Cereal Banks can Contribute to Food Security

Notes to broadcasters

The establishment of a cereal bank is one possible response to the quest for food security. It involves a sharing of resources and is one way for people to help one another in times of need. A cereal bank is a community-based institution run by a village or a group of villages. It can function in several different ways, depending on the requirements of the community. Generally, the bank stores grain and supplies it to people at times when it is most needed. In recent years cereal banks have become popular in the Sahel – with varying results.

One type of cereal bank is a funeral maize bank. In this scheme each household contributes a certain amount of maize to the maize bank every year. The contributing households can then receive maize from the bank if and when they have a funeral. Households that have not contributed to the bank are not eligible to make withdrawals, which is a drawback to this scheme. For more information please see the resources at the end of this script.

The following script describes a traditional practice from Zimbabwe called “zunde ramambo.” It is a communal method of growing and storing grain for use when food supplies are low. Traditional knowledge and customs offer useful and creative ways of solving some of the problems that result from illness and labour shortages resulting from HIV and AIDS.