STORY 1: Horticulture Training Increases Household Income
“We now have a stable income from our vegetable plot so we can buy more nutritious food for our children and save for their education,” said Ms. La Thi Nga (34) from Dong Ha Commune.
Ms. Nga continued: “Up until a few years ago, we relied on our vegetable crop to sustain our family but after several successive years of bad harvest we were forced to find an alternative livelihood as it was clear that the old seed that we were using was no longer suited to the harsh changes in weather we were seeing. We were in a very difficult situation and were forced to go out and pick wild fruit and vegetables in a nearby forest. As a result, my 15-year-old daughter, 12-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter rarely ate dairy or meat, and their meals often just consisted of rice with dry fish or salt. I worried so much as their health was deteriorating.
Photo: “ActionAid’s horticulture programme has changed our lives,” said Nga as she shows us around her vegetable plot.
Our situation changed when we were introduced to ActionAid. They provided training on crop production and gave us more resilient seed varieties so we could diversify our crop and grow vegetables like cabbage mixed with lettuce, pumpkin with maize and cucumber mixed with soybean. They also taught us to cover our garden with plastic nylon to keep the vegetables protected during winter. We started producing and using organic fertilizer also and this gave us incredible results. We harvest four times a year now and we have increased our earnings to 20,000,000 Dong (about 750 EUR) a year. We are very happy to have a steady income now and my children are very grateful for the improvement in their meals.”
Ms. Nga and her family is one of 20 households who participated in ActionAid’s Horticultural Programme which supports families to grow and harvest crops in reduced cycles and encourages the introduction of crops which can withstand harsh weather. Each household now harvests four times a year instead of one and as the crop is protected in the winter and fertilized with organic compost, their yield is higher and farmers are able to sell their produce to a wholesaler or directly in the market at a higher price than before. The programme has been a tremendous success and 100% of households who participated have doubled their income within 2 years. As a result, the programme has been expanded to encompass a further 40 households and it’s expected to benefit over 250 adults and children in Dong Ha Commune over the coming year.