From Seed to Table: How Home Gardens Are Transforming Nutrition in Nigeria
Exploring how home gardens in Edo State, Nigeria are addressing malnutrition through sustainable food systems and improved nutrition outcomes.
The Quiet Revolution in Edo's Backyards
In the bustling communities of Edo State, Nigeria, a quiet revolution is taking place right in people's backyards. As you read this, hundreds of households are harvesting fresh vegetables from small garden plots no larger than a parking space. These unassuming gardens represent a powerful response to one of Nigeria's most pressing challenges: how to build food systems that effectively combat malnutrition in an era of climate change, economic uncertainty, and global health crises 1 3 .
Imagine being able to reach outside your kitchen door to pluck fresh, nutrient-rich vegetables for your family's meal, even during the dry season when market prices soar. For a growing number of families in Edo State and across Nigeria, this scenario is becoming reality through the simple yet transformative practice of home gardening 6 .
Did You Know?
Home gardens can provide up to 50% of a family's vegetable consumption and significantly improve dietary diversity.
Rethinking Food Systems: More Than Just Production
What Are Food Systems and Why Do They Matter?
When we think about food, we often focus solely on what's on our plates. But every meal connects us to a complex network known as a food system—an interconnected web of activities including food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management 1 8 .
Sustainable food systems must "enable food safety, food security and nutrition for current and future generations" while also being "inclusive, equitable, and resilient" 1 .
Food System Components
The Triple Burden of Malnutrition
Nigeria faces what nutrition experts call the "triple burden" of malnutrition—the simultaneous presence of undernutrition (stunting and wasting), overweight/obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies 1 .
| Type of Malnutrition | Key Statistics | Primary Affected Groups |
|---|---|---|
| Undernutrition | High rates of child stunting in multiple states 1 | Children under five |
| Micronutrient Deficiencies | Vitamin A deficiency remains a major public health concern 3 | Children, pregnant women |
| Overweight/Obesity | Increasing burdens alongside persistent stunting 1 | Adults and children |
| Food Insecurity | 58% of Nigerians face moderate to severe food insecurity 2 | Households across regions |
Malnutrition Burden
The Home Garden Solution: A Closer Look at the Evidence
Studying Gardens During Crisis
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck Nigeria, it disrupted food supply chains, inflated prices, and limited access to fresh foods—particularly for urban populations 3 . This crisis created a natural experiment for researchers to study the effectiveness of home gardening as a buffer against food system shocks.
A groundbreaking cross-sectional survey conducted during the second wave of COVID-19 infections in Nigeria examined how home gardens influenced dietary diversity—a key indicator of nutritional quality 3 . The study involved 656 respondents from across Nigeria's six geopolitical regions.
Methodology: Tracking the Garden-Diet Connection
The research team employed a snowball sampling technique, beginning with initial contacts who then referred other participants 3 .
The central focus was on the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS). To address potential bias, the researchers used a sophisticated statistical approach called Heckpoisson regression 3 .
Study Methodology
Sampling
656 respondents across Nigeria's six geopolitical regions using snowball sampling technique 3
Data Collection
Primarily via phone surveys due to COVID-19 movement restrictions 3
Key Metric
Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) as indicator of nutritional quality 3
Analysis
Heckpoisson regression to control for confounding factors 3
What the Data Revealed
The findings were striking: Income derived from home gardening showed a significant association with higher dietary diversity 3 . This suggests that home gardens enhance nutritional outcomes not only by providing direct access to fresh produce but also by generating additional income.
Factors Influencing Success
| Factor Category | Specific Factors | Impact on Nutrition |
|---|---|---|
| Socio-demographic | Marital status, household size, age composition | Significantly influences dietary patterns 3 |
| Economic | Income from garden produce sales | Enables purchase of diverse foods; associated with higher dietary diversity 3 |
| Agricultural | Access to seeds, land size, crop diversity | Determines variety and quantity of nutrients available 7 |
| Environmental | Water access, climate conditions, pest pressure | Affects garden productivity year-round 6 |
The Gardener's Toolkit: Building Blocks for Success
Establishing a productive home garden requires more than just seeds and soil. Through various initiatives across Nigeria, researchers and development practitioners have identified essential components that enable households to create and maintain gardens that significantly contribute to their nutritional security.
Seeds/Seedlings
Foundation of food production including hybrid vegetable seedlings and vitamin A-rich crops 9
Water Source
Irrigation for year-round production including solar-powered boreholes and rainwater harvesting 6
Sustainable Inputs
Soil fertility and pest management using organic matter and natural solutions 6
Knowledge
Training on garden techniques, nutrition education, and agricultural best practices 6
Basic Tools
Garden establishment and maintenance equipment like hoes, watering cans, and rakes 6
Community Support
Networks for knowledge sharing, seed exchange, and collective problem-solving
Innovations in Seed Varieties
The importance of adapted seed varieties cannot be overstated. In Edo State, recent innovations have brought hope—the state government, in collaboration with Prime Agro Seeds and a Netherlands-based agro firm, unveiled 28 varieties of hybrid tomatoes and pepper seedlings specifically bred for adaptability to Nigerian weather conditions and disease resistance 9 .
