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Everyone knows food is essential for life.

But did you know that globally, an estimated 70% of the world’s population is fed with food provided locally? The majority of this food is grown on small-scale family run farms, where approximately 85% of farmers have around two hectares of land, (that’s the size of two athletics tracks!).

Many small-scale farmers attempt to produce enough food to feed their families, and a bit extra to sell at local markets in order to raise some income for their household.

An example of such farming takes place in the Chinchipe River basin located on the border between Peru and Ecuador, at the source of the Amazon River. This area is home to approximately 162,000 small-scale farmers. Practical Action is working here with small-scale farmers to produce fruit and coffee to sell at a higher price at market.

See the video of our work in the cloud forest at practicalaction.org/new-life-to-the-forests-of-the-andes

Food challenges in a changing world

Currently, there are over 1 billion people in the world who don’t have enough food. Life for many small-scale farmers is getting harder and harder. Land degradation, climate change and the global financial crisis are all having a negative impact on small-scale farming around the world.

At Practical Action, we believe that small-scale farmers play an essential part of securing enough food for an increasing world population in the future.

Much of the work you can learn about now is how Practical Action works with small-scale farmers and communities to identify and improve methods for growing, processing and storing foods.

Ideas required before undertaking a food project:

! Knowledge of the requirements of food storage, and the basics of the mechanisms by which it decays

! Understanding of the requirements for food growth – stable conditions, soil, water etc.

! Understanding of the way preservation methods such as solar drying help to preserve foods

Farmer with seedlings, Peru

LIME JUICE CLEAR CORDIAL Production This Technical Brief describes a manufacturing system capable of producing up to 250 bottles (26oz each) of lime juice cordial per day using simple, comparatively low-cost equipment. Lime juice cordial is a crystal clear product, normally sweetened with sugar, which is diluted to taste on serving. The product is preserved with sulphur dioxide (SO2) which also protects it against colour changes with time. The essential manufacturing steps involved are as follows:

Wash limes |

Crush the limes |

Rack the juice |

Clarified juice |

Mix clarified juice with hot sugar & syrup

(pasteurisation takes place during the mixing stage) |

Bottle & cap |

Cool |

Label

Lime juice is very acidic and it is important that workers are provided with protective gloves to avoid damage to the hands. Only inert materials can be used to process lime juice as it will rapidly corrode steel. Stainless steel, plastic, glass and wood are recommended.

Figure 1: A wooden roller press

Juice tank

Sieve

Grooved rollers of unequal size. Made from hard wood.

Halved fruit Hopper

At small-scale, simple hand-squeezers can be used to extract juice but the yields obtained will be a lower than those obtained from the heavy stone roller-crushers or screw-presses used in large plants. A small-scale wooden roller press was developed and used with success in Sri Lanka. This press (shown diagrammatically in Figure 1) consists of a hopper that feeds lime fruits that have previously been cut in half, between two rotating hard wood rollers. The rollers are grooved along their

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Small-scale farmer tending crops, Peru

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Funded by The European Union

Growing it

Practical Action works with many communities to identify and develop appropriate technologies that benefit small scale-farmers to improve food production.

Go to Practical Action’s website practicalaction.org/food-and-agriculture to find further information under ‘Our solutions’ to match the activities below.

IRRIGATION Practical Action uses a number of techniques to help keep land irrigated and fertile, and prevent erosion.

Can you use a sand tank to test which of these works best under different conditions?

Think about the factors you will change as part of your tests, what you will keep the same, and what you will measure to see if your ideas were correct.

For general information go to practicalaction.org/irrigation-4

For technical information go to practicalaction.org/technical-briefs-schools-agriculture and look at the technical briefs, in particular:

S Rainwater harvesting

S Sand dams

S Treadle pumps

MULTIPLE USE WATER SYSTEMS Sprinkler pipes use the pressure created by falling water to jet water out of the pipe. As the water falls down the hillside, the pressure increases so the water jets further from the pipe.

Can you look at the design of a sprinkler system to cover a hillside at different angles? Think about how you will test your designs, and the mathematics you can use that will

help you work out the reach of the jets. DM I

For general information go to practicalaction.org/multiple-use-water-systems.

TURNING COMPOST INTO FOOD People in Bangladesh now grow pumpkins on sandbars, as a result of training and support from Practical Action.

