Food security is urging closer to reality for some Alex families if the soil rehabilitation work at a municipal garden project progresses according to plan.
The garden along Lenin Drive, Extension 10, is one of the city’s Region E food security initiatives to help poor communities become food secure. The initiative is the city’s response to concerning statistics of citizens at risk from food insecurity and increasing numbers of city residents who go to bed without food everyday.
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has revealed that 12 million citizens are food insecure and a study by the University of Cape Town’s Food Security Unit Network indicates that 43 percent of poor Joburg residents are under nourished and face starvation. This in addition to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation stating that 870 people globally are under nourished with 234 million of them in Sub Saharan Africa. In conjunction with the city’s food security initiative, there has been an increase in food related support projects from development organisations and corporate social investment programmes to charity organisations’ garden and food security initiatives.
The garden at a former dump site is currently being ploughed to even up the soil, and to enable the beneficiaries to remove non-biodegradable material and building rubble in readiness for summer cropping of vegetables and other edibles. Several women and men involved in the project work daily with the city allocating a tractor and other tilling equipment to help them realise their dream of ensuring household food security.
Mashupye Phala from Setumo Primary Agricultural Cooperative in Diepsloot was drawn in to till the land and impart agricultural skills to the beneficiaries. “I am keen to share my experience in vegetable and crop production, management of the field and to change attitudes towards land-related work which is the only guarantee for food security. Residents should realise that the tools for food security is guaranteed from their own hands,” he said.
Phala said some of the dumped waste had over the years enriched the soil and the area was still virgin land which will guarantee good yields due to the soil’s fertility. “This will be on the assumption that the beneficiaries will commit to their responsibilities of caring for the crops from incubation to planting and tending stages daily, and to secure the prepared and fenced land from being vandalised.” he concluded.
