Document(s) 4 of 11

Urban agriculture is associated with urban land squatting and is viewed as a socioeconomic problem, not a solution. Authorities are hesitant to be more proactive on UA because it is largely seen as resulting from a failure to address adequately rural development needs.
Mayor Fisho P. Mwale, Lusaka, Zambia

Population shift

Morning has a different sound in the cities of the South than in Northern cities. In the South, roosters compete with the sounds of early morning traffic to announce the new day. Listen carefully, and you may hear goats bleating, cattle lowing, and, as the city wakes, the cries of street vendors offering fresh produce, bread, and other prepared foods.

In the North, there is a clear division between urban and rural. In the South, however, the division is not so clear — agriculture production is not limited to the rural areas. Although it is often frowned upon by the authorities, urban agriculture (UA) is a reality in most Southern cities. In some, it also plays a significant role in providing a measure of food security and income for a rapidly increasing urban population.

The past half-century has seen a massive movement of population in most developing countries. Until the latter half of the 20th century, the developing world was predominantly rural. At the midpoint of the 1900s, fewer than 20% of people in developing countries lived in cities and towns. By the turn of the millennium, that percentage had more than doubled (Figure 1). The US National Research Council estimates that by 2030 more people will be living in urban areas (4.1 billion) than in rural areas (3.1 billion) in middle- and low-income countries. Between now and then nearly all population growth will be in the cities of developing countries, where some cities are growing two or three times faster than the country's overall population. This trend is equivalent to adding a city of one million residents every week (UN-HABITAT 2004).

Figure 1. Rural and urban populations in North and South, 1950 to 2030 (projected).
Source: UN (2004).

The phenomenon of rural–urban migration is not unique to the South. In North America and Europe people have been abandoning the rural life since the industrial revolution of the 19th century. The trend accelerated following the Second World War, with the result that about three-quarters of the population in the North is now urban (Figure 1). However, the growth of urban population in the developed world has now slowed to just 0.4% annually, while in developing countries the urban population is growing at an annual rate of 2.3%. In other words, although the North is already far more urban, the urban areas of developing countries are growing much faster — and their populations are larger (UN-HABITAT 2004).

Food: a "basic luxury"

Spectacular as the growth of the cities has been over the past half-century, large cities have existed throughout much of recorded history. For example, more than a thousand years ago, Baghdad was home to more than one million people. About the same time in China, the city of Changan (today called Xi'an) is said to have had 800 000 inhabitants. And if the growth of large cities is nothing new, nor is the practice of urban agriculture.

Archaeologists around the world routinely uncover remains of ingenious large-scale earth and water works in and around the cities of ancient civilizations. There is evidence of agricultural production for a multiplicity of purposes: for food and fodder, building materials, fencing, and even medicinal plants. From the walled gardens of ancient Persia to outposts of the Roman empire in Algeria and Morocco, from Europe's mediaeval monastery towns to the city states of the Aztecs and the terraced farms of Machu Picchu high in the Peruvian Andes, UA thrived (Mougeot 1994). What is new is the scale. Today we have megacities: defined as cities with populations of at least 10 million. Just 30 years ago there were only five megacities. Three of these were in developing countries. The number of megacities is predicted to increase to 23 over the next decade. Nineteen of these cities will be in developing countries. But the megacities represent just the tip of the urban iceberg. Statisticians calculate that by 2015 there will be no fewer than 564 cities around the world with one million or more residents. Of these, 425 will be in developing countries.

One predictable outcome of this massive population shift is urban poverty. Many of the migrants reach the cities with no resources, bringing with them only what they can carry. Employment is generally hard to find, and most of the urban poor live in slums and squatter settlements, without adequate clean water, sanitation, or health care. The global level of urban poverty, currently estimated at 30%, is predicted to grow to 50% by 2020, with nearly all of this growth taking place in the world's less developed countries (UN-HABITAT 2004).

Then there is the question of food. For the urban poor, food has become what can only be termed a "basic luxury." Households from Calcutta to Kinshasa, from Lima to Lagos, spend as much as 80% of their income on food (PCC 1990). In many African cities, it is common for families to eat just one meal a day. Malnutrition and related health issues are commonplace. Little wonder, then, that increasing numbers of people look for ways to supplement the meager amounts of food that they can afford to buy.

