News, Sustainable Agriculture. 14/10/2022

How Ripple Effect is helping families fight hunger this World Food Day

Name: Ripple Effect
Price range: $

By Fred Ochieng, Africa Director

This #WorldFoodDay is being marked in a year with many challenges; the climate crisis, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the rising cost of living, and conflict. All these challenges are affecting food security across the globe, including families living in the six countries where Ripple Effect works.

My colleagues in the UK have seen families struggle with the increased cost of living and high inflation rates. And this year alone, families in eastern Africa have faced the worst drought in 40 years and inflation rates of over 30% in countries like Ethiopia. We can’t ignore that this is an incredibly worrying time for the farming families we are all here for.

“The problem is access and availability of nutritious food, which is increasingly impeded by multiple challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict, climate change, inequality, rising prices and international tensions. People around the world are suffering the domino effects of challenges that know no borders.” - Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations

What is food security?

Food security is when people have access to enough safe and nutritious food to lead a healthy and active life.

For over 34 years, we have been supporting farmers to fight hunger and food insecurity, whatever the circumstances they face. Our work to ensure families have access to nutritious food goes beyond World Food Day; it’s something we prioritise every single day of the year.

Hear from my colleagues about how they are working alongside farming families this World Food Day and beyond to build thriving farms and businesses that stand up to the effects of challenges like the climate crisis.

“In fighting hunger and malnutrition, when we first start working with families, the first thing they learn is how to make proper compost. This is because soils in the areas where we work have often been impacted by the effects of the climate crisis; the soils are poor and cannot support good growth of most crops. Families are also encouraged to grow indigenous vegetables which are highly nutritious and grow best in the local conditions. Some of the techniques they use are keyhole gardens or raised beds.”

Isaac Ogutu, Farm Systems and Sustainability Officer, Ripple Effect Keny

“Our enterprise-led development programs are a crucial part in building resilience and always ensuring sustained access and affordability to nutritious food for the communities we work with. We contribute to the generation of rewarding employment opportunities in local communities, ensuring families earn an income and can afford a variety of food.”

Doegratius Egeru, Regional Enterprise Development and Innovations Coordinator, Ripple Effect

“My role is to support Africa country programmes in aligning our farm systems approaches and activities towards better adaptation, resilience and impact. We work together to ensure that our agroecological approach to farming leads to all-round ecosystem health improvement including environmental health, livestock health and human health.”

Meshark Sikuku, Regional Farm Systems and Sustainability Coordinator, Ripple Effect

“We invest in building capacity of our staff and the communities to understand their role in improving the current food systems. For instance, farmers understand the effect of using harmful chemicals and therefore they opt for and adopt more nature-positive approaches to food production. They participate in ensuring food sufficiency in their localities by actively producing more for not only household consumption but also for sale in local markets. In this way, they contribute in a big way to having sufficient, safe, and healthy foods produced within their communities.”

Winnifred Mailu, Head of Thematic Support and Capacity Building, Ripple Effect

“I help communities to implement agroecological positive climate approaches and technologies like tree planting, growing highly nutritious vegetables, and the use of compost manure for soil fertility improvement. This training I provide supports families to increase household income through increased farm productivity, and enhances their resilience to the climate crisis. As a result, families have improved access sufficient and diverse food, and can fight hunger and food insecurity.”

Valens Kanakuze, Farm Systems Officer, Ripple Effect Rwanda

“The climate crisis, ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and high inflation rate are globally affecting food security and nutrition, especially among smallholder farmers. The Enterprising Migori Project ensures knowledge and skills are transferred to farming families and community members. Farmers are trained to identify and use local natural resources to develop flourishing crops and livestock farming systems. This has created regular access to enough nutritious food and increased household income for the farming families.”

Beatrice Were, Enterprising Migori Project Coordinator, Ripple Effect Kenya

“How much food is enough? And is it GOOD food? At Ripple Effect we aim to ensure that all the rural families we work with in Africa eat a “rainbow plate” of varied, nutritious foods every meal, that’s produced in a sustainable way. The farmers we work with are learning how to adapt to the changing climate and still grow a diverse range of foods. Our Monitoring and Evaluation team measures household food security by assessing sufficiency and consumption in terms of quality and quantity; what foods are available to families, can they grow or purchase those foods, how secure is their food supply, what is going on their plates.”

Catherine Mwangi, Head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Programme Effectiveness, Ripple Effect

“Burundi’s economy is mainly based on subsistence agriculture with 80% of the workforce yet there is a high rate of food insecurity in the country. My role as Country Director is to ensure that Ripple Effect implement projects that equip farmers with agroecological skills and high-quality inputs to help them increase production, fight malnutrition and become more resilient to challenges like the climate crisis and Covid-19 pandemic.”

Gloria Nimpundu, Country Director, Ripple Effect Burundi

This World Food Day, you can support families in rural Africa to fight hunger and food insecurity.

When families begin their journey with Ripple Effect, many are often surviving on meals of cereals and grains alone. By giving a Rainbow Plate gift, you can help families access the seeds, tools, and training to grow tomatoes, kale, bananas and, aubergine to name a few, filling their plate with a healthy, hopeful rainbow.

Thank you for your support.

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