Urban Farming and Public Procurement for Healthy Cities

Mitigating the Urbanization of Poverty

Danish NCD Alliance/CPH 19.03.2012

Outline of lecture

• Urbanization and the changing face of poverty• Urban Farming as part of a solution • Present overall project idea:

Healthy cities – Healthy diets: Integrating Urban Farming and Public food procurement

Urbanization:The mark of the 21 century

Urban dynamics• 60 % of the world is now urban – 70% in 35

years• Every week a new city emerges with over 1.

mio. inhabitants (mostly in developing countries) – Growth of Megapolis 10 mio+

• Every year the population of France migrates from rural to urban

• In only 35 years two more India will have emerged (2.5 billion more people)

Growing Urban Poverty

• Food crisis & rising food prices

• The Urban sector’s share of the poor is rising over time

• Absolute poverty is higher in rural areas (75% of DC’s poor still live in rural areas)

Rising food prices

2 and 3 illustratedNumber of poor (millions) Percent of DW’s population

below each poverty lineUrban share of the poor (%)

Urban Rural Total Urban Rural Total

1$ a day 1993 236 1,036 1,272 13.5 36.6 27.8 18.5

2002 283 883 1,165 12.8 29.3 22.3 24.2

2$ a day 1993 683 2,215 2,898 39.1 78.2 63.3 23.6

2002 746 2,097 2,843 33.7 69.7 54.4 26.2

The Slum Dog Billion

• > 30% of the world’s urban population – 1 billion people – resides in slums

• 90% of slum dwellers live in developing world

Slum population by region

Urban Agriculture as a solution?

• 800 mio. people around the world make a living from urban farming – major part in the metropolis’ of Asia

• 200 mio. people make a living from selling their urban farm products to a market

• Cities around the world are already producing on average 1/3 of the food the inhabitants consume

3 Types of Urban farming• Micro scale farm plots integrated with

social housing or slum projects (often vacant intra city-plots

• Smaller scale multifunctional (agro)forestry in green city-corridors or peri-urban areas (often less favorable areas: Steep slopes, river banks, tree belt to stop desertfication, utilizing sewage waste)

• Cluster of more intensive high-tech farming with livestock (pork, chicken and fishfarms) or greenhouse produce inter-acting in different forms of cooperation utilizing manure etc(Often Peri-urban areas)

Social (Inclusive city)

Economical (Productive city)

Ecological (Environmental Healthy city)

Multifunctional UA

* Organic and diverse agriculture and (agro-) forestry close to consumers•Combination with other functions (recreation, urban greening, microclimate, park management, water storage, education)* CO2 reduction

Subsistence oriented UA

Production of food for selfconsumption* Savings on food & healthexpenditures* Some income from selling ofsurpluses* Part of livelihood strategies of the urban poor

Market oriented UA

* Income generation fromproducing food and non-foodproducts for the market* Small scale family based andlarger scale entrepreneurial enterprises

Operating within three areas

Positive urban farm outcomes• Poverty alleviation– Reduces food expences (normally 60-80% of

household budget)– Potential for generating income by surplus sales

(30-70$/month compared with minimum wage 20-40$/month)

– Generating linkages to new jobs in inputs, (organic waste collection, composting), processing and marketing, transport, veterinary services etc

Positive Urban Farm cont…• Healthy city - Urban food security

– Buffer on food hikes and food supplies securing potentially a healthy diet

– Regular food intake – Mitigating the ’double burden of malnutrition’ wasting (weight/height) stunting (height/age) diabetes/obesity

Problems related to Urban farming• Health risks for producers as well as

consumers (inappropriate use of wastewater, contaminated rivers/streams)

• Inadequate management of livestock (confinements for collecting urine, manure risk of attracting rats)

Problems cont…..

• Inadequate supplies of nutrient inputs

• Theft• Exposure to land, air, water

contamination from traffic, industry

• Poor land use security/rights

Project idea: Healthy Cities – Healthy Diets

• Integrating Urban farming with Public food procurement as a driver for social inclusion (School meal programs, hospitals, nursery)– Children are send to school (free meal)– Children can stay awake in class– Higher chance teachers stay at school– Medicine works (aids, TB etc)– Educational integration

Urban Farming targeting:

• Social inclusion (garden training, nutrient and pest handling, healthy food education)

• Market sale (marketing training, small shop set up, new service job linkages: organic waste collection, transport, seed or seedling production)

• Environmental services (sanitary awareness, Greening the city, water management, Demonstration plotsn plots

• Agriculture & rural development are still important in mitigating poverty

• But new political initiatives integrating urbanization, poverty and health is needed

• Urban Farming offers quick and concrete solutions targeting and unifying difficult challenges:

– Improved food security– Better sanitary services and Health– Broad range of Environmental services– Organic waste collection and compost making– New job creation– Human & political rights focus

Quick conclusions