Home garden characteristics amongst Lao’s vulnerable upland rural farmers in the context of food security

Home garden characteristics amongst Lao’s vulnerable upland rural farmers in the context of food security

The government of Lao PDR and local civil society groups are implementing several agricultural initiatives and recognize the importance that home gardens (HG) contribute to household (HH) food security. Despite its importance, studies on HG rural farming vulnerable HHs are limited. Thus, this study assesses the HG characteristics and how it contributes to food security among three types of rural upland vulnerable farmer HHs of 16 villages in Phoukoud District, Lao PDR: People with Disability Households (PWDHH), Female-Headed Households (FHHH), and Other Vulnerable Households (OVHH). It has two specific objectives, first, to assess HG characteristics and second, to evaluate HG relationships to HH food security amongst the 3 types of upland vulnerable HHs. The research used mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The study found home gardens near and far from homes, with sizes varying from smaller to larger plots with FHHHs HG being the largest, furthest from home, and more time was spent, whereas PWDHH's HG were the closest, smallest, less time was spent, but they harvested the most compared to other HHs. Women felt empowered as managers and owners of their HG, whereas men mainly thought it was women’s job and only helped with tasks such as fencing, clearing and digging the land. The majority of households used HG crops for HH consumption, with fewer HHs selling surplus crops. The study also found various levels of food insecurity but as the number of HG increased, crop production improved, and food insecurity decreased. The study also revealed significant disparities among the three types of vulnerable HHs, with FHHHs experiencing the most severe food insecurity, and showed the least progress in addressing food insecurity over time. Households primarily used traditional methods to select and store seeds, study found loss of seed amongst HHs due to poor seed storage practices. The study found 83 different types of HG crops, with FHHHs producing the least diverse crop. The study findings support HG as a reliable, year-round food source which has the potential to alleviate food insecurity by increasing food availability, access, utilisation and stability. This study discusses the constraints and opportunities and highlights the positive impact of HG in reducing food insecurity but acknowledges that HG alone cannot eliminate all food security issues. The study offers recommendations for targeted interventions and policies to improve HG practices, address current challenges of food security in rural upland areas of Laos, and contributes to attaining global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) #2, #3, #12, and #13.

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