ABSA Food security
The vision of the Absa Food Security Programme is to support the development of urban agriculture as a catalyst for economic growth, and to build a sustainable food system in both rural and urban areas. This vision is implemented through a partnership network that focuses on house hold food security linked to local economic development, skills development, and job creation. At present, with the challenges faced because of COVID-19, the Food Security Programme is focused on vegetable production at house hold level to increase house hold access and create market linkages in the vegetable value chain. The outcome should include access to nutritious food, improved health, and increased opportunity for income generation.
The programme is implemented using the Garden of
Life methodology which is a basic farming technique
that teaches the skills of growing vegetable crops on
a small-scale in areas which would usually be
deemed unsatisfactory for vegetable production. In
addition, the intention is to enhance and expand the
output from the Garden of Life to include
development of local retail access and eventually
identify individuals who can be assisted at small
holder-farmer-level. Teams comprising graduates of
the Garden of Life and agricultural specialists will
assist with the training and on-site implementation.
This includes running the workshops, establishing the
model veggie tyre gardens at the identified facilities,
and the mentoring and monitoring of the trainees
over a six-month period. Additional capacity is
available to expand the programme to additional
sites beyond Gauteng Province.
