Johannesburg - Nutrition plays a vital role in the well-being of a child, but owing to the high levels of poverty in the country, not all children are lucky to have a meal.
This has prompted the government to introduce feeding schemes at schools, but that programme has had its shortcomings. Some of the meals have not had all the nutritional benefits intended for the children.
In a bid to curb that, the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation has gifted a Soweto school with a greenhouse garden that will serve as a source of fresh vegetables and a learning process for the learners.
Learners and educators at the Forte Secondary School in Dobsonville were excited as the hydroponic and traditional crop-producing project was launched on Thursday. Hydroponic farming involves growing plants without soil by using water enriched with nutrients.
It was explained that the project aims to supplement the school’s feeding scheme with more nutritional foods. The project also offers learners the opportunity to learn more about the agriculture and farming sector. The garden consists of potatoes, onions, lettuce, cabbage, beetroot and spinach that will provide the learners with minerals such as potassium, vitamins, fibre and carbohydrates.
Grade 11 pupils Lebogang Webber and Simphiwe Makgetla expressed their gratitude to the foundation and said they were excited to have such a project in their school.
“The garden will greatly benefit us as Forte (Secondary School) learners. Its produce will enhance the nutritional value of the feeding scheme, as several learners rely on the feeding scheme as their main source of food. This means that they will not only be fed but will have healthy meals,” said Webber.
Makgetla believes the garden will make learning about the natural cycle of plants fashionable and exciting.
“The Greenhouse Food Tunnel is not just our source of nutritional supplement, but a source of knowledge. It will be fun during our life sciences class to learn about plants as we see them and not rely on textbook images. The thought of touching the plants, feeling them, seeing them grow and knowing how to care for them sounds exciting. I also think it might ignite my love for farming,” said Makgetla.
Natural sciences educator Mapaseka Wagner echoed Makgetla’s sentiments and said the Greenhouse Food Tunnel would show learners the importance of agriculture and the role it played in the economy and society.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, the agriculture industry saw a 15.8% (or R327 million) increase in gross farming income in 2020. The increase was due to revenue from crops, horticulture and animal production.
One of the two garden caretakers, Robert Manyange, said that joining the hydroponic and traditional farming methods would help sustain the garden while it would also allow learners to understand what farming was all about.
“The hydroponic system is fascinating. I learned new ways to look after plants and ensure they get the right amount of nutrients. These methods will help us impart different farming skills to the learners. I hope it interests some of them to start their little gardens at home,” Manyange said.
For the plants to stay fresh and healthy, the water filled with plants’ nutrients needs to be changed every two weeks.
Gugu Motlanthe, the executive trustee of the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation, spearheaded the foundation’s food security programme. Motlanthe said the project was part of the organisation’s various youth development projects to boost potential in educational activities.
Motlanthe added that the Forte Secondary School’s vegetable garden project was established early this year when the foundation was first looking for land to build a multi-digital skills centre for learners in Soweto and surrounding areas.
However, the land was unsuitable since it was close to a taxi rank. She said they did not want the foundation’s plans to uplift the learners to fall short and opted to have a greenhouse garden instead.
For the project to be more sustainable, Motlanthe said the foundation would continue working with the school to ensure that it had everything it needed for the garden’s maintenance.
“We will continue to provide the school with seeding over the years and do minor maintenance. The initiative aims to empower learners with hands-on experience on how to grow food and learn about the ecosystem,” Motlanthe said.