ADRA Mongolia’s Food Security Program works towards improving security of food at the community level through diversified agriculture. The primary focus of the program is to enhance household food security through supporting vegetable growing on individual and community plots.

Program Highlights:

Increased sustainable food production & productivity of small scale farmers through establishing integrated Permaculture gardening skills.

Building seven passive solar greenhouses in Zavkhan using local materials and repurposing an abandoned building in Tosontsengel, which extended the normal growing season for vegetables from 100 days to over 150 days, with diversified planting.

Working with more than 600 families across Bayankhongor aimag to build sustainability in their vegetable consumption and potato seed supply, with the majority of families saving significant quantities of potato seed.

Supporting Rural Livelihoods through Improved Food Security

This project is in the fourth year of five years, and works with eight community-based agricultural cooperatives in Zavkhan to improve their access to food and the availability of vegetables in the region. The cooperative members include a wide range of men and women, the majority of which were previously unemployed and migrated from the deep countryside following the loss of their traditional livelihoods as they lost their herds.  Overall, some 368 cooperative members and their families are supported through this project.

In 2010 the project provided a Permaculture Design Certificate course with Southern Cross Permaculture Institute of Australia to the cooperatives. The course covered more helpful technologies of agriculture such as soil fertility, food processing, fruit trees, worm farming, chickens and natural pest control, seed saving and appropriate water use. The project approach is to build strong farming cooperatives at project sites through permaculture principles to supply locally produced food to local consumers as a base of a community food system.

Farming cooperatives constructed six passive solar greenhouses to diversify plants and expand the season. Bucket drip irrigation was also established. The harvest this year remained good, and promotion of saving of potato seed for the 2010 harvest was reinforced through the construction of two more root cellars. This project is in partnership with ADRA Canada and funded by CIDA.

Reinforcing Food Security at Community Level through Diversified Agriculture

This project is in the final year of a three year project. The project works with 600 householders in five locations helping them improve their family access to food through vegetable gardening. This year the project continued to provide technical support in organic gardening methods, with a resulting harvest yield of 284 tons of vegetables.  The project staff also focused on sustainability by working with each family to set aside seed potato for storage over winter in the ger root cellar invested this year and use for their gardens in 2010. The families selected in this project are from poor backgrounds and usually need constant access to cash through the sale of excess vegetables from their harvest. This year the families were able to put aside a significant amount of seed potato in root cellars for use individually in the 2011 season. This project is in partnership with ADRA Canada and funded by Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Sustaining the Season

This project was commenced in April 2009. It is based in Tosensengel soum, Zavkhan, and works in partnership with a local community-based agricultural cooperative. The project has three components: the rehabilitation of a derelict building into an all-weather greenhouse; the establishment of a community-led system of food security assessment; and the establishment of a regional training facility that will provide training to community-based agriculture cooperatives in Zavkhan in protected cultivation methods. Tosensengel is known as the coldest place in Mongolia in winter, with temperatures dropping to -40 C. Currently there are only 90 days in summer where it is possible to grow vegetables unprotected. This project will pilot methods of protected cultivation including row covers, quick hoop covers, “cool” house (a greenhouse heated to 2 C) utilization and intensive and multiple cropping strategies to maximize the harvest that can be grown. The project uses organic gardening methods.  During 2010 a second all-weather greenhouse was constructed according to passive solar principles, with the immediate result of an extra 40 days of harvest from the crops inside. The project also conducted training in food processing techniques, and market research in Tosontsengel regarding potential demand for additional vegetables. A Permaculture Design Course was conducted at this site with the result that the cooperative is now planning to design and produce vegetables most useful in the local area. The integrated system is to build stronger gardening and food producing capability for the cooperative. This project is in partnership with ADRA Australia.

Gardens in the Gobi

This project commenced in January 2010 following completion of SPADE GOBI project and works with three community based agricultural cooperatives in Dornogobi to improve their access to food and the availability of vegetables in the region. Project participation is dependent on formal registration as a cooperative, and a proven track record in previous years in terms of agricultural yields, off-farm activities, and solid cooperative governance. In 2010 the project provided Permaculture design course with Southern Cross Permaculture institute of Australia to the cooperatives. The course covered helpful technologies of agriculture such as soil fertility, food processing, fruit trees, worm farming, chickens and natural pest control, seed saving and appropriate water use. The project approach is to build strong farming cooperatives at the project sites through permaculture principles to supply food that produced locally to the local consumers as a base of community food system. One cooperative constructed a passive solar greenhouse to diversify plants and expand the season, including bucket drip irrigation system. The harvest this year remained good, and promotion of saving of potato seed for the 2010 harvest was reinforced through the construction of root cellar. This project is in partnership with ADRA Czech and funded by ADRA Czech Republic.