Homestead Agriculture and Afforestation Development Program
with 155 million people within the boundary of 144,570 square kilometers. Almost 50% of total population is women who do not have formal jobs, access to other opportunities and resources. Most of these women are involved in homestead agriculture, but have very little knowledge on the use of appropriate technology required for homestead
farming and related jobs. Fortunately, Anando has special need-corner for this program since inception considering food shortage as well as malnutrition problems in Bangladesh.
Homestead vegetable gardening is a vital component of traditional farming that can make a significant contribution to total food production quality and diversity of the family diet combating vitamin-A, and micro nutrient deficiency. Homestead farming includes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables production around the year and integrates animal husbandry into other homestead food production activities.
In Bangladesh a big number of homestead lands are still unutilized where mixed fruits gardens and vegetables could be grown for family consumption. In general people misunderstand homestead farming to be only the cultivation of fore-yard (courtyard), whereas utilization of house cleaves, house roofs, homestead boundary lines, approach road, pond dike and its slope, adjacent low and high land should be considered. Anando is very careful in utilizing all the
space components for maximum food production for family consumption and as a source of extra income that could be earned by selling food. Here it must be mentioned that by this time Anando has explored major 11 homestead space components, where fore-yard utilization is one of the very common productive space components so far.
There are 1,99,79,932 number of households in Bangladesh. Each family possesses a big home-yard for children’s spots and a pond for family aquaculture is a traditional need. Thus, a large section of the country land is being used for homestead living and very less amount of land for cultivation. Since, Bangladesh has huge population, hence, it is very vital to utilize every little bit of land for cultivation in order to secure food supply for all. Cultivating vegetables or farming in the homestead is very important and convenient for women to look after the crops/husbandry properly. Homestead cultivation provides diversified economic benefit to women round the year. In Bangladesh women have an important traditional role in producing family food and improving family diet by wide homestead farming.Anando encourages homestead farming in an innovative way to improve farming practices by utilizing homestead to the maximum level.
MAJOR ACTIVITIES
The major activities include homestead farming utilizing its spaces, training to farmers on environment and ecology, credit support to farmers, distribution of seeds and saplings, and technique of preparing eco-friendly compost fertilizer, establishment of demonstration cum nursery at Anando and its beneficiary level, and establishment of
fish and poultry farms. It should be mentioned that all activities in the project sites are actively present.