Water Access Solutions
Similarly, water access solutions like solar-powered boreholes have proven transformative, particularly during dry seasons when many gardens would otherwise fail 6 . As one implementer noted, "During dry months, getting water is not easy. Sometimes we have to prioritize drinking water over watering the garden" 6 .
Beyond Nutrition: Ripple Effects of Home Gardening
Women Leading Change
Across northern Nigeria, women are emerging as the primary drivers of the home gardening movement. The Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) program, for instance, specifically targeted women aged 15 to 49, recognizing that "in most Nigerian homes, women are the custodian of nutrition, they cook, care, and now, they cultivate" 6 .
Women's Participation
By 2024, one program had established over 1,000 home gardens across more than 200 rural communities, reaching 1,600 participants, with 70% being women 6 .
Income and Empowerment
The benefits of home gardens extend beyond the dinner plate. When Monica Daniel, an internally displaced person from Borno State, received home garden training, her garden eventually produced surplus crops that she could sell from her home . The profits enabled her to purchase additional nutritious foods for her family and household items like soap and detergent .
"The revenue afforded to women through gardening allows them to provide for their families and contribute to a vital part of their local economies" .
The same study in southern Tigray, Ethiopia, found that vegetable producers had higher total annual income than non-producers, though interestingly, this didn't always directly correlate with reduced child stunting, suggesting that income alone isn't a silver bullet 7 .
Knowledge Sharing and Community Resilience
Perhaps one of the most beautiful outcomes of these initiatives is how they create networks of knowledge sharing. As participant Rahama Ibrahim explained, "I am very happy with the work that Helen Keller Intl is doing in my community, because my knowledge has increased on infant and young child feeding and I was able to cascade the knowledge to others" .
This "cascading" effect means that training doesn't stop with direct participants—it ripples outward through communities as women share techniques, seeds, and nutritional knowledge with their neighbors, creating a multiplier effect that extends the impact far beyond initial investments.
Impact Multiplier Effect
The Path Forward: Scaling Up Success
Integrating Home Gardens into Broader Food Systems
While the evidence for home gardens' effectiveness is compelling, researchers caution that they're not a standalone solution. A study from Ethiopia emphasized that "the production of vegetables and crop and income diversification from home gardens were found to be important pathways to improve food and nutrition security" 7 .
The Government of Nigeria seems to recognize this integrated approach. Through its National Food Systems Transformation Pathway launched in 2021, the country has committed to addressing 78 priority actions, including initiatives like Operation Feed Yourself which empowers families to grow their own food 2 .
Integrated Food System Approach
This national strategy acknowledges that transforming food systems "isn't just a federal agenda—it's a shared national responsibility" 2 .
Promising Innovations and Future Research
Recent developments in Edo State point toward an exciting future for home gardening. The state has become a pioneer in seed multiplication and experimentation, hosting the first such initiative in Nigeria 9 . The introduction of hybrid vegetable seedlings bred specifically for local conditions represents a significant advancement in making home gardening more productive and reliable.
Future research should continue to explore the specific pathways through which home gardens influence nutritional outcomes. The Ethiopian study used Principal Component Analysis to determine that the first principal component was highly associated with agriculture and farm income, while the next most important variables were household dietary diversity and income sources other than farm income 7 .
Seed Innovation
Edo State pioneering seed multiplication and experimentation with 28 hybrid varieties 9
Research Methods
Principal Component Analysis to identify key pathways from gardens to nutrition 7
Policy Integration
National Food Systems Transformation Pathway with 78 priority actions 2
Community Empowerment
Operation Feed Yourself initiative empowering families to grow their own food 2
A Harvest of Hope
The story of home gardens in Edo State and across Nigeria offers a powerful testament to human ingenuity in the face of complex challenges. These small patches of green represent more than just food production—they're living examples of resilient, adaptable, and sustainable food systems in action.
As Aisha Isa, a home gardener from Barkin Ladi, reflects on her gardening journey: "Before this, we ate whatever we had. Now, we know why vegetables are important, and we use them in our everyday meals" 6 .
This simple statement captures the transformative potential of home gardens—they don't just change what people eat; they change how people think about food, nutrition, and their own capacity to shape their health and well-being.
In the end, the success of home gardens reminds us that sometimes the most powerful solutions are also the most accessible. As Nigeria continues its food system transformation journey, these small-scale innovations—rooted in community, led by women, and supported by appropriate technology and policy—offer a promising path toward a future where all Nigerians have access to the diverse, nutritious foods they need to thrive.