Asia-Pacific

Kitchen garden could be the key to boosting Apac childhood nutrition

19-Jul-2015 - Last updated on 20-Jul-2015 at 12:40 GMT

Home and school vegetable patches could instil an interest in agriculture among Asian children

Related tags Nutrition

The United Nations’ food champion is investigating if the introduction of more kitchen gardens at schools and in homes would bring with it an improvement in childhood nutrition across Asia-Pacific.

While this concept to supplement food and teach children about farming is not new, the Food and Agriculture Organisation believes the knowledge gained from it could make a dramatic difference over the long-term.

Knowledge and yield

“School gardens can contribute to improving children's and parents’ knowledge of food production techniques and nutrition, and stimulate the further development of home gardens,” said Hiroyuki Konuma, the FAO’s assistant director-general.

The process would also serve as a platform to provide basic agricultural knowledge and skills that foster an increased interest in agriculture, Konuma added.

Half of the world’s 161m stunted children worldwide live in Asia, where there is a massive need for improved nutrition, especially among children.

Of these, around 51m children below the age of five are wasting and nearly 100m are underweight, according to UN figures.

“Despite significant progress over the past two decades, stunting of children remains a serious problem in our region, as high as 40% in several countries, and it is a problem that prevails in all countries of southern Asia and most countries of southeast Asia,” said Konuma.

Unique advantages for schools

The FAO believes schools have “an enormous potential to promote good nutrition, healthy diets and help address both the immediate and underlying causes of food and nutrition problems”.

Konuma said: “Local food production, such as integrated home gardens and school gardens, can have immediate impact on food security and the potential to contribute to long term national goals of better nutrition.”

A convened FAO regional consultation heard in Bangkok last week that schools had the ability to promote lifelong healthy eating and improve long-term, sustainable nutrition security.

For mothers and young children in particular, more variety, more micronutrient rich fruits and vegetables could make a huge difference in their health and growth.

A well-developed home garden could supply most of the non-staple foods that a family needs, the panel found.