What is periurban farming?

Answer 1

"Urban" agriculture, as used here, refers to small areas (e.g. vacant plots, gardens, verges, balconies, containers) within the city for growing crops and raising small livestock or milk cows for own-consumption or sale in neighborhood markets. "Peri-urban" agriculture, as used here, refers to farm units close to town which operate intensive semi- or fully commercial farms to grow vegetables and other horticulture, raise chickens and other livestock, and produce milk and eggs.

Urban and peri-urban agriculture occurs within and surrounding the boundaries of cities throughout the world and includes products from crop and livestock agriculture, fisheries and forestry in the urban and peri-urban area. It also includes non-wood forest products, as well as ecological services provided by agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Often multiple farming and gardening systems exist in and near a single city.

The territory included within official city boundaries varies enormously across countries and can be more or less built-up; likewise the "peri-urban" area around cities ranges from densely to sparsely populated. The distinction between "urban" and "peri-urban" depends on the density, types, and patterns of land uses, which determine the constraints and opportunities for agriculture.

"Urban and peri-urban forestry" have critical environmental functions, besides some food and non-food production functions. The multiple benefits of urban and peri-urban forestry cannot be fully elaborated here but are mentioned briefly for the sake of comprehensiveness. A fully articulated strategy on the integration of urban and peri-urban agricultural production and urban and peri-urban forestry could be developed in conjunction with COFO.

What these diverse activities have in common - and in some cases what sets them apart from rural agriculture - is proximity to large settlements of people, thereby creating

opportunities as well as risks. The opportunities include:

· less need for packaging, storage and transportation of food;

· potential agricultural jobs and incomes;

· non-market access to food for poor consumers;

· availability of fresh, perishable food;

· proximity to services, including waste treatment facilities;

· waste recycling and re-use possibilities.

The risks include:

· Environmental and health risks from inappropriate agricultural and aqua cultural practices;

· increased competition for land, water, energy, and labour;

· reduced environmental capacity for pollution absorption.

The contribution of urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry to the well-being of urban citizens is dependent upon the advantage taken of the opportunities listed above, and an awareness of how the risks can be monitored and controlled. It is essential to define the cases where UA or UPA has a clear comparative advantage over rural agriculture. The scale of production, the product or service provided, and the alternatives available are factors in determining the relative advantage. Broadly stated, a comparative advantage exists when either supply conditions or demand conditions allow UA or UPA to better serve the urban market by supplying something otherwise unavailable or by producing at a lower cost, including environmental cost. In places where rural infrastructure is poor, or where farm to market systems are inadequate, both UA and UPA fill critical gaps. However, UPA should not be developed in competition with rural agriculture, but should concentrate on activities in which it has a comparative advantage, such as production of fresh, perishable foods. Decentralized rural production zones are also essential to feeding cities.

ISSUES IN URBAN AND PERI-URBAN AGRICULTURE

(i) Safe and Nutritionally Adequate Food for Consumers

When carried out properly under safe conditions, UPA can contribute to food security in three ways.

Firstly, the quantity of food available is increased through both UA and UPA. Poor urban dwellers often lack the purchasing capacity to acquire adequate amounts of food. Urban agriculture appears to reduce food insecurity by providing direct access to home-produced food to households and to the informal market. Much UA is for own consumption with occasional surpluses sold into the local market. Even for people who have little or no land part-time farming of vegetables can provide food and income. Simple, popular hydroponics or substrate culture in beds can produce high value and nutritious vegetables on surfaces as small as one meter.

Urban agriculture also appears to enhance food security during times of crisis and severe scarcity. Whether caused by national crises (civil war, widespread drought, currency devaluations, inability to import, etc.) or household crises (illness, health, sudden unemployment, etc.), UA plays an important role in providing emergency supplies of food.

Secondly, UPA enhances the freshness of perishable foods reaching urban consumers, increasing overall variety and the nutritional value of food available. While not universal, case studies have shown differences in nutrition, especially among children, when poor urban families farm. An important reason appears to be that food produced by consumers or in close proximity to them is often fresher than food that travels long distance to markets.

