From the farm to the school table
Since 2006, school-provided meals have been one of Kyrgyzstan’s strategies for fighting food insecurity. The main beneficiaries have traditionally been the students, who receive a hot breakfast each day. But now, a FAO pilot programme is exploring how this scheme can improve the lives of smallholder farmers as well.
自2006年以來，學校提供的膳食一直是吉爾吉斯斯坦應對糧食不安全的戰略之一。傳統上，主要受益者是每天都能享用熱早餐的學生。但現在，聯合國糧食及農業組織的一項試點計畫正在探索該計畫如何幫助改善小農的生活。
Although farmers make up over a quarter of Kyrgyzstan’s workforce, many of them face barriers to growth and development. Individual farmers have trouble meeting the volume that some contracts demand, and they may lack the resources necessary to obtain certificates of quality for their produce. Not having a contract, combined with poor storage facilities, means that smallholder farmers have to spend more time finding buyers – and then sell their produce in a flooded market. “In the fall, the prices for produce drop,” says farmer Azamat Boskebaev, who grows vegetables, grain and clover. “That means losses for the farmer.”
儘管農民占吉爾吉斯斯坦勞動力的四分之一以上，但他們中的許多人面臨著增長和發展的障礙。個別農民難以滿足某些合同所要求的產量，而且他們可能缺乏獲得產品品質證書所必需的資源。由於沒有合同，加上倉儲設施落後，小農不得不花更多時間尋找買家，然後試著在已飽和的市場上出售農產品。種植蔬菜、穀物和三葉草的農民阿紮馬特（Azamat Boskebaev）說:“秋天，農產品價格下降，這對我們農民來說就意味著損失。”
At the same time, some schools are struggling to find the steady supply of quality produce they need to feed their children. Between 2016-2017 alone, schools within the Kemin District needed an estimated 9.2 tonnes of potatoes, 4.2 tonnes of carrots and 2.6 tonnes of onions – not to mention additional cabbage, sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, beets and garlic. “We do not have warehouses at the school, so we have to buy produce little by little,” says Galina Shakun, principal of a school in Kemin.
與此同時，一些學校正在努力尋找穩定優質的農產品供應，以滿足孩子們的需要。僅2016年至2017年，光是克敏區（Kemin）的學校估計就需要9.2噸土豆、4.2噸胡蘿蔔和2.6噸洋蔥，更不用說捲心菜、甜椒、番茄、黃瓜、蘿蔔、甜菜和大蒜了。“我們學校沒有倉庫，所以我們只能每次少量地購買農產品，”克敏區一所學校的校長加利娜•沙昆(Galina Shakun)表示。
To address the issues, FAO is developing a Logistic Centre in Kemin as part of a pilot programme to link local farmers with Kyrgyzstan’s National School Feeding Programme. Equipped with a lab and storage facilities, the Logistic Centre can certify, buy and store local produce before selling and delivering it to nearby schools. As a result, the Logistic Centre bridges a key disconnect: the inability of smallholder farmers to access the certification their produce needs in order to be served in schools – or shipped elsewhere.
為解決這些問題，聯合國糧食及農業組織正在克敏區建立一個後勤中心，作為將當地農民與吉爾吉斯斯坦國家學校供膳計畫聯繫起來的試點方案的一部分。物流中心配備了實驗室和倉儲設施，可以在當地農產品銷售和運送到附近的學校之前對其進行認證、購買和存儲。因此，物流中心彌合了一個關鍵脫節:小農戶無法獲得產品需要的認證，以將產品銷往學校或其他地方。
The pilot is part of the FAO project “Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia.” Launched in 2016 and funded by the Russian Federation, the programme aims to strengthen food security and reduce all forms of malnutrition in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The overall aim here is to increase the effectiveness of the entire process of organizing school feeding by contributing to development of sustainable value chains.
該試點是聯合國糧食及農業組織“提高高加索和中亞地區擇定國家增強糧食安全和營養的能力”項目的一部分。該專案於2016年啟動，由俄羅斯聯邦資助，旨在加強亞美尼亞、吉爾吉斯斯坦和塔吉克斯坦的糧食安全，減少各種形式的營養不良。其總體目標是通過促進可持續價值鏈的發展，來提高組織學校供膳整個過程的效率。
Although the pilot programme in Kyrgyzstan only serves 29 schools, its success could serve as a model for other initiatives across the country. Until recently, Kyrgyzstan lacked an efficient mechanism to enable cooperation between farmers and schools. But because school cafeterias are in need of quality vegetables virtually all year round, Kyrgyzstan’s National School Feeding Programme could become a sustainable sales market for local farmers – simultaneously supplying food for children and boosting local economies.
儘管吉爾吉斯斯坦的試點專案僅為29所學校提供服務，但它的成功可以成為該國其他舉措的榜樣。直到最近，吉爾吉斯斯坦還缺乏一個有效的機制來促進農民和學校之間的合作。但由於學校食堂幾乎全年都需要優質蔬菜，吉爾吉斯斯坦的國家學校供膳計畫可能成為當地農民的可持續銷售市場——並同時為兒童提供食物，促進當地經濟。
At one of the participating schools in the town of Orlovka in Kemin District, Principal Shakun is relieved. The school is used to challenges – an unused chemistry classroom had to be converted to a cafeteria in order to qualify the school for the National School Feeding Programme – but finding enough food to feed 333 primary-school students each day has been a perpetual concern. Now, the Logistic Centre is helping ease the pressure. “We are all for cooperating with the Logistic Centre because it is definitely going to benefit our children,” she says.
在克敏區Orlovka鎮一所參與計畫的學校，沙坤（Shakun）校長松了一口氣。學校之前已經習慣了面對各種挑戰——將一間廢棄的化學教室改成自助餐廳，以使學校有資格參加國家學校供膳計畫——但每天找到足夠333名小學生吃的食物一直是一個永恆的問題。現在不同了，物流中心正在幫助學校減輕壓力。校長表示:“我們都支持與物流中心合作，因為這肯定會讓我們的孩子受益。”
Principal Shakun knows that her schoolchildren’s growth depends on proper nutrition. Access to healthy food promotes good eating habits, supports children’s health and gives students energy for schoolwork. But providing children with high-quality food isn’t just the job of a school; promoting nutritious school meals requires the cooperation of all members of the community. And as this pilot programme is demonstrating, entire communities can benefit as well.
沙坤校長知道，學生的成長離不開充足的營養。獲得健康的食物可促進良好的飲食習慣，確保兒童的身體健康，並為學生提供能量以完成學業。但是為孩子們提供高品質的食物不僅僅是學校的工作，推廣學校營養膳食需要社區所有成員的相互合作。正如這個試點專案所顯示的那樣，而整個社區也可以從中受益。
By working with governments to link farmers to school feeding programmes, FAO is giving children a healthier start in life and improving farmers’ livelihoods, all a part of the global goal to achieve #ZeroHunger.
聯合國糧食及農業組織與各國政府合作，將農民與學校供膳計畫聯繫起來，為兒童提供更健康的生活起點的同時改善農民生計，這也是為實現#零饑餓 這一全球目標的一份努力。
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