Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture

Urban Agriculture
a Global Initiative

Working Internationally for Local Results

Sponsors:

FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization)

UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)

DGIS (Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

IDRC (International Development Research Centre)

Mission
Origins of the Initiative
The Challenge
Global Studies
Global Initiative in Action
Recent Activities
Trends
Who Will Use the Initiative
Future Initiatives
How You Can Participate
How to Contact Us
Members

Mission

• To manage innovative research and development activities related to urban agriculture, such as training, technical assistance, publications, and investments;

• To stimulate networking in urban agriculture in both external support agencies and developing countries;

• To promote synergies between urban agriculture and rural agriculture; and

• To link the urban development challenges of: poverty alleviation, food security and health, waste resource reuse, employment and income generation, productive open-space management, environmental protection, community resource management, women's development, and ecological regeneration.
  
  

Origins of the Initiative

• The Global Initiative for Urban Agriculture was created in March 1996 at the third meeting of the Urban Agriculture Support Group (SGUA). This international consultation, hosted by IDRC, was attended by 35 individuals representing 8 agencies.

• The SGUA was originally convened by the UNDP in 1992 to advise a major study of urban agriculture and food security in Asia, Africa and Latin America, published in 1996.

• The new Global Initiative responds to an escalating demand worldwide for information, expertise, and technical assistance for sustainable urban food production.

• It recognizes the need to coordinate information, training, technical support, and policy development at the global level to achieve a positive impact at the city level.
  
  

The Challenge

The urbanization of formerly rural countries and regions is causing both food insecurity and environmental degradation. Bringing agriculture back into towns and cities can:

• improve food security

• regenerate the environment

• strengthen urban economies

Global Studies

Findings in the past decade:

• Low-income urban families increase food security through self-produced informal access to food.

• Farming in urban areas contributes to clean, green, healthy, low-maintenance towns and cities.

• More than half the urban farmers are women (80% in Latin America, 60% in East Africa, and 60% in Eastern Europe).

• Female farmers have poor access to production inputs, credit, and training.

• The best use of urban solid waste and waste water is for food production, monitored by strict public quality control.

• Urban agriculture is compatible with other land uses, such as residences, institutions, transportation, utilities, and commerce.

• Urban agriculture is an activity that contributes to a solid community economic base through micro-enterprise.
  
  

Global Initiative in Action

• Urban hydroponics program in Latin America (FAO)

• Programs for African youth and micro-enterprise in Benin; for ecological regeneration in the Caribbean and family nutrition in Trinidad; and for African youth and environment in Zanzibar (UNDP)

• Development research in Accra as input to the national food security and nutrition policy (University of Ghana, lFPRI, Rockefeller Foundation, IDRC, and UN/WHO)

• Space-confined food production for family consumption and sale in Port-au-Prince Haiti (IDRC, CIDA, CARE Canada, CARE Haiti, and the Canadian Urban Institute)

• Start-up of urban agriculture courses on wastewater food production, inter-cropping, marketing (Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand)

• International urban livestock survey (GTZ)

• Recycling of solid and liquid waste in peri-urban cultivation in Southern Africa (European Community)

• Compilation of Resource Guide on urban agriculture (ETC Netherlands)
  
  

Recent Activities

New groups have formed:

1. AGUILA -- Latin American UA Research Network with 24 institutional members

2. Cities Feeding People Program Initiative at IDRC, Canada

3. Urban Peri-Urban Interface at ODA NRI, UK

4. Urban and peri-urban agriculture working groups at GTZ (Germany) and FAO

5. Office of Recycling Waste for Agriculture at the World Bank

6. Multi-country urban poverty alleviation and food security project at lFPRI
   
   

Trends

Argentina:

Participants in a national project "Pro Huerta" or For Gardens increased from 50,000 to 550,000 from 1990 to 1994.

Zimbabwe:

Acreage being farmed within the capital Harare doubled between 1990 and 1994.

Thailand:

In greater Bangkok, 60 percent of the land is under cultivation.

Russia:

72 percent of all urban families are engaged in raising food, mostly part-time. In Moscow, the share of families raising food more than tripled between 1972 and 1992, from 20 percent to 65.

USA:

The number of farmers' markets selling locally-grown produce increased by 40 percent from 1994 to 1996.

Who Will Use the Initiative

• Mayors, councilors, and planners of large and small cities

• Civic organizations concerned with food security and hunger

• Urban farmers' associations

• National departments of agriculture, health, environment, urban affairs

• Universities and research centres

• International agencies working in development or research

• NGOs for micro-enterprise development

• Women food producers

• Environmental conservation groups
  
  

Future Initiatives

The following services have been endorsed by the Interim Steering Committee as high priority.

Start-up funding has been secured, but further funding is required.

• Homepage on the World Wide Web at www.cityfarmer.org

• Newsletter-- three issues a year

• E-mail conference and group mailing list (listserv)

• Regional information centres for networking

• Policy and technical workshops for capacity building

• Urban agriculture information service by fax and mail

• Non-formal training and introductory seminars

• Graduate scholarships and research awards

• Resource Guide

• Bibliographic database

• Reader on Urban Agriculture
  
  

How You Can Participate

Foundations and grants programs may support urban agriculture through normal programming by these entry points:

nutrition

environment

urban development

micro-enterprise

emergency food

recycling & composting

women & self-employment

Become a funder or help implement a wide range of activities, including training courses and workshops, reviews, best-practice surveys, planning, evaluation, publications, videos, and information management.

How to Contact Us

Henk de Zeeuw, ETC Netherlands
E-mail: office@etcnl.nl
Phone: 31 33 494 3086
Fax: 31 33 494 0791

BrendaLee Wilson, lDRC
E-mail: BLWilson@idrc.ca
Voice Mail: 1 613 236 6163 extension 2475

Internet Website:
http://www.cityfarmer.org

Members

• CARE International
  Atlanta, US

• City Farmer - Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture
  Vancouver, Canada

• Developing Countries Farm Radio Network (DCFRN)
  Toronto, Canada

• DGlS *(Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs),
  Den Haag, NL

• ETC Netherlands,
  Leusden, NL

• FAO* (UN Food and Agriculture Organization)
  Rome, IT

• GTZ (German Technical Cooperation)
  Eschborn, Germany

• lDRC* (International Development Research Centre)
  Ottawa, Canada

• lFPRl (International Food Policy Research Institute)
  Washington, D.C., US

• NRl (Natural Resources International)
  Kent, UK

• TUAN (The Urban Agriculture Network),
  Washington, D.C., US

• UNDP* (United Nations Development Programme)
  New York, US

• World Bank
  Washington, D.C., US

• World Sustainable Agriculture Association
  West Hollywood, US

• Members of the academic community.

* Interim Steering Committee

July 1997

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