Collaborative Research Grant C001486

The ACIAR Collaborative Research Grants were a unique funding opportunity for existing projects within the ACIAR/DFAT Transformative Agriculture and Enterprise Development Program (TADEP) to foster newly-identified opportunities for cross-project collaboration.

The Bougainville Cocoa livelihood survey (2017; Objective 2 of HORT/2014/094) showed that stunting of children (<5 yo) is a significant problem within cocoa farming communities 36.5% of children are stunted. This can increase the risk of infections, poor cognitive development, which can lead to poorer schooling performance and productivity. These children are also at an increased risk of chronic diseases later in life. Associated with poor nutrition is water and sanitation. 31% of households had unimproved drinking water sources and 61% had unimproved toilet facilities.

This collaborative grant was designed as a pilot to identify ways to improve health and nutrition, sustainably increase agricultural productivity, quality and value and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. The project was implemented in a subsample of villages identified as having a higher prevalence of undernutrition in children under 5. The project aimed to improve vegetable production, nutrition and water and sanitation for cocoa farmers through targeted education and training.

Objectives:

• To identify the barriers and facilitators to improve water for all members of a household
• To identify the barriers and facilitators to improve diets for all members of a household
• To identify the capacity of households to implement and sustain vegetable gardens
• To develop a proof of concept for a model for improving water, diets and nutrition within a household
• To build capacity of ABG, DoH, DPI, BWF and UNRE in a range of competencies relating to household water, nutrition and food security