Mitigating The Urbanization Of Poverty Urban Farming & Public Food Procurement For Healthy Cities
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Transcript of Mitigating The Urbanization Of Poverty Urban Farming & Public Food Procurement For Healthy Cities
Urban Farming and Public Procurement for Healthy Cities
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 illustrated
Number of poor (millions) Percent of DW’s population below each poverty line
Urban 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