Through our programs and projects, we aim to talk to children and adults about food and all the things it represents. Because, you see, there is much more to food than we can imagine. Food has the power to affect our lives and our environment in several ways. These are the main reasons that have actually led us to create Food Security Center. Our ultimate goal is to enhance food security and sustainability by defending and promoting the following causes which compose our mission.
#1 ENHACE AGRICULTURE AND URBAN FARMING
More and more people are leaving rural areas and they are moving to the cities, which are unable to provide to them proper living conditions. Yet, at the same time, cultivation of land has the power to provide people with an absolutely essential commodity: food.
> Through its programs, Food Security Center supports agriculture while introducing urban farming to the partecipants, by showing them smart ways through which they can set up their own small-scale gardens th techniques, which can help people grow their own food even in the city.
#2 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Gender discrimination is not acceptable. The presence of women in agriculture can provide them with the means they need to support their families by ensuring their livelihoods, especially when the paternal presence is absent. In addition, women should be equally paid for their work and have the same opportunities as men.
> Through its programs, Food Security Center supports women’s position in agriculture. By bringing women in the foreground, we give them the strength and the resources to support their families.
#3 CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
Climate change has affected rainfall rates, and rising temperatures have led – among many other things – to reduced agricultural production and to the development of diseases that affect crops. Farmers can no longer rely on rainfall to irrigate their crops.
> Through specific programs, Food Security Center introduces the so-called “rain harvesting” technique. Participants learn to create water storage facilities on the ground which they can use in order to irrigate their crops even after the end of the rainy season expanding the life – but also the quantity – of their production.
#4 SUPPORT AGROECOLOGY
The intensified need for food has led sub-Saharan Africa’s farmers (and not only) to turn to hazardous pesticides in order to increase and fortify their productions. These pesticides can harm not only people’s health, but the environment as well. Indeed, according to a UN report, the use of these tactics in Africa could be equivalent to $90 billion future expenses for public health.
> Through specific programs, Food Security Center focuses on health and environmentally friendly farming practices, by establishing smart and economical gardens free of any chemicals harmful to the human body and to ecosystems.
#5 WE RESPECT, DEFEND AND TRANSMIT INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE
New modern techniques are imported to displace the traditional ways of farming. New seeds, species and methods that -in many cases- are not compatible with the area, the climate and many other factors. The result; Crops do not thrive (, farmers lose their money and are led to a dead end.
> Through specific programs, Food Security Center supports indigenous knowledge and teaches children how to create small scale gardens based on the knowledge, the practices and the resources of their area.
#6 DISCOURAGE LAND GRABBING
Indigenous people are being pushed to lease or even sell their lands for a small fee. That leaves them no place to grow their own food, and their money are not enough in order to procure the goods they need at market prices.
> Through its programs, Food Security Center aims to show the true value of the land, giving people reasons to oppose to land grabbing, by always emphasizing on the power of the land and pointing out that having a piece of land can make you self-sufficient.
#7 PROMOTE BIODIVERSITY AND PLANT BIOSECURITY
As we speak, our planet produces more food than ever – food that is based on monocultures. 2/3 of the land crops derive from just 9 species while native, wild food sources are becoming rare. Imagine what would happen if a disease struck any of these 9 species…
> Through specific programs, Food Security Center talks about the importance of cultivating different kinds of seeds . It also shows how people can grow different fruits and vegetables, how they can preserve them (without the use of the fridge) and consume them (cooking methods).
