COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY SCHEMES

Foreign Aid and Donor supported  national food security programs have been open to abuse by officials put in charge in the past through major corruption scandals such that they have had very little impact on the intended targets. I think it is  now time to retool those schemes in such a way that they emanate from the needy communities themselves incorporating homegrown structures in order for them to serve their intended purposes. It is possible to come up with credible and sustainable food security schemes with components of local resource mobilization and where necessary seek external assistance.
Therefore, with such schemes available, it is possible to help out communities such as Tiania, that suffer predictable famine cycles to overcome their food security problem within a reasonable timescale. The most important aspect, is to have a permanent secretariat in place with  a supportive and willing local political leadership. The scheme has to be registered as a public Fund that has the capacity to mobilize resources from varied donor sources. Once that is done the following outline may be considered but not necessarily in this order.
i) Budget - An annual budget has to be drawn with clear streams of resource mobilization and allocation. It should also have a component of emergency funds that may be used to help needy cases in times of crop failure. The budget should also include a small component of no more than 10% to help run the secretariat.
ii) Resource Mobilization - This is a key component of any such scheme to help achieve the goals and make it sustainable.
iii) Plan - A plan has to be put in place for both the immediate and long term goals.
iv) Credit Scheme - Once the scheme has been established, it is important to come up with a credit scheme to help the farmers acquire the right inputs at the right time. The credit could also be used in new value chains such as preservation, packaging, transport and marketing support.
v) Improved breeds and cultivars -  Farmers live in different ecological zones and have varied land parcels on which they farm. This means different family needs have to met by availing improved breeds of livestock and the right plant cultivars.
vi) Storage and Marketing - These two components are crucial to successful farming. Lots of produce has been lost before due to poor storage but it could be minimized by availing, for instance, small scale grain dryers at family level or food preservation technology that adds value to the produce and keeps it longer for the market. Grain losses due to weevils and other pests could be minimized by use of the right storage facilities and chemicals. Farmers under such schemes could also produce and market together so as to cut on overheads.
The above components are by no means exhaustive but they could be used as a starting point for any community that wishes to get out of the hunger and poverty trap. There is no more manna from western governments and donors, which means that we have to learn to be our brothers keepers, through local resource mobilization, to fight the current scourge of hunger. I recommend that whoever reads this should think of how they can help their own community start such a scheme. And if yours is not a needy community, please, walk over to the neighbouring one and help them out!