World Food Day and food security for rural communities

by Mary James, maryj@elsenburg.com

M“My hoenders maak my famous!” shouted Mathews Fieland to his neighbour as he proudly grabbed a chicken to pose for a quick photo. Mathews is one of the 51 beneficiaries from the small village of Rietpoort in the West Coast District who received support from the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) during the World Food Day outreach in October. Mathews, like others living in rural parts of the province, struggles to get access to fresh agricultural produce. This lack of access hinders food security and contributes towards deficient nutrition.

Agriculture offers a huge relief when it comes to the development of these areas and the food security of its citizens.

The WCDoA has invested extensively in the development of these communities through the introduction, bolstering and establishment of agricultural interventions. There are 16 rural development nodes that have been identified as part of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP). The CRDP epitomises the philosophy: “Better Together”, where civil society and government work together to improve the lives of our rural communities.

The World Food Day activities aim to establish solid roots in rural communities and the WCDoA annually rotates the nodes where support is offered. This ensures even distribution of resources and impact. The Rietpoort and Bitterfontein communities are not new to the World Food Day interventions. Food security intervention received 10 years ago are still visible and running successfully.

The department established 42 household gardens, three school gardens, seven chicken coups and installed close to 40 water tanks. These beneficiaries were mainly sourced through the indigent register of the municipality.

Additionally, Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, and Dr Mogale Sebopetsa, Head of the Department, handed over a food mountain to four needy organisations in the communities, namely Môreson Dienssentrum: old age home in Nuwerus; Protea Dienssentrum: old age home in Rietpoort; the Bitterfontein soup kitchen; and the Kliprand soup kitchen.

“They are taking care of the things they are receiving and we support them through regular follow-ups at project sites”, said Hansie Owies, extension officer from the department’s programme for farmer support and development.

There is interest from more people in the community to start up their own gardens because of the success of others from their own community.

There is still a great deal to be done but for someone like Mathews this is certainly a step in the right direction. He has had to travel nearly 150 km to the nearest town for fresh vegetables. Now he is reaping what has been sown through this sustainable solution to rural development. AP