Socio-Cultural Appropriateness of the Use of Historic Persian Gardens for Modern Urban Edible Gardens

Historic gardens have the ability to provide several ecosystem services in cities, including provisioning services (i.e., food production). The historic gardens in Iran (known as “Persian Gardens”) have never been considered as places that could be used for food production. As a result, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the Iranian historic gardens’ spatial and structural layout is suitable for modern urban food gardening. We conducted field studies in six recognized Persian gardens in four provinces of Iran via qualitative analysis according to socio-cultural guidelines drawn from a literature review. The results suggested that combining the elements of formal landscape design, non-edible decorative plants, and traditional artwork would increase the Persian gardens’ attractiveness. Regarding encouraging users to become involved in urban gardening, we found that separating productive units containing edible plants from public units using a central meeting spot populated by aesthetic plants and items may attract ordinary visitors who are interested in gardening without disturbing anyone’s activities. Furthermore, the Persian gardens’ multifunctionality, aesthetic value, and health-promoting qualities constitute a considerable historic achievement in garden design, making the gardens a suitable model for edible urban gardening. The results of this study can enhance our understanding of the Persian gardens’ spatial and structural design and provide practical implications for sustainable urban planning and landscape architecture.

The effect of the food insecurities in farming and non-farming households: lesson learnt from households in the Francis Baard district municipality, Northern Cape Province of South Africa

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of food insecurity in farming and non-farming households in the Francis Baard District Municipality. The research approach used in this study was quantitative. By using a cross-sectional survey, data was collected referring to the population of interest. A simple random sample comprising of 516 respondents from farming and non-farming households in the Frances Baard Municipality was selected. The data were analysed using multiple logistic regression (MLR) models. The results revealed that food shortages are more likely (B = 0.22, p = 0.01) to cause severe food insecurities in farming households when access to food gardens and smallholding is constant. On the other hand, non-farming households could also be affected by severe food insecurity due to food shortages (B = 0.29, p = 0.04) and lack of access to smallholding farming areas. The results further showed that food gardening is highly likely to reduce severe food insecurity. The results imply that the municipality has to provide access to food gardening facilities and smallholder plots for non-farming and farming households to combat severe food insecurity and promote food security. The policy on comprehensive producer support only recognises the support for the farmers' different categories than the households. Therefore, it is recommended that the policymakers amend this policy to enable the household to be empowered as beneficiaries.

A Review of Experiential School-Based Culinary Interventions for 5–12-Year-Old Children

Cooking is an essential skill and the acquisition of cooking skills at an early age is associated with higher diet quality. This review aimed to describe the characteristics of school-based experiential culinary interventions and to determine the value of these to child (5–12 years) health outcomes. Interventions were eligible for inclusion if they took place in school during school hours, included ≥3 classes, and had a control group. Interventions published up to May 2021 were included. The databases searched were PubMed, CINAHL, and EMBASE, and the grey literature was searched for published reports. The search strategy yielded 7222 articles. After screening, five published studies remained for analysis. Four studies targeted children aged 7–11 years, and one targeted children aged 5–12 years. The interventions included food tasting, food gardening, and/or nutrition education alongside experiential cooking opportunities. Improvements were evident in self-reported attitudes toward vegetables, fruits, and cooking, and two studies reported small objective increases in vegetable intake. School-based experiential cookery interventions have the potential to positively impact health-related aspects of the relationship children develop with food. However, a greater number of long-term methodologically rigorous interventions are needed to definitively quantify the benefits of such interventions.

The Contribution of Home Food Gardening Program to Household Food Security in Indonesia: A Review

Home gardens are an essential component of the local food system and family farming worldwide. In Indonesia, a home food gardening program was initiated in the early 2010s to optimally utilize home yards for improving the adequacy of food consumption and nutrition intake of households. In the present challenging situation of Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a growing interest in home gardens to help mitigate food insecurity caused by food supply chain disruptions and the emergence of physical and economic barriers that limit access to food. This paper is a review of pertinent literature to find out the characteristics of home gardens and home gardening program in Indonesia and then examine their contribution to each pillar of food security: availability, access, utilization, and stability. The experiences of home gardens worldwide are reviewed to understand the global context of home gardens and food security. Literature reviews found a positive impact of home gardening program on food availability, access, and utilization. However, improving food stability through a home food gardening program is still a challenging task. This finding implies that the positive contribution of the home food gardening program to household food security is largely limited to the program period. Nevertheless, the program is still an important strategy to address food insecurity and nutrition deficiency of low-income households. Future research should assess factors affecting the sustainability of the program to derive viable models applicable in diverse circumstances. There is a need for research to assess the value and importance of home gardens as a coping strategy to reduce vulnerability and food insecurity in the present global Covid-19 pandemic.