Snails and silkworms

In very general terms, urban agriculture can be described as the growing, processing, and distribution of food and nonfood plant and tree crops and the raising of livestock, directly for the urban market, both within and on the fringe of an urban area. It does this through tapping on resources (unused or under-used space, organic waste), services (technical extension, financing, transportation), and products (agrochemicals, tools, vehicles) found in this urban area and, in turn, generates resources (green areas, microclimates, compost), services (catering, recreation, therapy), and products (flowers, poultry, dairy) largely for this urban area (UNDP 1996; Mougeot 2000). The very close connection in space that UA entertains with the ecology and economy of cities makes this very distinct from but complementary to rural agriculture. This description, however, fails to convey the extent of the practice, or the almost infinite variety and sheer ingenuity of techniques employed by urban farmers.

Urban agriculture is typically opportunistic. Its practitioners have evolved and adapted diverse knowledge and know-how to select and locate, farm, process, and market all manner of plants, trees, and livestock. What they have achieved in the very heart of major cities, and dare to pursue despite minimal support, and often in the face of official opposition, is a tribute to human ingenuity. One survey by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP 1996) identified over 40 farming systems, ranging from horticulture to aquaculture, kitchen gardens to market gardens, and including livestock as varied as cattle, chickens, snails, and silkworms!

Where does all this agriculture take place? Apart from farming in backyards, there is crop and animal production on rooftops, in window boxes, on roadsides, beside railroads, beneath high tension lines, within utility rights of way, in vacant lots of industrial estates, on steep slopes and banks of rivers, and on the grounds of schools, hospitals, prisons, and other institutions. There is aquaculture in tanks, ponds, and pens in rivers. Also, as cities expand, they frequently engulf nearby villages and, in these peri-urban areas, some of the residents continue to farm whatever land is left to them. Some city dwellers even maintain small plots of land on this urban fringe, shuttling out weekly or leaving some family members there to tend the crops during the growing season.

In short, urban agriculture is anywhere and everywhere that people can find even the smallest space to plant a few seeds.

A regular supply of homegrown food can make a considerable difference to the lives of the urban poor. It not only contributes to improved nutritional health but also may free up some of a family's cash income for nonfood expenses such as education.

Not all urban agriculture is carried on at the subsistence level as a temporary necessity by recent immigrants from rural areas. It also includes commercial operations producing food in green-houses and other spaces, but is more often small-scale and scattered around the city. The produce is usually processed and marketed by the producers and their families.

Women's roles

It is unrealistic to expect cities can ever become self-sufficient in food. Most cereal crops can be grown efficiently only in the rural areas. But there is no question that urban agriculture already makes a significant contribution to food security in many major cities. The UNDP estimates perhaps as many as 800 million urban farmers produce about 15% of the world's food. That goes a long way toward reducing the food insecurity of vulnerable groups of people.

Women and children are always among the most vulnerable, so it comes as no surprise that it is often women who predominate in urban food production. Urban agriculture, as a means of improving food security — and earning extra income — is particularly attractive to women as it allows them to work close to their homes and to provide extra food to improve the nutritional status of their children. Any surplus may be sold, and the income used to improve living conditions or even to invest in more profitable small enterprises, processing and marketing city-grown products.

However, women often face difficulties accessing land, water, labour, capital, technologies, and other services. In most countries, they likely have received less education than men and, in some countries, they are prevented by laws, customs, and attitudes from owning assets or even from making decisions about how any assets are to be used. A woman is also expected to maintain the home, prepare food, and care for the children, the sick, and the elderly. All of which too often limits their ability to contribute more to urban food production (Hovorka 1999).

Despite these restrictions, women do find ways to succeed in the business of urban agriculture, sometimes even dominating the trade of produce that is grown by urban farmers. Women will buy directly from producers and either resell in smaller quantities or process the produce and sell prepared foods. The most successful women act as "bankers" for the agricultural producers, providing cash advances to farmers to ensure continuing supplies.

Easing ecological problems

As urban areas grow in population, they expand outward, often overwhelming the natural environment, destroying ecosystems, and drawing resources from well beyond their defined limits. Cities' dependence on massive and relentless imports of food, energy, and other resources from distant areas, and often on exports of their wastes to those areas, can also be destructive. The city's ecological footprint has long been a problem in the cities of the North (Rees 1997). Now, the rapid and usually unplanned growth of many cities in developing countries, coupled with rising consumption levels, is also putting a strain on the natural resource base of the South.

Urban agriculture alone will not solve the ecological problems of growing cities, but it does help to protect the environment in a variety of ways. For example, in many cities urban farmers make productive use of many organic waste products, turning them into soil-enhancing mulch. Wastewater can be used to irrigate crops. By cultivating every available piece of open space — even rooftops — urban farmers contribute to the greening of the city, helping to reduce pollution and improve air quality. Even the fact that less food has to be trucked in to the city contributes to sustainability and has a positive environmental impact. Urban agriculture helps to reduce a city's ecological footprint even as the city continues to grow (Nelson 1996).

