Experts advocate for climate-smart vegetable gardening, cooking process, nutrition skills for school children

• JANO Project promoted practical skills among school children in 2 districts
• Skills include climate-smart vegetable gardening, cooking demonstration, and nutrition awareness
• Both girls and boys participate in the initiative
• 98% students got motivated to start home gardens
• Students share knowledge about climate smart gardening and nutrition at home

Incorporating skills such as climate-smart vegetable home gardening, cooking skills, and nutrition awareness for school students at the national level will help students acquire both practical skills and knowledge, addressing deficiencies in their nutrition education, experts said.

They also said this integration will contribute to the holistic development of adolescent students.

These insights were shared at a round table discussion titled "The Impact of Climate-Smart vegetable Gardens and Nutrition-Focused Cooking Demonstration interventions in schools"  organised by Plan International Bangladesh  under JANO (Joint Action for Nutrition Outcome) Project, held at The Business Standard (TBS) office in Dhaka yesterday.

Zahid Nawaz Khan, Head of digital at TBS, moderated the discussion.

Speakers at the roundtable said the JANO Project is effectively raising awareness among school students in two districts about climate-smart vegetable  gardening, cooking skills, and nutrition.

The project has been implemented in seven upazilas of Rangpur and Nilphamari districts from September 2018 to June 2024.

Professor Dr AQM Shafiul Azam, Director of the Planning and Development Wing at the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), said, "This initiative [of JANO Project] also makes students health-conscious, enabling them to overcome social taboos on their own.

"Previously, we believed that education was about memorising what teachers said. Knowledge was the only focus. Now, skills, values, and attitudes have been integrated into the current curriculum," he said.

Nishath Sultana, Director of Policy, Advocacy, Influencing, and Campaign at Plan International Bangladesh, said, "We engaged students in climate-smart vegetable gardening through JANO project. They were taught not only how to garden but also the cooking demonstration the vegetables they grew. Both girls and boys participated in this initiative."

She added, "Initially, vegetable gardens were created in 331 schools. Later, students replicated their efforts to grow vegetables in their household level, resulting in a total of 4,056 such gardens."

Pongkaj Moy Tripura, Project Manager of the JANO Project, said, "The Main objective of this project is to contribute in ending malnutrition of children under five years of age, together with addressing the nutritional needs of Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) and adolescent girls."

It involves collaboration with 22 ministries and departments of government.

A study was conducted on the students involved in this project, including interviews with 840 students and their parents/caregivers from two districts, 14 FGD, 16 IDI, 5 KII

with head teachers, nutrition experts, Govt. officials and school management committee members.

Farhana Afrose Jahan, Associate director at nSearch Limited, presented the research findings at the roundtable discussion.

The study revealed that 98.4% of the interviewed students started their home garden after being inspired from their school garden.

Around 60% of the participants in this study were girls, and 40% were boys. Although 98.7% of students reported that they could learn from cooking demonstrations at school. Additionally, 91.9% of students who worked on climate-smart gardens at school discussed family gardening and the nutritional value of these foods with their families at home. 94.9% of the interviewed parents affirmed that their family's food consumption pattern changed after home gardening.

Dr. Akhter Imam, Deputy director of the Bangladesh National Nutrition Council, said, " BNNC involved JANO project and other nutrition projects in Sylhet and Chittagong Hill tracts and these are very impactful aligned with National plan of Action for Nutrition-2. These successes should be carried forward by addressing in govt. policies with the collaboration of relevant ministries and departments".  

Dr. Nusrat Jahan, Deputy director of the Bangladesh National Nutrition Council, said, "Previously, we focused primarily on food availability. Now, we are addressing food safety and nutrition through projects like JANO. However, to achieve a lasting impact, the government needs to implement these initiatives nationwide as standard practice."

Also present at the event were Professor Dr. Khondaker Md Shariful Huda from the Department of Geography and Environment at Jahangirnagar University; Ikramuzzaman Khan from the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB); Bidhan Krishna Sarker, Associate Scientist at icddr,b; Dr Sufia Khanom, Senior Research Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute for International and Strategic Studies (BIISS); Muhammad Eftekharul Islam, Consultant for Public and Private Sector Engagement at the JANO Project, CARE Bangladesh, and Lylun Nahar, project coordinator-GAIN, SM Faridul Haque- Gender and Youth Inclusion Specialist, IFDC Asia, Bangladesh and many others.

It is noted that JANO project is funded by European Union (EU), co-funded by Austrian Development Cooperation and managed through a consortium led by CARE Bangladesh, technical support provided by Plan International Bangladesh, and implemented by Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO)