Metropolitan Agriculture

Metropolitan Agriculture Wuhan and Addis Ababa, two developing metropoles C.J.M. van der Lans1, H. Hengsdijk2, A. Elings1, J.W. van der Schans3, A.J.A. Aarnink4 and M. Yao5 1 Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture 2 Plant Research International 3 LEI 4 Wageningen UR Livestock Research 5 Wageningen UR Office in China Report GTB-1072 © 2011 Wageningen, Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture (Wageningen UR Glastuinbouw) Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture Adress : Violierenweg 1, 2665 MV Bleiswijk : Postbus 20, 2665 ZG Bleiswijk Tel. : 0317 - 48 56 06 Fax : 010 - 522 51 93 E-mail : [email protected] Internet : www.glastuinbouw.wur.nl Inhoudsopgave 1 Management summary 5 2 Metropolitan agriculture 9 2.1 Need of knowledge 9 2.2 Project goals 10 2.3 Project team 10 3 Approach 11 3.1 Metropolitan agriculture – an integrative view 11 3.2 Case study China 13 3.3 Case study Africa 14 4 Focus on China: the metropolitan region of Wuhan 15 4.1 An introduction to metropolis Wuhan 15 4.2 Land use 18 4.3 Agricultural production types and production 19 4.3.1 Agricultural production types 19 4.3.2 Production 21 4.4 Supply chains 21 4.4.1 Supply of inputs 21 4.4.2 Marketing of output 21 4.5 Environment 21 4.6 Government 25 4.7 Social context 27 4.7.1 Employment data 27 4.7.2 Issues regarding agricultural employment, social care and future developments 28 4.7.3 Consumption 29 4.8 Two scenarios for Wuhan 29 4.8.1 Land Use Patterns and Theories to Explain these Patterns 29 4.8.2 Agriculture development in China 31 4.8.3 Competing paradigms in metropolitan food provision 34 4.8.4 Conclusions and recommendations 36 5 Focus on Africa: the metropolitan region of Addis Abada 39 5.1 An introduction to metropolis Addis Ababa 39 5.2 Land use 41 5.2.1 Land cover change in metropolitan Addis Ababa 42 5.3 Agricultural production types and production 43 5.3.1 Horticultural production 43 5.3.2 Dairy production 45 5.4 Supply chains 47 5.5 Environment 48 5.5.1 Horticultural production 48 5.5.2 Dairy production 49 5.6 Government 49 3 6 Comparison and recommendations 53 6.1 Comparison of both metropolitan regions 53 6.2 Recommendations 58 6.2.1 China 58 6.2.2 Addis Ababa 59 6.3 Points of attention for future activities 60 7 Literature 61 III-A. Lessons learned by Wageningen UR Alterra in Agropark activities 75 III-B. Lessons learned by Transforum 77 III-C. Lessons learned by LEI 79 4 1 Management summary Background Increasing urbanization intensifies the competition for space and resources between food production at agricultural land, and the demands of a large city, such as space for housing, recreation, energy, food and other resources. This competition can be transformed to collaboration: build upon the potentials of the food producers and the citizens. This is called metropolitan agriculture, ‘innovative agricultural activities that take place in a metropolitan environment, meeting consumer demands, making use of urban (and rural) landscape’. Metropolitan populations are rapidly growing in Asia, as well as in Africa and South America, having a considerable impact on regional development and even the macro economic development of entire continents. Against this background the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Quality (now Ministry of Economics, Innovation and Agriculture) identified at the onset of the project knowledge needs for Africa and China. These resulted in the following project goals: China: Describe for a specific metropolitan region (the chosen metropolis is Wuhan) the role of agriculture, nature and landscape as park element between the increasing cities in an urban agglomeration and the possibility to use the open space in a metropolitan region for food production for the urban population. Africa: Map the effects of urbanization and (the abandonment of) the remaining rural area for the urban population for a specific metropolitan region (still to select, but probably Addis Ababa) regarding the food security. Deliver policy recommendations towards development cooperation. Two metropoles compared The Wuhan region in China has a longer history of metropolitan development than the Addis Abeba region in Ethiopia, and is further developed than Addis Abeba. In the project for both metropoles was looked at the following metropolitan agriculture aspects: Land use. The Wuhan metropole is further industrialized than the Addis Abeba metropole, and has developed a clearer ring structure. The Wuhan metropole expanded rapidly during the 1990’s, and has become one of the industrial centres of Hubei. The inner ring of Wuhan is used for commercial and residential activities, the middle ring is used for secondary and tertiary activities, and in the outer ring farmland can be found. The Addis Ababa metropole has increased at the expense of agricultural land and forest areas. In both metropoles, the area of agricultural land remained stable; in Addis Ababa because the loss of agricultural land to urbanisation was compensated by converting forest to agricultural land. Agricultural production types and production. Both metropoles are industrializing their agriculture. In Wuhan, the traditional farming system of home garden production is changing towards industrial agriculture, and regional specialization. The integrated crop-livestock production system dominates, and contributes most to food supply, especially in areas around the cities. There are no large greenhouse complexes. For the Addis Ababa metropole, horticulture and dairy are prioritized to serve the rapidly urbanizing and wealth accumulating city. The flower export industry is strongly developing. Most vegetables are produced for the domestic market, only a limited amount is exported. The dairy system increases in intensity and specialization as the distance to the city reduces. Supply chain. The Wuhan metropole could not be adequately analysed, due to shortage of information. The Addis Ababa metropole is predominantly supplied by private traders. Milk is supplied through formal dairy processes industry, individual suppliers, and the informal market. Environment. The environment plays an important role in the development of both metropoles. The Wuhan metropole suffers from river flooding, environmental pollution, excess use of pesticides and phosphate overload from the livestock industry. This has received governmental attention in the Wuhan Urban Agriculture Development Plan (2006 -2020), through forestation activities, and the stimulation of sustainable energy use. The Addis Ababa metropole and the agricultural production systems also suffer from high usage of fertilizers, pesticides and water. There is lack of waste management systems, leading to for example human health concerns. Dairy production leads to pollution by manure (although is until now considered valuable as energy source), methane (a greenhouse gas), and overgrazing. Urban livestock within the city boundaries leads to human health problems, traffic accidents and animal waste. Government. Metropolitan development is high on the agenda of the governments of both metropoles. It appears that the Wuhan metropole is focusing more on developments that have already gone a certain way, whereas in Addis Ababa, 5 the government is planning its metropolis to serve more basic needs. The Wuhan metropole has developed plans to better coordinate urban and rural development. The government is involved in infrastructural development, environmental safety, sustainable energy, production increase, mechanization, and multiple land use to integrate rural and urban dimensions (recreation, production, science and technology, culture). Fragmented land ownership may be a hampering factor in the modernization process. The Addis Ababa metropole plans economic growth with emphasis on commercialization of agriculture, private sector development, industry, urban development and the scaling up of efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. There is focus on the urban sector, but also on infrastructure and the acquisition of investments. Rural-urban linkages will be addressed, with emphasis on good urban governance to develop a modern urban land management system to facilitate investments in an economical manner, and to improve the rural-urban linkages. Social context. It was difficult to fully analyse the social context. Most prominent issues were the position of the migrant worker in the Wuhan metropolis, and the issue of settlement in the region of origin, whereas in the Addis Ababa metropolis, the issue of low consumption of milk and horticultural products is an important issue. Perspectives Three different perspectives on agricultural land use patterns in relation to urban development have been described: the Von Thunen model, the Sinclair model and Modern metropolitan agriculture model. These perspectives are described with examples in Western Europe. China has a long history of relatively intensive agriculture, close to and inside its cities, as a means of supporting urban self-sufficiency in food. In response to food shortages in the 1960-ies, China reorganised its spatial arrangement by enlarging the administrative boundaries of most of its cities, which from then on also included large areas of agricultural land. This expansion of city limits sparked the development of peri-urban (suburban) agriculture in China: the production of vegetables, fruit, milk, fish, livestock and poultry, as well as some high value-added grain products such as various beans. Suburban agriculture is labour-, and relatively capital-intensive with

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