Improving diets in mountain regions thanks to local innovation

“Now I can give my children goat’s milk”

Nurdinov Jeenbek and his family live in the village of Seyit-Kazy in the Bazar-Korgon region of Kyrgyzstan at over 1,200 metres’ altitude. As part of the NMA project, Nurdinov Jeenbek received a goat in 2016. “We didn’t used to be able to afford to buy dairy products every day. On rare occasions, we would buy cow’s milk from our neighbours.” Through the NMA project, Nurdinov Jeenbek has seen first hand how goat’s milk has benefited his children’s diets. “I now milk our goat twice a day. We drink the milk daily and (...) my children love the yoghurt that we can make with it.” Goat’s milk is an important source of vitamins A and B, as well as calcium and iron. It can therefore effectively counteract malnutrition in rural areas of Kyrgyzstan, and above all, improve children’s health.

Every single person can make a difference

Preventing malnutrition is important, especially in children, since an insufficient supply of vitamins and minerals in early childhood affects children’s physical and mental development and the effects can be passed from one generation to the next.

But besides ensuring access to a varied diet, it is just as important that people are aware of the benefits of healthy and balanced eating. Cultural habits can play a major role here. The NMA project therefore includes a dialogue component to raise awareness through direct exchange and to identify solutions in collaboration with families like Nurdinov Jeenbek’s.

This is why the project works hand in hand with rural service providers. These are local residents who reach out to the populations and advise them about eating a balanced diet. They identify and implement solutions that are relevant to the local context and address structural problems, such as significant seasonal variations in the price and availability of fruit and vegetables.

Solar drying system guarantees fruit and vegetables all year round

Alisher Yuldashev is a rural service provider. In his home region of Alu-Buka in Kyrgyzstan, women generally suffer from malnutrition, particularly in the winter months when fruit and vegetables are scarce or less affordable. At the same time, food – particularly fruit and vegetables – is regularly thrown away at the local market when farmers are unable to sell it. This paradoxical situation gave Alisher Yuldashev the idea of using solar dryers for fruit and vegetables. The dryers allow unsold food to be dried using sunlight and preserved for the winter when it represents an important food source. Over a four-day training course as part of the NMA project, participants built 20 dryers which they now use in their villages to eradicate food waste.

Many solutions have the potential to be replicated and used in other places. To this end, the rural service providers regularly exchange views and ideas in five languages on a digital platform. The digital networking of these rural service providers on a global scale facilitates valuable social contact and important exchange of experience. Overall, this results in social capital, which can help effect significant change at regional level. 

A positive impact on women’s diets

Using this successful approach, the NMA project initiated by the SDC has improved dietary habits in five countries with more than 130 other solutions in an initial phase. In Ethiopia, Pakistan and Peru, there is evidence that women now eat at least five out of ten food groups on a regular basis, which indicates a balanced diet.  In particular, they eat more fruit, vegetables and fish, and they are more involved in purchasing decisions. The focus on women is deliberate, as women are the ones who cut down the most when food is scarce, and a balanced diet during pregnancy is essential to the health of the child. 

From local to global change

Can these micro interventions really have a global impact? Barbara Zilly, NMA project manager at IFOAM – Organics International, thinks they have a great deal of potential: “The NMA project is most effective when we successfully combine these practical local solutions with discussions at national and international level.” The results of the project are now being used to motivate governments and international organisations to incorporate nutrition-sensitive approaches in laws and interventions. The SDC is now supporting the second phase of this project, and is contributing its expertise to help achieve global food security and deliver on the 2030 Agenda.