Thirdly, UPA offers opportunities for productive employment in a sector with low barriers to entry. UPA is estimated to involve 800 million urban residents worldwide in income-earning and/or food-producing activity. Based on a combination of national census data, household surveys, and individual research projects in specific cities, it is estimated that one-quarter to two-thirds of urban and peri-urban households are involved in agriculture. Urban agriculture is often carried out on a part-time basis by women, who can combine food production activity with child care and other household responsibilities. Case study data indicate that both food availability and incomes in poor farming households are significantly higher compared to households of non-farmers. Interestingly, the urban gardeners are not typically the poorest residents but rather those families that have lived long enough in the city to secure land and water, and become familiar with the market channels for selling surpluses.

(ii) Agricultural Efficiency of Producers

There are mixed implications from urban and peri-urban agriculture on the efficiency of agricultural and forestry production, but for different reasons. Cost savings can be achieved because of proximity to consumers of less need for an extensive and expensive infrastructure for transportation and preservation of perishable products. Moreover, quality increases because of greater responsiveness to consumer preferences as well as availability of products that cannot be obtained from rural producers, such as wood energy.

But in spite of such potential efficiencies, there is a strong perception of the unsuitability of agriculture in the urban and peri-urban areas. Concerns arise over competition for resources (land, water, labour, and energy) and incompatible uses (smells, noises, pollution). Though many of the same concerns can and do arise in rural agricultural production, two important differences make the concerns more acute in the urban environment: proximity to greater numbers of people and already-high stresses on the natural resource base. Without appropriate management and monitoring of resources, negative environmental and health effects of UPA can be imposed on society.

Horticulture, mainly vegetable production, has expanded in and around cities in many developing countries as an informal activity practiced by poor and landless city dwellers. The broad diversity of horticultural crop species allows year-round production, employment and income. Growers have realized that intensive horticulture can be practiced on small plots, making efficient use of limited water and land resources. Horticultural species, as opposed to other food crops, have a considerable yield potential and can provide up to 50 kg of fresh produce per m² per year depending upon the technology applied. In addition, due to their short cycle they provide a quick response to emergency needs for food (several species can be harvested 60 to 90 days after planting.) Leafy vegetables provide a quick return to meet a family's daily cash requirements for purchasing food. Leafy vegetables are particularly perishable and post-harvest losses can be reduced significantly when production is located close to consumers.

Urban producers also achieve real efficiencies by making productive use of under-utilized resources, such as vacant land, treated wastewater and recycled waste, and unemployed labour. Productivity can be as much as 15 times the output per acre of rural agriculture; however, yields often suffer from inferior or insufficient inputs, use of poorly adapted varieties, poor water management, and lack of farming knowledge.

Urban farming links farm cultivation with small-scale enterprises, such as street food stands, fresh milk outlets, and maize roasters. Some urban and peri-urban farmers are moving towards intensive production of high value-added produce, rather than basic food stuffs; such activities can become major sources of income for more sophisticated members of the population who have investment capacity.

The level of post-harvest processing in urban and peri-urban agriculture depends on the product. For peri-urban horticulture it is generally minimal and the product is delivered straightaway to the consumer on a week to week basis. One reason for the growth of peri-urban horticultural production is less need for storage, refrigeration, and transportation infrastructure, compared to food coming from rural areas. There is extensive processing for peri-urban livestock and its products.

Urban farmers engaged in production for themselves and their neighbours often use low-input processing and storage techniques. Estimates of the households engaged in urban farming which also preserve and store some of their production range up to 90 percent. However, for market - including street food - sales, there are limits to the quantities that can be produced and delivered without infrastructure for transportation, distribution, and marketing. Some micro-credit support for storage and refrigeration could greatly change the income potential of urban farmers, and improve the safety of food sold by street vendors who rely heavily on urban and peri-urban food production. Horticulture comprises mainly vegetables, but includes fruit, ornamentals, mushrooms, and roots and tubers.

References:

UNDP: United Nations Development Programme; IDRC: International Development Research Centre;

GTZ: German Agency for Technical Cooperation; NRI: Natural Resources International,

UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; UNICEF: United Nations Children's Fund ; UNWHO: United Nations World Health Organization; UNCHS: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements: Habitat)