Food Security & Agriculture Development

Food security in Africa has substantially worsened since the 1970s.  Recent data reveal that the proportion of malnourished individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa has remained within the 33-35% range. Poor political and economic governance in many African countries, inadequate funding for the agricultural sector, scarcity of water, poor infrastructure, and lack of attention to climatic conditions such as droughts, are the major challenges for food security in Africa.

Hundreds of thousands of families throughout the Southern Africa region, for example, can’t grow enough food to survive. Farmers have less to sell in the markets, and the price of what is available is out of reach for most poor families. Even the game and wild fruits that communities rely on in times of trouble have been depleted. Many families have been forced to sell their livestock and other possessions to buy food. But this is only a temporary solution. Severe hunger — even starvation — threatens millions, particularly among the most vulnerable – children, the elderly, and pregnant and nursing women. The crisis facing the region is exacerbated by several factors, including HIV/AIDS, but none loom as large as the problem of poverty.

Given that the responsibility of feeding the community in the developing world falls largely on the woman, Nascent Solutions helps farmers especially women obtain improved seeds and tools, trains groups of rural women in farming methods that reduce intensive labor and provides training on low-tech post harvest mechanism that ensure effective distribution of food crops.

Nascent Solutions’ agricultural development and food security strategy has a double prong approach.  We focus on both short and long term response to food shortages. In the short term, Nascent, through the benevolence of international agencies, provides food commodities to target communities.  For long term impact, we build the capacity of smallholder farmers especially women to increase productivity and develop sustainable agribusinesses.  Our operations are designed to increase their access to agricultural input and resources.

Food Relief in Cameroon
Food Relief in Uganda
Women’s Empowerment in Zambia