Coupled with an improved environment is an overall improvement in the health of the urban population. A more livable city is a healthier city. For the urban poor in particular, the availability of fresh vegetables and other foods coupled with increased opportunities for income means improved overall health, and perhaps the opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty.

An uncertain existence

Sadly, the sound of a rooster crowing at dawn is not music to all ears. In many developing country cities urban agriculture is not just frowned upon, it is illegal. Because it is spontaneous and uncontrolled, many city planners and municipal governments view UA as an unsightly problem. This attitude is often a hangover from the colonial era when Europeans attempted to reproduce an urban environment more suited to northern climates — complete with European-style rules and regulations that remain on the books today.

One result of this situation is that urban farmers in many cities are constantly harassed by officials and the police. Agricultural activity in urban areas almost always contravenes some zoning regulation or by-law. Parks were never intended as grazing grounds for livestock, and the owners of vacant land are rarely pleased to see it sprouting corn and beans. So action is demanded, and sometimes taken, although the degree to which the rules are enforced may depend to some extent on the current need for food.

Nevertheless, periodic harassment adds to what for many is already an uncertain existence and dissuades many food producers from investing extra time or resources in their operations. This is particularly true for the poorest urban farmers, especially women, who are liable at any time to be forced out of business by wealthier or more powerful groups, or by land speculators. The poor have little recourse in such situations, since their operations were probably illegal in the first place.

There are other issues around urban agriculture that are potentially much more serious. There are health risks as well as health benefits. Risks can arise from the over-use of pesticides by inexperienced or illiterate workers. Women and children working the farm plots are often at greatest risk of pesticide poisoning. There is also the risk of human exposure to contaminants and pathogens as a result of farming operations in the city. Keeping livestock in the city raises the possibility of zoonotic diseases — diseases that can be transmitted from animals and birds to humans (such as avian flu). In the densely populated urban environment, such diseases could spread rapidly and be extremely difficult to control.

There are health risks too for urban farmers who grow crops on contaminated lands, as well as for those who consume the produce from those lands. Typically it is the poor, the recent arrivals in the city, who must make use of such undesirable locations. Similarly, where water is scarce, as it often is, the urban farmer may irrigate crops with untreated wastewater. Again the health risks are high: according to the World Health Organization (WHO) dirty water is by far the largest environmental killer around the world. Once again, women and children, who do much of the fieldwork, are at greatest risk.

Increasing recognition

Urban agriculture is here to stay. In fact, as we have seen, it never really went away. Today some enlightened city administrations are embracing the concept rather than attempting to stifle it. Cooperation and control rather than opposition and restriction can maximize the benefits of UA while minimizing the problems. This can clearly be seen in and around some Asian cities, where UA has had a long tradition. Far from banning the practice, policymakers and planners have encouraged food production as a critical urban function. Many Chinese urban municipalities are intentionally oversized to allow room for a city "foodshed."

In Africa and Latin America too, there is increasing recognition of the value of urban agriculture, and many cities are attempting to find positive ways to tackle the issues. Regardless, city governments are faced with two certainties. First, people will still keep moving to the cities, and many of them will find ways to grow at least a little food. Second, if city governments adopt policies that encourage UA, the number of urban farmers will likely increase substantially. Clearly, UA must be viewed not as a problem but as one tool contributing to sustainable urban development, and conventional strategies for urban food security need to be reassessed in view of its potential role.

Urban agriculture is increasingly on the international agenda, recognized as a key part of a comprehensive solution to the problems of the runaway growth of cities in developing countries. International donor agencies are now more willing to fund research to better understand the phenomenon and find ways to make UA more effective, safer, and more responsive to the needs of the urban population. But it has been noted that even where the political environment is open to UA, frequently the policy structure is not. Thus there is a pressing need to develop methodology for relating research and policy to fully exploit the comparative advantages of both rural and urban areas.

Cities Feeding People

Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has been a pioneer in promoting the importance of urban agriculture. In 1983, IDRC became the first major international agency to undertake formal research in the field when it funded a study of six urban centres at the Mazingira Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. In the decade that followed, IDRC expanded its interest in the emerging field, and that interest became a commitment to research and development in urban food systems and related issues. The program was called Cities Feeding People (CFP). Over the last decade, CFP has supported many research projects in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, some of them jointly funded with other international donors. The next part of this book examines the rationale and summarizes the evolution of IDRC's approach to urban agriculture research over the past two decades.

Document(s) 4 of 11