Building sustainable, resilient, and nutritionally enhanced local food systems through home gardens in developing countries

ABSTRACT Home gardens have been a part of local and global food systems since humans first began domesticating crops and have endured the test of time. They are commonly referred to as kitchen gardens, backyard gardens, garden patches, and garden beds and often have a local or cultural context. Home gardens vary from location to location in terms of organization, structure, size, and composition and are generally influenced by household resources and attributes, socioeconomic aspects, and cultural factors. International organizations and national, regional, and local governments, non-governmental organizations, and grassroots groups have been adopting and utilizing home gardening to reduce hunger and food insecurity and mitigate food risks from various crises and disasters. Drawing on case studies from various regions of the world, this article highlights experiences with home gardening through case studies and their impacts on targeted communities in various areas of the world. The case studies show that low resource use, adaptability to diverse conditions and situations, and resilience are key factors contributing to the widespread adoption of home gardens. Furthermore, they have been a particularly useful development strategy in crisis and post-crisis situations and in improving marginalized and vulnerable communities’ food and nutritional security. This review article summarizes the important contributions of home gardening projects from various countries and identifies major constraints and opportunities. It concludes with recommendations to policy-makers, researchers, development practitioners and other relevant stakeholders to address those challenges.