Can you test different types of compost and manure to see which works best to grow pumpkins? What effect does using natural liquid feed (e.g. comfrey tea) have? Where would comfrey grow? What else could you do to improve

the way pumpkins are grown in sandbars? I

For general information go to practicalaction.org/turning-compost-into-food

TREADLE PUMPS Look at the treadle pumps Practical Action helps communities to use in Nepal.

Drip irrigation system, Zimbabwe

Irrigating crops with treadle pump, Nepal

Growing pumpkins on a sandbar, Bangladesh

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Funded by The European Union

Can you look at the parts used, decide which ones would be difficult to make, and find a better, cheaper, local, sustainable alternative? Find out about locally available materials in Nepal, the environment, and what the local people need, and use this information to inform your design.

For general information go to practicalaction.org/ treadle-pump

For technical information go to practicalaction.org/technical-briefs-schools-agriculture for the technical brief on:

S Treadle pumps

DONKEY PLOUGHS Farmers in Darfur in Northern Sudan use a donkey plough developed with help from Practical Action.

Look at the design, the materials used, and find out about Darfur, to work out different ways to do it. Can you replicate the design in another area of the world, using different materials that are available there?

For general information go to practicalaction.org/donkey-ploughs

For technical information go to practicalaction.org/technical-briefs-schools-transport and look at the technical brief:

S Donkey ploughs (DM

Processing and storing food

Effective storage and processing is an essential part of ensuring that food lasts longer after harvesting. Find out more about how Practical Action is developing appropriate technologies to help small-scale farmers store food after harvesting.

ZEER POTS Make your own zeer pot using terracotta plant pots. This is used in hot countries for refrigeration. It’s really easy to make and use. Test how well it keeps temperature down, and try to improve on the design or operation.

What could be done differently to make it more effective for refrigeration?

For general information go to practicalaction/zeer-pot-fridge.

For technical information go to practicalaction.org/technical-briefs-schools-food and look at the technical briefs on:

S Evaporative cooling

S Cold storage of fruit and vegetables

How to make lime cordial

Zeer pot used to store food, Sudan

Drying herbs in a solar dryer, Sri Lanka

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Funded by The European Union

DAIRY Casein is a protein in skimmed milk. It can be used to make polymers that can be used as plastics, glues and coatings. There are different ways to make and process it.

See if you can find ways to use it, process it, and avoid some of the problems in making and using it. (I)

For technical information go to practicalaction.org/technical-briefs-schools-food and look at the technical brief on:

S Casein

DRYING In India, Practical Action has worked with communities to help them implement solar drying technology. This isn’t just leaving things lying in the sun, it’s using tents or boxes and other structures to increase the speed at which vegetables, fruits, meats and fish dry out. Also, it makes the process more hygienic and, as it’s quicker, increases the amount of crop you can dry and store or sell.

Investigate how solar drying works. Does it work in the UK? Can you design and test a solar dryer that will work in the UK? How else could solar drying be used? Can you come up with other ways to make a solar dryer? (D

For technical information go to practicalaction.org/technical-briefs-schools-food and look at the technical briefs, in particular:

S Solar drying

S Tray drying

JUICES AND DRINKS Practical Action helps people to make fruit juices. Can you work out which fruits give you the most juice?

Perhaps you can improve the juicing technology that Practical Action uses?

For technical information go to practicalaction.org/technical-briefs-schools-food and in particular look at the technical briefs on:

S Fruit juice processing

S Lime juice clear cordial

Useful Links

FooD vIDEoSwww.practicalaction.org/videos-food-agricultureVideos from Practical Action showing the technologies involved in growing, transporting and preserving food.

WoRlDomETERSwww.worldometers.infoInformation about the availability of food to people around the world.

UNITED NATIoNS WoRlD FooD PRoGRAmmEwww.wfp.orgIncludes a section for students and teachers and lots of information about their activities and the state of food availability around the world.

RIGhT To FooDwww.fao.org/righttofood

WoRlD AGRICUlTURE REPoRT www.agassessment.org

INTERNATIoNAl ASSESSmENT oF AGRICUlTURAl KNoWlEDGE, SCIENCE AND TEChNoloGY FoR DEvEloPmENT Green Economy Report www.unep.org/greeneconomy/GreenEconomyReport/tabid/29846/Default.aspxProduced by the United Nation’s Environment Programme

oXFAm’S GRoWwww.oxfam.org/en/grow

Growing crops on floating gardens, Bangladesh

Collecting dried maize, Bangladesh

harvesting aubergines, Nepal

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