Household Production – What do we mean?

Harnessing the Power of Cross-sectoral Programming to Alleviate HIV/AIDS and Food Insecurity


May 30, 2013Washington, DC

Protection: Household Production Contributing to

Resiliency for the Poor Kirsten Weeks, DAI

[email protected]


Household Production – What do we mean?

– Includes household gardening, agriculture, livestock and horticulture, micro-business support, understanding markets, vocational training – linked to job placement.

– Increase productive assets – Helps household smooth income and

expenses and promote asset growth– Help households increase productivity

and income.


• Program Experience - Urban Gardens Program (UGP) – Ethiopia– Introduced household, community and school

gardens across 136 Community garden sites; 188 school garden sites.

• Program Experience as a technical assistance provider IMARISHA – Tanzania; and HICD/R - Rwanda– Providing technical assistance to PEPFAR

supported home-based care and OVC partners


UGP Approach • Blend of: Participatory,

training and learning “Garden Dialogues” to promote agriculture; Technology: (drip-kits, grow-bags/plasic boxes); and group savings.


UGP Challenges • Push for high targets and rapid

graduation of participants – one year of support

• Challenges of land tenure• Gender inequities


UGP Lessons Learned through Implementation

• Need to adapt technology and approach– Grow-bags due to land insecurity – evolved

into plastic box solutions. – Drip-kits – seen as “the answer” evolved

into a potential tool for water management, but not “the tool.”

– Need to modify traditional farmer-field school model to be more female friendly and peer-oriented vs vertical extension approach


UGP Results• Improved horticulture knowledge • Improved land management (from an access

perspective) – Increased land access for participants, as well as a 2012 Urban Agriculture Policy and Implementation Plan for Addis Ababa

• Reduced Self-stigma and increased reported self-confidence among participants

• Increased reports of dietary diversity among program participants


UGP Post-Project Lessons • Community gardens continued

• School gardens did not continue without ongoing support

• Need to extend the time of support for participants to ensure uptake of learning

• Need to improve soil management


Technical Assistance Experience: Lessons

from the Data

• One solution alone isn’t part of the answer, but agriculture is part of the solution


Challenges Facing HBC / OVC Implementers

• Push for high targets and rapid graduation of participants

• Gender inequities• Unclearly defined approaches to economic

strengthening and agriculture in particular • Understanding home based care and OVCs

doesn’t always translate to understanding agriculture or economic strengthening


Lessons Learned through Implementation

• Need for ongoing rather than one-off support

• Need to move beyond output to outcome monitoring for agricultural behaviors

• Need to be realistic of the results we promise.


Questions for Group Discussion

• How should we define results of integrating household agriculture within HIV programming?

• What factors do we need to consider to design more effective household agriculture activities for HIV programs?


Questions for Group Discussion

• How can we better leverage non-health resources to support cross sectoral programming for HIV and food insecurity?

Documents

Household Production – What do we mean?