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THE ISSUE

Over the next 25 years, nearly all of the world’s population growth will take place in the cities of the developing world. By 2030, 60% of the world’s total population will live in cities. As the cities grow, so does the number of urban poor. In the big city, most of any cash income the poor might bring home goes to feeding themselves and staying alive; any food that does not have to be bought is a bonus. As a result, more and more people are attempting to grow at least some of their own food to supplement poor diets and meager incomes. But farming in the city — urban agriculture (UA) — is too often seen by municipalities as a problem to be eradicated rather than as a part of the solution to making the city and its environment more sustainable.

In fact, UA has a long history and, throughout the developing world, municipal policymakers are waking to the fact that, properly managed, UA can make a major contribution to a city’s food security. It also has potential to provide employment, improve the environment, and make productive use of vacant spaces within the city. In the past two decades, some enlightened municipalities have begun to work with "urban farmers" rather than against them. Today, UA is increasingly on the international agenda, recognized as part of a comprehensive solution to the problems of runaway growth of cities in developing countries.

THE RESEARCH

In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, urban farmers and their supporters have fought an uphill battle with governments at all levels. At various times, authorities have banned, ignored, tolerated, and even promoted urban farming, if only temporarily. Now, thanks in large part to compelling research data, they are beginning to recognize the critical role UA plays in supplying food, creating employment, and generating income for local people.

In Governador Valadares, Brazil, a municipal program for UA has helped to put food on the table in low-income neighbourhoods. Though key proponents may change, the gardening endures, thanks to well-coordinated support from a variety of local actors.

Water is a precious commodity in much of the Middle East and North Africa, too valuable to pour down the drain. So researchers in Jordan found a way to reuse household wastewater for use in urban gardens. Saving water and increasing the food output from home gardens has proved to be a winning combination that is fast being adopted throughout the region.

For more case studies, visit the Web site: www.idrc.ca/in_focus_cities.

THE LESSONS

Urban agriculture is here to stay. Accepting that, the question then becomes how to manage it. There is ample evidence that attempting to suppress "unauthorized" agricultural activity in cities has little effect other than to make the lives of the urban poor even more precarious. There is also evidence that UA has the potential to make many positive contributions to the life of the city — from alleviating hunger and improving child nutrition, to providing employment and income, and even to helping clean up the urban environment. Little wonder then that many governments, at all levels, have opted to develop policies that integrate UA into the urban framework.

Based on accumulated research experience, this book presents a set of simple recommendations for governments that have made the decision to work with UA rather than against it. These recommendations may also prove useful to researchers, NGOs, community activists, and others involved in the study or practice of UA.

• Municipal governments should start with the right question: What can UA do for my city (not what can my city do for it)? From composting, to environmental risk management, to community gardens, local governments often support or manage far more UA activities than they realize. There is real potential in making better connections between these activities.
• Use UA to make suitable vacant space productive for all. Municipal governments that have mapped their city's open spaces are amazed by how much space sits idle at any given time. Unused urban space is a wasted opportunity — an asset denied to a community's well-being and a brake on the city's development.
• Include UA as an urban land-use category and as an economic function in your planning system. UA is a dynamic land use that adjusts quickly to a city's growth and development. But it suffers from an image problem and is seldom recognized as a valid land-use category. To gain the full benefit from UA activities, this must change.
• Use a participatory policy-making approach. By involving a broad base of stakeholders, municipal authorities are more likely to develop policies that will meet the needs of both the municipality and its constituents, especially the disadvantaged poor.
• Experiment with temporary occupancy permits (TOPs) for urban producers using private and public open spaces. The use of TOPs overcomes a key problem: access to land for the urban poor. TOPs can be granted to groups or individuals, with land lent directly to producers by the landowner or indirectly through the municipal government or an accredited agency.
• Support the organization of poor urban producers to manage UA in more and better ways. UA workers and poor producers, in particular, cannot work as effectively as they could if they are not organized and recognized as legitimate. Municipalities have a clear stake in seeing that urban producers are better organized and better represented in local policy processes.
• Bring the needed research in tune with your policy exercise at the earliest opportunity. Research and policy steps should alternate one with another: one policy step guiding the next research step, which in turn will inform a new policy step, and so on.

Document(s) 5 of 6