PROMOTING FOOD SECURITY AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN BURUNDI
Hunger remains a major daily problem for around 795 million people worldwide. 780 million of them live in developing regions (FAO, 2015). Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment. To contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to explore the appropriate strategies to fight against poverty and food insecurity in Africa, PAX ROMANA ICMICA launched a project entitled “Promoting food security and poverty reduction in Africa” and engaged its partners and members from different countries to find strategic responses to address issues. The project intervention was designed to support the mission of Pax Romana to serve the less privileged in the community and live through its action the motto “Preferential Option for the poor” (prioritizing meeting their needs). The intervention focused on strengthening community capacities, improving food productivity, diversifying food sources, and improving income.
This project benefited 30 families from Bubanza Province Burundi.
- Capacity building and climate mitigation
Beneficiaries were trained in climate-smart and organic farming techniques such as compositing, adoption of biopesticides, balanced food and food hygiene, and vegetable gardening (horticulture). They also learned about the technical itineraries of their respective crops. Beneficiaries from Cote d’Ivoire cultivated chili, eggplant, bananas, and cassava. For Burundi, they did green vegetables (lenga lenga), tomatoes, watermelon, rice, and soya beans.
When the funding for this particular project ended in 2023, the beneficiaries continued with the group rice farming activities. They used the seeds from the harvest of the previous year (April 2023). They got the second harvest in April 2024 (cf. photo below).
- Equipment support
Sometimes, a lack of farm equipment and inputs prevented the poor farmers from performing and building their livelihoods. Pax Romana ICMICA Africa supported them with basic farming tools such as water cans, spades, sprayers, and pumps.
