Assessment of Dietary Diversity: A Basis for Promoting Plant Genetic
Species in Home gardens
Resham Gautam, Rojee Suwal and Bhuwon Sthapit
ABSTRACT
Home gardens are the main source of family diet supply in Nepal. To identify the actual gap
in supply of different nutrient rich species in home gardens, nutritional calendars were
developed for four eco-sites (Ilam in eastern hill region, Jhapa in eastern terai region, Gulmi
in western hill region and Rupandehi in western terai region) of the home garden project.
Based on the information collected during baseline survey and situation analysis study,
inventory of plant genetic species of home gardens was prepared. The availability of
different nutrients from the species grown in the home gardens were identified through
literature review. Distributions of the species throughout the year in all four sites were
identified. Based on the nutrient availability and distribution of the species, the nutritional
calendars were derived. In the Terai region, the availability of different nutrients through the
species grown in home gardens was found less during the monsoon season. The situation
was worse in the eastern terai (Jhapa) as most of the home gardens remain in the
submerged and water logged conditions during the monsoon due to long and high intensity
of rainfall, whereas in the western terai (Rupandehi) it was found that both the dry and
monsoon seasons are affecting the species cultivation in home gardens. In hill conditions,
the monsoon is not the problem for growing home garden species. However, the dry season,
Baisakh-Jestha (early May-early June) was found as the major factor causing problem in
growing plants in home gardens. Therefore, before promoting any species in the home
garden, the actual understanding of the gap of existing home garden situations and farmers’
actual needs should be identified. The nutritional calendar could be taken as a basis for
introducing any species in home gardens of specific sites.
Key words: Home garden, nutrition, dietary diversity, nutritional calendar
INTRODUCTION
There is no universal definition of a home garden. However, the concept of home gardens
refers to the intimate, multi-storey combination of various trees and crops in association with
domestic animals around homesteads (Kumar and Nair 2004). Home gardens, an integral
part of the Nepalese farming system, contains a high level of species and varietal diversity.
These gardens are important sources of food, fodder, fuels, medicines, spices, cultural and
religiously important plant species and other species of various plant genetic resources
required for the daily household use. Thus, home gardens are an important avenue for on-
farm management of plant genetic resources. The multiple uses and the spread harvesting
time are the key criteria of the home garden.
Micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent in areas where diet lacks variety (Kennedy et al.,
2003). Lack of diversified diets with limited amounts of fruits, vegetables or animal source
foods that contain large amounts of micronutrients deficiencies is inevitable. There are three
main strategies identified for addressing micronutrient malnutrition: dietary diversification,
fortification and supplementation (Kennedy et al., 2003). Out of these three strategies,
dietary diversifications can effectively address most of the micronutrient deficiencies in the
developing world. Diversified food, which includes fruits and vegetables in the diet, increases
longevity and reduces the rates of chronic degenerative diseases (Johns, 2003; Tucker
2001) and also improves the nutritional quality of the child growth in developing countries
(Johns, 2003; Ruel, 2003). The use of plant genetic diversity is essential for ensuring both