Hungary Helps
Agriculture and food security
Agricultural and food security projects constitute a cornerstone of the Hungary Helps Program. These initiatives are instrumental in addressing the immediate and ongoing needs of vulnerable populations by ensuring a stable and sufficient food supply, thereby alleviating hunger and malnutrition.
By providing communities with the means to sustainably produce food, they enable them to cope with the challenges posed by natural disasters, climate change, and conflicts. Agricultural and food security projects are also vital for poverty reduction. They empower marginalized groups with the opportunity to generate income through agriculture, breaking the cycle of destitution and dependency on aid. Supporting agriculture in local communities is a path to sustainability.
By emphasizing sustainable agricultural practices and food production, they help preserve ecosystems and natural resources, aligning with the sustainable development goals.
Flagship Projects:
Water management and agriculture projects in Ethiopia
(350.000 EUR)
Ethiopia, with more than 110 million inhabitants, is facing one of the biggest crises in its history. For years, large parts of the country have been affected by drought, causing famine and a shortage of drinking water. The civil war in the northern part of the country since 2020 has pushed millions of people into poverty, leading to internal displacement, and the economic impact is also being felt across the country. In addition to internally displaced people, large numbers of refugees are arriving from Eritrea, South Sudan and Somalia.
These complex set of crises threaten with humanitarian emergency in several areas of the East African country. In these difficult situation, Hungary Helps Agency, together with Hungarian Interchurch Aid as strategic partner has brought hope to thousands of people in Gambella, south-west Ethiopia. In this region, 90 percent of the population depends on agriculture, which has been severely affected by years of drought. In addition, Gambella hosts almost 400,000 people for South Sudan.
The aid provided by Hungary Helps, has been used to build a 4-classroom school and dig a new solar well to supply water to 4,000 people. In addition to these developments, two new mills have been completed in the poverty-stricken region. Fishing nets, seeds, sheep and goats were also distributed and our experts provided training to communities on their sustainable use.
Introduction of new agricultural methods in the Middle East and Africa (180.000 EUR)
In some rainfall-poor, soil-eroded areas of the Middle East and Africa, the impact of climate change is even more critical, with poor soil quality leading to a steady decline in crop supply.
All this threatens or is already causing humanitarian and social crises. Hungary Helps Agency, together with Baptist Relief Service implements several innovative projects in Kenya, Lebanon and Syria, which has proven to be an effective response to the dire situation. With local distribution and use of a special Hungarian innovation calls Agrooter Root Watering System, we can expect a significant increase in the water retention capacity of the soil, by enriching the oxygen content and providing useful minerals.
The project also include complex soil- and yield tests to provide feedback to the developers for the future usage.
