Gardening support helps Dhaka residents eat healthier

Originally published by World Vegetable Center

Growing vegetables in a garden to enhance a family meal, with surpluses shared with neighbors or sold, is an age-old practice common everywhere. Its contribution to people’s diets varies by location and season, but is likely to be substantial. Gardening in cities is also common, with many city folk finding unusual spaces to grow—on windowsills, balconies, and rooftops, hanging from the ceiling, or fixed to walls.

Green spaces are scarce in densely populated Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing cities. Yet, many residents have a rural background and possess the skills to grow food. Most residential buildings, often five stories or taller, have flat rooftops often used for drying laundry but which can also be ideal for gardening. Crops can also be planted in vacant land plots, along riverbanks, or in other small spaces within residential areas.

The Dhaka Food Systems project aimed to strengthen urban food systems through various initiatives, one of which involved training Dhaka residents in urban gardening, from 2019 to 2023, funded by the Netherlands government and implemented by FAO and Wageningen University. The World Vegetable Center, not a project partner, utilized the intervention as a case study to analyze the impact of an urban home garden intervention. Part of the CGIAR ‘Food Frontiers and Security’ Science Program, the study analyzed data from 425 participants and a comparison group of 254 non-participants. Those in the intervention group were trained on gardening and nutrition, with gardening tools, vegetable seeds, fruit tree saplings and fertilizer provided by the local NGO Proshika. The intervention promoted both rooftop and conventional surface-based gardens.

The results were published in the journal Food Security (available here), and are remarkable. Women significantly increased the diversity of their diet, and consumed one additional portion of cooked vegetables on average. These changes likely stemmed from the gardens, as an increase in the diversity of fruits and vegetables produced was also observed, the frequency of harvesting, and increased sharing of produce with neighbors. The gardening intervention also contributed to a range of perceived social, personal and psychological benefits. However, the research also observed an increase in the consumption of ultra-processed food, maybe because some of the money saved by buying fewer vegetables, was spent on more unhealthy products.

Findings confirm that supporting urban residents to produce vegetables helps them eat a more diverse diet. They also demonstrate that gardening support contributes to various social and personal benefits. Space and time are not the main constraints for urban gardeners, who indicated that their primary challenges were a lack of knowledge and skills, difficulties in pest and disease control, and lack of inputs, including soil. Several of these issues can be addressed through straightforward extension support, however, but which is often unavailable in urban areas.

The World Vegetable Center continues collaborating with partners in Bangladesh and elsewhere to optimize urban gardening designs, to monitor food safety, and promote consumption. The Center is also analyzing the impact of garden interventions in other constrained settings, such as refugee camps and disaster-affected areas.

This study was conducted as part of the CGIAR Resilient Cities Initiative, which has transitioned into the CGIAR Science Program on Food Frontiers & Security. The study received support from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Potato Center (CIP). Additional support was received from the CGIAR Science Program on Better Diets and Nutrition.