Benefit-SBN in collaboration with Metema Woreda Office of Agriculture demonstrated nutritious food recipe preparations from vegetables and pulse crops for about 50 individuals including farmers, development agents, and health extension workers.

The objective of the demonstration activity is to raise farmers awareness on the preparation of nutritious foods from the vegetables grown in their home gardens and low land pulse crops.

 

Before the recipe demonstration and testing, participants visited home gardens of three farmers in Mender 6,7,8 where vegetables such as tomato, green pepper, Swiss chard, lettuce, lady’s finger, sweet potato, cucumber and fruits such as mango, banana, lemon, and papaya are grown. Miss Tseganesh, explained how she used her home garden for vegetable production. She mentioned that the training she received on seedling preparation, and the support from Woreda Office of Agriculture and Benefit-SBN in accessing the vegetable seeds helped her to grow different vegetables and fruits in her garden. Participants then visited soya bean, mung bean and cowpea production in the kebele’s farmer training centre.

Women from Mender 6,7,8 and Benefit-SBN colleagues cooking different kinds of food
Participants provide positive feedback for both the vegetable and rotation crop fields and demonstrated recipes. Some visitors suggested to farmers to increase the vegetable production area and diversify the types of vegetables.

They also suggested that vegetable production activities need to be intensified by using available water sources and practicing water harvesting. What is more, participants advised that the pulses in the farmer training centres need to be scaled out in farmers’ fields.

Following the home garden and farmer training centre visit, participants have seen food items produced from crops and vegetables.

Recipes demonstrated were milk, bread, shiro (Ethiopian traditional stew), Kolo (Ethiopian snack), cookies from soya bean; stew, boiled pulses, from mung bean; salads, cooked stew from different vegetables, and cookies from sweet potato. Participants tested different types of foods prepared for the demonstration.

The field visit and recipe demonstration activities were successful in creating awareness about vegetable production and sharing experience on home gardening, as well as transferring knowledge on nutrition values of the demonstrated food items.