Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA): an important strategy to build Resilient Cities

UCLG-MEWA Conference: Sustainable Cities Forum

Malatya, 13-14 November 2015René van Veenhuizen, RUAF FOUNDATION

THE RUAF FOUNDATION• International network of Resource centers on Urban Agriculture and Food

security: www.ruaf.org• Since 1999, Working in and around 40+ cities• Local partners and Municipalities; Regional and International partners

Collaborating with local partners and cities on:

- Planning resilient urban food systems

- Food security and social inclusion

- Short food chains and local economy

- Resource recycling

- City adaptation to climate change

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA)• Agricultural production (crops, trees, livestock, fish) in and around urban areas for food (vegetables, eggs, milk, meat, ..) and other products (e.g. medicinal and aromatic herbs, fodder, fuel, flowers and ornamental plants, water storage, a/o)….

• And related inputs supply, transport, processing, marketing and support services…

• Often combined with other functions (recreation, urban greening, recycling of wastes, capturing CO2, etcetera), as part of the urban system

Diversity Many manifestations of Urban agriculture systems

ECOLOGICAL (Healthy City)

SOCIAL (Inclusive City)

Multi-functional urban agriculture• Urban Greening• Recreational services• Productive Use of Urban Wastes• Reduction of Urban Ecological Footprint• Improved Urban Micro-climate• Management of Landscape and Biodiversity• Climate Change

Subsistence oriented urban agriculture• Food Security & Nutrition• Poverty Alleviation• Social Inclusion• Community Building• HIV-AIDS Mitigation• Social Safety Net

Market oriented urban agriculture• Income Generation• Employment Generation• Enterprise Development• Market chain development

ECONOMIC (Productive City )

Multiple Benefits

Role of UPA in creating sustainable cities

RELATING UPA and FOOD to ACTUAL URBAN CHALLENGES

1. Growing food insecurity and malnutrition in cities

2. Growing urban poverty and social exclusion

3. Growing need to enhance resilience of the cities and reduce climate change/disaster risks and ecological foot print

4. Growing waste management problems

5. Growing need for green spaces and recreational services for the urban population

City-Region Food SystemsCity-Region Food Systems concept emerged on international policy agendas

World Urban Forum7, Medellín, 7-11 April 2014,

FAO, ISU, CFS Civil Society Mechanism, Communitas Coalition, RUAF Foundation, ILO, IFAD, UNCDF, IUFN, ICLEI, Global Food Security Cluster, UN Rapporteur for Right to Food

April 2015 Seoul Declaration: 100 Mayors call to “encourage sustainable urban food production projects and resilient city region food system programmes”.

Milan Urban Food Policy Pact: over 100 cities world wide committed to signing a commitment and framework for action to develop urban food policies to tackle issues

Food production, processing, marketing and consumption

Urban centres, surrounding peri-urban and rural hinterland i.e. the “foodshed”

Exchange and flows of food, people, goods, nutrients/waste and ecosystem services (urban metabolism)

Urban-rural linkages; nexus between people, agriculture, biodiversity, water and energy

City-Region Food Systems: Focus and Scope

Food for the Cities Programme

CityFoodTools project

Milan Urban Food Policy Pact

Governance of food systemsFood productionFood supply and distributionSustainable diets and nutritionPoverty alleviationFood waste

Joint RUAF-FAO initiative on City-Region Food System assessment

CityFoodTools project RUAF with FAO and Wilfred

Laurier Centre on Sustainable Food

Systems

FAO’s Food for Cities and RUAF: Building food secure and resilient

city regions.

Food for the Cities Programme

CityFoodTools project

STRATEGIES THAT CITIES APPLY TO PROMOTE URBAN AGRICULTURE AND CITY RESILIENCE

Creation of an enabling policy environment (Recognition and formal acceptance, adapt legislation, create institutional home, participatory city planning, Food Policy)

Enhancing availability and access to land and use security (Mapping, Zoning, Tax incentives, Temporary Agreements, Land banks)

Reducing health and environmental risks (Coordination, Zoning, Awareness, Active pollution Control)

Support to farmers organisation and participation Access to finance, stimulate markets and

entrepreneurship (youth involvement, extension support, value chain developmentfinancing institutions, farmers markets).

Integration of (productive) green infrastructure in city development planning approach: city networks with multiple compact urban centres and interconnected green corridors and wedges

Preserve areas, and best soils in the city region for agricultural or multi-functional use

Lima (Peru) applies transfer of building rights to reduce the pressure on peri-urban agricultural land

“Green heart” in the Netherlands (area between Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Hague): conversion of agricultural land to other uses is not allowed.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe: enhancing access to water and support to peri-urban farmers

• Rotterdam (The Netherlands) promotes urban agriculture as part of social, rehabilitation of industrial areas housing and new urban developments

• Seattle (USA) adapted its building regulations to enable roof top gardening ; Kathmandu seeks to have 20% rooftop coverage by 2016

• Governador Valadares (Brazil) exempts property tax for landowners who make idle land in the city available for farming.

Modification of land use codes/building regulations and financial incentives to accommodate urban farming in the city

Connecting flows

Lima, Peru

1. Participatory design of multi-functional “productive parks”

2. Reuse of wastewater to irrigate parks and urban forests (greening; recreation; income generation through community nurseries)

Istanbul, Turkey

Gürpınar and Büyükçekmece in Istanbul

Contribution to Improve Employment Opportunities and Provide Food Security of Groups Under Risk Through Urban Agriculture2005-2006. EU, ISKUR, and NGO

Amman and Mafraq, Jordan

With Dutch Municipalities, Amman, and Mafraq Governerate.

Develop infrastructure and small gardening activities in camp and rapidly developing municipalities.

Gaza, Palestine

Collaborate with SDC and Oxfam in:-Refocusing Agriculture to short food chains-Policy analysis and adaption-Value chain development (M4P).-Solar energy-Wastewater use for fodder production

Beijing, China

• Protection of agricultural land within city region

• Increased investment in peri-urban agriculture

• Promotion of various types of multi-functional agriculture (enterprise and community based)

• Strips of urban forests along all major roads to reduce urban heat, dust, CO2 and winds

Intra urban: green spaces/parks, agro-exhibitions, allotment gardens

Sub-urban: sightseeing, agro-parks, eco-education, landscape management

Plains: intensive high tech agriculture and livestock keeping

Mountainous areas: village based agro-tourism, ecological protection, cultural heritage

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

• Major urban agriculture programme (as part of national Zero Hunger policy)• Promotion of small scale organic urban horticulture (technical assistance, credit , certification, farmers’ markets)• Support to associative food enterprises• Local food procurement by government offices and social programmes)

Thank you