Home Food Gardening in Canada in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The lack of academic attention that home food gardening has received in Canada and the United States is surprising, given the many demonstrated benefits of community gardening programs, including increased community cohesion and resilience. The aim of the exploratory study is to explore the current surge in home food gardening and its relationship to the COVID-19 pandemic. A national survey was conducted, consisting of 43 main questions, asking respondents about their home life and food provisioning during COVID-19, the physical characteristics of their food gardens, and their attitudes and beliefs concerning home food production. Survey results show that 51% of respondents grow at least one type of fruit or vegetable in a home garden. Of those, 17.4% started growing food at home in 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic. To gain more insight into just how significant a cause the pandemic lockdown was on home food gardening, follow-up surveys and policy recommendations are suggested.

How could we strengthen social support for food gardening?

Widespread hunger in the world is due mainly to the fact that people don’t care enough about one another’s well-being. Caring can be increased by encouraging social interaction. This can be done in many different ways, but the core idea here is to help people produce food for themselves. Many people who produce food in their own gardens gladly share it with their neighbors. They also share their knowledge and enthusiasm for gardening. This is a huge underutilized resource. The project proposed here is intended to facilitate that sharing.

Homestead Food Gardeners’ Perceived Vulnerability to Poverty, Income Shocks and Entrepreneurial Activities in North West Province, South Africa

Poor households are faced with several challenges which affect their income generating activities. In the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality, where this study was carried out, unemployment and food insecurity are prevalent. The respondents were selected using a multistep sampling method. The first stage involved selection of villages, where HFG are commonly found were randomly selected. In the second stage, a snowball sampling process was employed to identify and select people involved in homestead food gardening, lastly was to find a sample of 110 HFG. The study found that HFG were experiencing different shocks. The regression coefficients indicated that entrepreneurial income was significantly and positively affected by socio-economic characteristics and shocks while it was significantly and negatively affected by shocks and challenges. The marginal parameters of perceived vulnerability to poverty were significantly and positively affected by entrepreneurial activities. Socio-economic characteristics significantly and negatively affected marginal effects of perceived vulnerability to poverty. It can be concluded that farmers still need more training and awareness on how to run agricultural businesses as well as non-farm businesses for increased entrepreneurial income, improved welfare and limited likelihood of poverty and vulnerability. It was recommended that government to intervene in matters that arose from this study by providing more awareness, opportunities and training for people in the study area in order to reduce and prevent future poverty.

CREATING A DECOLONISED CURRICULUM TO ADDRESS FOOD INSECURITY AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

A plethora of debates about intellectual imagination regarding decolonised curriculum development has dominated the South African higher education discourses. There is a need to purge Africa of the marginalisation that has been perpetuated by curricula established during the past century. The aim of this research was to add a practical dimension to this discourse, by altering traditional curriculum activities in a biology module, in order to address the issue of food insecurity among university students. In this qualitative inquiry, the following questions were asked: “How can pre-service teachers engage with decolonised curricular activities, in order to address food insecurity among students?” and “What are the consequences of pre-service teachers’ engagement with decolonised curricular activities which respond to food insecurity?” Thirty-six pre-service biology teachers and 12 non-biology university students were purposively selected to participate in a food gardening activity. Data were generated using individual interviews, focus group interviews and the development of portfolios. Findings revealed that pre-service teachers’ consciousness of the social reality of food insecure students was raised, and their feelings of empowerment to enable others, and themselves, to become self-reliant, were enhanced through decolonised curricular activities. This is significant because it signalled a freeing of pre-service teachers from material and intellectual shackles which is critical to decolonised thought and action. This research has implications for higher education science teacher education modules, which can incorporate science from Western and indigenous sources, to create transformed curricula which are socially responsive and reflect epistemic justice. Keywords: decolonised curriculum, food gardening, indigenous knowledge, qualitative methodology, self-reliance, transformation.