Kitchen Gardening as a Sustainable Approach for Nutrition Interventions in Tribal Families of District Khyber, Pakistan

Kitchen gardening is a practical intervention for improving household food security, dietary diversity, and access to nutrient-rich vegetables in resource-constrained communities. This study assessed kitchen gardening interventions implemented by NIDA Pakistan in District Khyber, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. A total of 1,000 seasonal kitchen gardening packages, including vegetable seeds and basic gardening tools, were distributed across 10 Village Councils before the winter season in October 2024 and before the summer season in March 2025. Data were collected from 215 beneficiary households through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means, and percentage-point changes. After the intervention, 96.7% of respondents reported knowledge of new farming techniques. Vertical gardening (92.6%), container gardening (71.6%), and rooftop gardening (35.8%) were the most frequently known modern approaches. The principal climate-smart practices adopted were organic farming (61.4%), crop diversification (56.6%), crop rotation (55.3%), and integrated pest management using pheromone traps (49.3%), whereas 3.7% reported rainwater harvesting. In separate water-management responses, 51.2% reported rainwater collection, 45.6% furrow irrigation, 21.4% efficient watering schedules, and 6.0% drip irrigation. Winter crop success was highest for lettuce (salad) (93.0%), spinach (90.7%), mustard (90.2%), coriander (88.4%), radish (87.0%), garlic (85.1%), turnip (82.8%), peas (77.2%), and carrot (73.5%). Summer production success was comparatively lower: okra (70.2%), tomato (59.5%), chilli (56.3%), cucumber (53.0%), squash (52.1%), French bean (48.8%), pumpkin (45.6%), and bitter gourd (37.7%). The findings show that combining agricultural inputs with practical training can strengthen household vegetable production and awareness of nutrition-sensitive and resource-conserving practices.