By Dr. Abdul Razzak Shaikh,
Agricultural Department Government of Sindh has arranged Free Kitchen gardening kit for the people of Thar. Kitchen gardening –A way to pesticide-free Nutritious Vegetables.
This project has been announced with the courtesy of the World Bank and will be implemented by SIAPEP. The kitchen gardening Kit will be provided to poor farmer and women, who will make a vegetable for their nutrients on small use of water.
Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement Project (SIAPEP) is a World Bank funded Project. The development objective for the Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement Project is to improve irrigation water management at Tertiary and field levels in Sindh.
AWARE an NGO working in Tharparkar for many years on different projects have introduced Kitchen Gardening in the villages of Chachro which can be grown on water available through solar water motors. The experiment has brought good results and more than 10 vegetables and watermelons are successfully grown.
The communities are already aware of sustainable use of water, which is the most essential, expensive and very scarce commodity in the desert. The people of this region encounter frequent dryness for many months and pay a heavy price of the impacts of extreme weather conditions in the form of malnutrition, death, and hunger
This nutrition-sensitive initiative intends to address the endemic issue of malnutrition in the district, which has been recognized as the topmost cause of high incidents of infant and maternal mortality in recent studies conducted by government and other humanitarian organizations.
The initiative intended to tackle the issue of malnutrition in the desert areas, in which mostly poor families became victims. “Women-led activities in the villages can contribute in stabilizing the nutritional needs of the communities. The concept of kitchen gardens came after increasing malnutrition among children was reported from the area. It made the association motivate and mobilize women to grow their own vegetable gardens at household levels, where some organizations have installed solar water pumps with house-to-house water connection.
Sindh government is already Supplying Drip Irrigation System to the people of the area for agricultural purpose.
Drip irrigation is today’s need because Water – nature’s gift to mankind is not unlimited and free forever. World water resources are fast diminishing. The one and only answer to this problem is Jain Drip Irrigation Systems.
Drip irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surface. The goal is to place water directly into the root zone and minimize evaporation.
The traditional kitchen garden, also known as a potager is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and Lawn areas. Most vegetable gardens are still miniature versions of old family farm plots, but the kitchen garden is different not only in its history but also its design.
The kitchen garden may serve as the central feature of an ornamental, all-season landscape, or it may be little more than a humble vegetable plot. It is a source of herbs, vegetables, and fruits, but it is often also a structured garden space with a design based on repetitive geometric patterns.
Pakistan has the world’s sixth largest population. This will lead to higher demand for food and agricultural products. Also, 24 percent of the population in the country is undernourished and the number has increased rapidly in recent years, this situation demands an increase in productivity per unit area with good quality. Household gardening has a vast potential for addressing the food and health of the urban and rural population. The obvious advantages associated with household gardening, such as pesticide-free produce and availability at the doorstep on one side and on the other hand, vegetable and herbs have high nutritional values. If these are grown, households could be able to get a balanced diet which mainly contributes to the healthy society.
Do you love the idea of growing your own vegetables but don’t have a backyard where you could a set up a square foot garden or another type of kitchen garden? Not to worry—there are tons of indoor kitchen garden kits that allow you to set up a mini-sized kitchen garden right in your kitchen or living room! Grab one of these cleverly-designed indoor kitchen garden kits so you can finally start growing your own food.
It is very painful those infant mortality rates are high in Thar because of malnutrition to child and mother and hope this Kitchen garden Kits will be provided to genuinely poor people and women to get a good result for improving the ratio of Malnutrition.
The project must be clear from corruption and nepotism. The search for genuine people and women is the responsibility of elected representative of the area. No doubt Sindh government is keenly interested to solve the issues of poor people but that must be effective and long-lasting.
