaining an education, but they are helping provide healthy food for their …show more content…
Because there are no set standard farming practices, there is a lack of confidence in the land/farmers to produce crops, mismanagement of resources, and un-united community. In order to combat these issues, we suggest community gardens, 4H Club style programs, community workshops, and other initiatives that give incentives for individuals that benefit the community.Chacraseca is divided into twelve districts, each with a primary school. If each school started off having children take care of certain plants in a garden, they would have an opportunity to show what good soil is, how to manage resources, taking pride in your land, and what whole food looks like. Not only will children take those lessons home with them, but they can take the food/seeds home as well. Since farmers in Chacraseca are primarily families renting out small acres and are mostly women, home gardens can be more individualized and mothers will be encourage by their children’s improved well-being. Eventually, the hope would be that these school gardens could become community gardens that help alleviate food insecurity in the districts and fill in the space of a lack of nutrition in the local diets (which mostly consist of tortillas, cheese, beans, and other processed foods). Also, having 4H Club style programs would be beneficial for the
Conventional farming is defined as the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides in farming. The problem with this method is that if these practices are not used correctly, it will drain the proteins from your crops and contaminate the soil especially if the farmer is not rotating his/her crops. Rotating crops adds nutrients back to the soil but if not, the soil becomes at risk for erosion when high winds or heavy rain comes. Without good soil, the crops being grown will not have the necessary nutrients that is needed for the human body to stay healthy. Due to these issues, we feel like the first step to finding a solution to this method is to properly educate the future farmers of this community about how to properly farm. Not only in a classroom setting, but with hands on teaching as well. The best way to do this would be to have a school garden. This way the kids will learn the proper way to grow their crops and be able to practice what they learned in the garden. We are also aware that a lot of children do not get the opportunity to attend school because they have to work for families due to their living conditions. With the school garden, the children will be able to take the crops they produce home to their families. This way not only are they obtaining an education, but they are helping provide healthy food for their …show more content…
Because there are no set standard farming practices, there is a lack of confidence in the land/farmers to produce crops, mismanagement of resources, and un-united community. In order to combat these issues, we suggest community gardens, 4H Club style programs, community workshops, and other initiatives that give incentives for individuals that benefit the community.Chacraseca is divided into twelve districts, each with a primary school. If each school started off having children take care of certain plants in a garden, they would have an opportunity to show what good soil is, how to manage resources, taking pride in your land, and what whole food looks like. Not only will children take those lessons home with them, but they can take the food/seeds home as well. Since farmers in Chacraseca are primarily families renting out small acres and are mostly women, home gardens can be more individualized and mothers will be encourage by their children’s improved well-being. Eventually, the hope would be that these school gardens could become community gardens that help alleviate food insecurity in the districts and fill in the space of a lack of nutrition in the local diets (which mostly consist of tortillas, cheese, beans, and other processed foods). Also, having 4H Club style programs would be beneficial for the