Nutrition

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 authorized the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Pilot in 4 states and 1 Indian Tribal Organization (Zuni, New Mexico). The purpose of the pilot was to determine the best practices for increasing fruit (both fresh and dried) and fresh vegetable consumption in schools.

The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006, Public Law 109-97, appropriated money to expand the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program to include: Utah, Wisconsin, New Mexico (25 schools), Texas, Connecticut, and Idaho. The Farm Bill amended the National School Lunch Act by eliminating section 18(f) and adding section 19, the FFVP and provided significant changes from the previous program. New section 19 includes:

Beginning school year 2012/2013, the base funding made available for the FFVP was adjusted to reflect changes for the 12-month period ending the preceding April 30 in the Consumer Price Index. In addition, this is combined with any recovered prior year funds. As such, the total funding for the FFVP in school year 2013/2014 is $ 165.5 million. Funding amounts in all subsequent years will also reflect these adjustments. The funding level per state is determined through a formula allocation as described in the NSLA and provided through the States Letter of Credit. In School Year 2008-2009 the total funding for FFVP was $40 million and rose to $150 million in school year 2012-2013.

Agriculture

Who we work with?

As part of the drive to improve food production, RFSP has supported more than 2,000 farmers from vulnerable and conflict-affected households of which more than 50% are women. Most of these farmers are returnees and internally displaced people (IDPs) or host communities hosting IDPs. The program supports farmers with the provision of basic agricultural inputs (seeds and tools), extension services and training to improve their farming knowledge, practices, and productivity.

In order to foster internal and cross learning, the program works with groups rather than individual farmers. This helps the program reach more farmers in a relatively short time and the farmers to share ideas together. The program has since established well over 400 producer groups that farm together. The farmers in these groups are trained by program staff and government seconded field extension agents (FEAs) on improved crop production technologies, post-harvest handling and value addition. Eventually, it is intended that producer groups graduate to self-sufficient and economically viable cooperatives. The groups’ technical and business capacity will be strengthened to enable them to implement identified priority value chains (VCs).

Seeds are provided through seed fairs and local direct procurement arrangements of locally produced and adapted seed of staple food crops. The seeds are distributed to the producer groups on a seed recovery basis. Additional certified seeds are imported from neighboring countries. Most of the seed is obtained from existing groups.

During the dry season, the program takes advantage of the available water resources especially perennial rivers (Nile and Akobo rivers) and boreholes to support farmers produce vegetables. The farmers have been provided with on-demand vegetable seeds, small-scale irrigation equipment such as treadle pumps, watering cans and garden tools. They are also provided with essential training and extension services and assisted with marketing and sales of their produce to hotels, restaurants, and homes.

Working with other sectors

In line with the programming strategy, agriculture is integrated with other sectors in order to maximize the benefits to the beneficiaries and the communities. Collaboration with disaster risk reduction (DRR) ensures the design and building of structures that help farmers to reduce the effect of floods through FFA, roads that facilitate movement to markets. WASH ensures the farmers have a hygienic source of water and good sanitation, keeping the farmers healthy and in top shape for production. Integrating farmer producer groups with savings and internal lending communities (SILC) also provides the farmers with ways to save and have access to cash for other activities as well as training on bookkeeping, business management, and marketing.

Livestock & Fisheries

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish.[4] Broadly speaking, the relation of aquaculture to finfish and shellfish fisheries is analogous to the relation of agriculture to hunting and gathering. Mariculture refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments and in underwater habitats.

The farming of fish is the most common form of aquaculture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks, ponds, or ocean enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species’ natural numbers is generally referred to as a fish hatchery. Worldwide, the most important fish species used in fish farming are, in order, carp, salmon, tilapia and catfish.[1] In the Mediterranean, young bluefin tuna are netted at sea and towed slowly towards the shore. They are then interned in offshore pens where they are further grown for the market.[36] In 2009, researchers in Australia managed for the first time to coax tuna (Southern bluefin) to breed in landlocked tanks. Southern bluefin tuna are also caught in the wild and fattened in grow-out sea cages in southern Spencer Gulf, South Australia.A similar process is used in the salmon farming section of this industry; juveniles are taken from hatcheries and a variety of methods are used to aid them in their maturation. For example, as stated above, one of the most important fish species in the industry, the salmon, can be grown using a cage system. This is done by having netted cages, preferably in open water that has a strong flow, and feeding the salmon a special food mixture that will aid in their growth. This process allows for year-round growth of the fish, and thus a higher harvest during the correct seasons

Shrimp farming has changed from its traditional, small-scale form in Southeast Asia into a global industry. Technological advances have led to ever higher densities per unit area, and broodstock is shipped worldwide. Virtually all farmed shrimp are penaeids (i.e., shrimp of the family Penaeidae), and just two species of shrimp, the Pacific white shrimp and the giant tiger prawn, account for about 80% of all farmed shrimp. These industrial monocultures are very susceptible to disease, which has decimated shrimp populations across entire regions. Increasing ecological problems, repeated disease outbreaks, and pressure and criticism from both NGOs and consumer countries led to changes in the industry in the late 1990s and generally stronger regulations. In 1999, governments, industry representatives, and environmental organizations initiated a program aimed at developing and promoting more sustainable farming practices through the Seafood Watch program