Contribution of Home Gardens to Household Food Security in Sri Lanka: A Comparative Study on Wet Zone and Intermediate Zone

Abstract

In Sri Lanka, home gardens ensure to some extent the stability of household food security at the village level. Home gardening, which is an age-old practice in various parts of the country, varies on the basis of plant growth influenced by the seasonal weather changes, the composition of the soil and the structure of the locality. This paper attempts to identify the contribution of home gardens to food security with a focus on species richness and the availability of annual food supplement for family nutrition, as identified in a study carried out in four Agro Ecological Zones: the Kariyamadiththa and the Dambethalawa GN in the Intermediate Low Country (ILC); the Kumbalgama and the Silogama GN in the Intermediate Mid Country (IMC); the Vidulipura North and the Vidulipura South GN in the Wet Zone Up Country (WZUP); and the Dammala and the Pannimula GN in the Wet Zone Low Country (WZLC). The sample consists of 200 village level home gardens. While the sampling was random, the data analysis was carried out by means of SPSS 17.0 and the Shannon Diversity Index. According to the sample, the highest number of fruit varieties was found in the WZLC while the highest number of vegetable types was found in the WZUC. Most of the home gardens were maintained for both family consumption and marketing in the ILC. Animal husbandry was practiced sparsely but mostly in the ILC. Shannon diversity index shows that there are large variation in diversity and evenness among home gardens. The survey revealed that most of the householders did not have a reasonable knowledge about the seasons in which crops were available in their home gardens. The study highlights the importance of giving continuous incentives and identification of the potentials of the home gardens for increasing production to minimize the household food insecurity.