This text is part of the special International Solidarity section
Conflicts, geographic location, climate, distribution problems, agricultural labor shortages, poor road infrastructure: beyond poverty, food insecurity stems from multiple factors. For organizations working in the field, the projects involve education, improvement of working methods and greater autonomy for women and families.
“In the countries where we operate, conflicts can put the whole system under pressure, and populations will face great insecurity when production and supply are affected,” says Marina Pelch, volunteer officer at the Paul Gérin Foundation. -Joy.
“On the other hand, when there are not many structures and the diet is focused on crops and livestock, the diet depends on the climate. Droughts, for example, threaten production. Finally, the organization of chains from producer to consumer may lack structures, routes to deliver or procure food, which causes food deserts, a phenomenon that occurs all over the world, and vulnerable populations are most affected. “
In addition, in African countries where the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation collaborates, there are often shortages of agricultural workers.
“These jobs in the agri-food and agricultural sector do not offer the best conditions and do not attract the new generation,” explains Marina Pelch. Production suffers. It becomes crucial to train new farmers and train them in new techniques. The sector has evolved, particularly due to climate change, so we have to use new ways of producing. What is more, entrepreneurship is not as developed there as in North America, and we are trying to encourage the development of new businesses in the agricultural sector, to move from survival agriculture to agriculture. that creates opportunities. “
Economic empowerment
The participation of women in the economic development of communities is also in question, as they are often sidelined. To fight against food insecurity, in 2021, the economic empowerment of individuals, women and girls is a fundamental issue.
We try to encourage the development of new businesses in the agricultural sector, to move from survival agriculture to agriculture that creates opportunities.
In Benin, the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation is leading the Support project for the fight against the double nutritional burden and COVID-19 with a local organization, the Association of people renovating traditional technologies (APRETECTRA).
“As international mobility was no longer possible to send volunteers there, because of COVID-19, we have adapted the programs and set up actions to fight against food insecurity, in particular by providing medical equipment. to detect malnutrition and by equipping families to allow them to set up gardens, so that they can produce their own food and have access to quality products. “
Beans all year round
In Honduras, the organization Solidarité Union Coopération (SUCO) works in collaboration with AMIR (Asociación de mujeres intibucanas renovadas), an association of indigenous women from the Intibuca region, whose objective is to promote food security through empowerment and training by focusing on the participation of women.
“This region of Honduras has a predominantly indigenous population, which represents additional challenges,” specifies Jean-Philippe Gélinas, coordinator of the Americas division of SUCO. Through the projects we support, our support approach is based on two axes. As the main crop in this rural region is beans, work is being done on strengthening this chain at all stages of production, from sowing to storage and drying. “
“Drying and storage infrastructure has been put in place, because one of the problems is that if people don’t have a place to store the beans, they go to waste more quickly and people consume poor quality food, which has a direct impact on nutrition. Up to now, we have set up seven dryers which will benefit these departments, and 70 families have been supported with regard to storage techniques and the establishment of large plots. The main objective is to cultivate so that we have food all year round. “
We want to strengthen each stage of production so that women produce better quality beans, and AMIR has set up basic processing infrastructure, so that women can sell their crops directly to the organization for which they are working. work, which allows them to obtain a fairer price.
This method allows them to avoid selling to intermediaries who take advantage of the precariousness of these populations to offer lower prices and, often, lower than the real value of production.