This project has worked to improve dietary diversity, and thus malnutrition, in Nepal, through the development of home gardens that grow underutilized indigenous crops. An emphasis was put on the role of home gardens as a means to improve household nutrition and increase income in poor households. Ultimately, the government sector of Nepal acknowledged the potential role that encouraging the establishment of home gardens could play in improving nutritional health, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives issued a circular to District Agriculture Development Offices (DADOs) for the protection, management and utilization of biodiversity for supporting the livelihoods of local people. 

The Problem

Nepal is plagued by widespread malnutrition, especially in the far western and mid-western mountains, where the hunger index is categorized as extremely alarming. In these areas, protein energy malnutrition (PEM), iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), vitamin A deficiency (VAD), and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are the common forms of malnutrition experienced by women. Almost 50 per cent of children under five years of age are stunted and nearly 40 per cent are underweight. Undernutrition at this stage of life can have long-term implications that continue throughout adulthood. Poor nutrition in pre-school days can significantly reduce cognitive capacity and consequently human, social and economic potential later in the lives of these children.  

The Project

A project on home gardens was initiated in order to:

• Examine how increases in biodiversity correlate with nutritional well-being.
• Enhance nutrition and income among resource-poor and disadvantaged groups of farmers.
• Render home gardens more mainstream. 

Diversity kits, including small quantities of seeds, or saplings of different kinds, were made available to farmers. 

Species available before and after the implementation of the home garden project were categorized depending on nutrients provided (such as proteins, iron, folate, vitamin A, etc.). For each nutrient category, the number of species providing the nutrient were counted to determine the increase in number of choices for each nutrient.

Impact

Mean home garden (household) species richness increased in 10 out of 11 sites between 2006 and 2011.

Addressing undernutrition through the production of diverse foods within the agricultural sector, such as home gardening for family well-being, has been an eye-opener for policy makers.

The government sector of Nepal found the home garden project an attractive intervention means to improve the nutrition of socially excluded and disadvantaged groups of society and accepted the planning commission to apply the concept all over the country. The Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives approved the norms for home garden establishment and management and has also issued a circular to District Agriculture Development Offices (DADOs) for the protection, management and utilization of biodiversity for supporting livelihoods of local people. 

Lessons Learned

• By promoting a greater range of diversity, with foods that are prepared and consumed in a variety of ways, better nutrition can be achieved.
• Increasing awareness of the importance of nutritious diets and providing access to safe fruit and vegetables will be needed in order to attain the long-term outcome of diet diversification.