Food Security for Physical and Mental Health Affiliation

From the farm to industry the chemicals play a huge part in boosting production and trapping customers and making them addicted to consume such surplus and cheap food today. Now a days, people are aware of the food produced by chemical usage. Chemicals are used for the preservation of food, fruits and even for curd and chicken. Yet people get high satisfaction in consuming the fruits, vegetables, meat and other fast food items which are very attractive, outwardly and delicious. Because of the interest of the customers the producers are very much encouraged to continue their commercial activities in using chemicals in all the steps that are involved in growing vegetables, preserving fruits, vegetables, meat and sea food and in preparing snacks, fast food and other bites. It is the time to be in action on food security. Food security has three main facts, namely availability, access and utilization. These are easily completed with the home gardening. Home gardens directly contribute to household food security increasing food availability, accessibility, and utilization. Gardening can enhance food security in several ways, most importantly through: Direct access to a diversity of nutritionally-rich foods, Increased purchasing power from savings on food bills and income from sales of garden products, and Fall-back food provision during seasonal lean periods.

Advancement of science and its influence on human health

In the current scenario there is no good, healthy nourishing product to consume in many places including the developing country such as Sri Lanka. It is very threatening to hear that the gene of a plant too is modified from the seed to the fruit. Thus science has encouraged the humans to change modify and produce new species from the original ones. They have tried such attempts in all the species including humans.

Advantage of promoting home gardening

Home gardens should be encouraged and maintained for easy access to fresh plant and animal food sources in both rural and urban areas. The only accountable method to intake a healthy food is growing country plants and herbs in the home yard or in the compound. It will cover the production of vegetables for family use. The schools have been promoting school and home gardening for decades.

Herbal gardening for the global health

By planting herbal plants one can harvest leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, stem, root and other parts for their own use and even for commercial purposes. They can cure diseases as well as even obtain an extra income when excess of their productions are sold. People who reside by the sea and forests can breed cattle, do fishing and hunting. Apart from home gardening people can get engaged in buying and selling livestock. They can get engaged in animal husbandry and draw attractive sum of money. It can be consumption-or market-oriented, but at least some of the produce will be consumed by the household.

Home gardening and use of materials

In the particular land or house, people can raise plants in many different methods. Researchers discovered hundreds of years ago that soil simply holds mineral nutrients close to plant roots, but the soil itself isn’t necessary for plant growth. Using a growing method called “hydroponics,” you can grow plants in a watery solution of mineral nutrients instead of soil. The word “hydroponic” comes from the Greek words hydro.

Government support for home gardening

Sri Lankan government supports Home Gardening Annually, this year during Covid 19 Quarantine time, the government provided seeds to all Sri Lankans in cheaper price and encouraged home gardening for facing present and future challenges, traditionally developed agroforestry systems innovation and practicing in the village level. National development policy framework of the government now includes strategies to expand and improve food and timber productions in such landscapes of the country.

Methods and materials of home garden in Jaffna

Jaffna is one of the five districts of the Northern Province in Sri Lanka. The majority of the people residing in this part of the country are Tamils. Jaffna Peninsula falls under the dry zone low country with a total annual rainfall of about 635-1400mm. Characteristics of Home Gardens in Jaffna The average size of the gardens is found to be 0.4 acres. Most home gardens contain food crops and herbal plants that are primarily cultivated for household consumption and used while the produce was intended to be shared or sold. It is also a production system that the poor can easily enter at virtually no economic resources, using locally available planting materials, natural manures and indigenous methods of pest control. Nearly every household had access to simple traditional gardening tools including a hoe (Mamotty), a machete, and a steel bar (Alawangu). Live-fenced agroforestry was practiced in 60% of home gardens in Jaffna Peninsula. Farmers need poles to make fences and provide the support for field crops especially for tuber crops, beans, grapes, passion fruit and betel. Most of these requirements are produced from live fences. Due to this reason, most of the home gardens in Jaffna Peninsula maintain the live fences instead of building concrete walls.

Healthy life through home gardening

Home gardens provide easy day-to-day access to family nutrition of fresh, healthy and nutritious foods for the household. Home gardeners earn 50% of the vegetables, fruits, tubers, and yams from their garden while increase the calorie supplement through the human nutrition. It also gives you enjoyable aerobic exercise. Exposure to vitamin D increases your calcium levels, which benefits your bones and immune system. It decreased dementia risk. A 2006 study found that gardening could lower risk of dementia by 36 percent. Growing spices and herbs which is a mood boosting thing improve the palatability and the flavor of the meals. In other words, global trends in food consumption should move on to the increase in the consumption of nutritious and chemical free food for the physical and mental wellbeing of the living beings in this globe. Presence of any nutritionally adequate and safe food at any time in both national and household levels as a reasonable supply, it completes the food security of the community and minimize the food scarcity.

Bavvatharani R

Nallur

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