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Urbanization
and poverty growth
By 2020 the developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America will be home to some 75%
of all urban dwellers, and to eight of the anticipated nine mega-cities with
populations in excess of 20 million. It is expected that by 2020, 85% of the poor in Latin America, and
about 40-45% of the poor in Africa and Asia will be concentrated in towns and
cities.
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Urban
slums are a consequence of migration and rapid urbanization
where people need to find adequate ways to secure food and
income. |
The
resulting strain on urban resources and health
Water,
sanitation and other local services, including the collection and removal
of garbage, pose major challenges. There is a close correspondence between
the urban poor and those vulnerable to environmental problems such as lack
of water, unsanitary conditions, lack of waste collection and exposure to
contaminants. Each of these problems is frequently associated with
informal settlements on the perimeter of cities as well.
Furthermore,
there is evidence that the urban poor and those living around cities are
also exposed to a “double health burden”, being subject both to the
communicable diseases typical of rural areas and the non-communicable
“lifestyle” diseases typical of the urban health transition. Of
particular concern are the fifteen out of nineteen mega-cities in the
South with populations exceeding 10 million. Congestion and overcrowding
in these cities also contribute to problems associated with access to
food, to poorer air quality and to worsening psycho-social health.
Problems affecting many urban and peri-urban areas are thus not just about
human health problems, but about the interconnections between individual
human health, community health and the health and sustainability of the
environment.
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The
health of our environment is important. |
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What
is
Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA)?
Urban
agriculture is a broad term to describe agricultural
activities and livelihoods in an
urban setting. It means more than maintaining farms or
gardens in a urban environment. Urban agriculture also includes livestock raising, water management
and organic waste management. Many are of the
opinion that urban agriculture is a hindrance to
urbanization. However, agriculture in cities exists in
many developed and developing countries and has done so for long periods of time. Ancient civilizations
and cultures often incorporated urban agriculture into their social and political centers as a way of
life.
Agriculture
practiced in urban areas distinguishes itself from rural agricultural
activities in several ways. (To
view a table summarizing these differences, click
here )
agricultural
production, processing, and distribution activities within and around
cities and towns, whose main motivation is personal consumption and/or
income generation, and which compete for scarce urban resources of land,
water, energy, and labor that are in demand for other urban activities.
UPA includes small- and large-scale activities in horticulture,
livestock, fodder and milk production, aquaculture, and forestry - where
several activities may be carried out within one enterprise.
Why
develop Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA)?
The absolute and
relative growth in urban poverty and malnutrition raises two important
issues. First, there is a clear link with food insecurity among urban
populations. Studies have shown a link between the growth in underweight
children in urban families and the inability of their families to
purchase food. Second, there is evidence that instability in the urban
labor market and its vulnerability to economic shocks directly impact on poverty. Urban
agriculture has the potential to make an important positive contribution
to both urban food security as well as urban employment.
Since
ancient times urban agriculture has made important contributions to feeding city
dwellers. Recently
collected qualitative and quantitative data shows that
increasing numbers of the urban poor are engaged in urban and peri-urban
agriculture (UPA) as a poverty alleviation strategy. Already as many as 800 million people are
employed in urban and peri-urban farming and related enterprises, and
this number is likely to expand in the future.
There
is evidence that households engaging in urban agriculture have better
nutritional levels, especially those households where women are conducting
this activity. At the same time, however, the use of urban wastewater for irrigated
farming presents health risks.
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Over
population puts strains on food security for urban dwellers, while
migration and rapid urbanization contributes to the creation of
slums. |
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Gaps
in knowledge on UPA
Urban
agriculture has been overlooked, underestimated, and under-reported. In
order to enhance the positive impacts UPA can make to urban livelihoods,
resource utilization, and the environment, there is a need to address
important research needs as well as bridge the gap between UPA research
and practice with urban
planning
and policy issues.
As
far as research needs are concerned, the growing
importance of intensive self-provisioning by poor urban families who lack
access to adequate nutrition needs more study. The increasing
opportunity for small-scale commercial urban agriculture also needs more
research as the demand for perishable high-value agricultural products such
as dairy, meat and leafy vegetables rises with growing numbers of city
consumers. Additionally, the potential contribution that urban agriculture
(for example, by nutrient recycling of
organic wastes) can make to improving the urban environment
needs to be explored in more detail.
In urban policy
and planning issues the importance of the interests and policies of a
diverse range of stakeholders influencing both urban livelihoods and the
ecosystem (local municipal authorities, planning committees, squatter
settlements, civic organizations etc.) must be given more attention and
there is a need for a stakeholder and policy dialogue
To
sum up,
the potentials that UPA offers in contributing to
increasing food security, alleviating urban poverty, generating
employment, and creating more livable spaces for city dwellers need to be
explored in more detail. All of this argues for a concerted
initiative at the international level to directly address UPA issues
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