Growing Greener Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean
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An FAO report on urban and peri-urban agriculture in the region GROWING GREENER CITIES IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Foreword iii Overview 1 Ten city profiles Havana 10 Mexico City 20 Antigua and Barbuda 30 Tegucigalpa 36 Managua 44 Quito 50 Lima 58 El Alto 66 Belo Horizonte 72 Rosario 80 Sources 90 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2014 ON A VISIT TO TEGUCIGALPA, I went to one of the city’s poorest informal settlements to see an Fao project that was training women to grow food crops in their backyards. As we climbed slopes lush with cassava, maize and cabbages, they told FAO’s Director-General visits a family garden in Tegucigalpa in July 2012 me how the gardens had changed their lives – by providing their families with fresh, nutritious food and helping them to earn extra income selling surpluses. I met urban farmers like them on the outskirts of San Salvador, where Fao has helped the Government set up a centre to teach women ecological farming techniques adapted to small spaces. In Managua, I saw prolific gardens of tomatoes, sweet peppers and spinach irrigated by an ingenious system of recycled plastic bottles. In Havana, I visited a farm just outside the city that produces 300 tonnes of vegetables a year, with no chemical inputs. In all of those cities, common people are leading a quiet revolution known as “urban and peri-urban agriculture”, or Upa. In recent years, Fao has strongly supported the development of Upa in Latin America and the Caribbean, in cities from Port-au-Prince to El Alto on the Bolivian altiplano, through initiatives that involved national governments, city administrations, civil society and non-governmental organizations. That groundwork has been rewarded with widespread recognition – highlighted in this report – of the important role of urban and peri- urban agriculture in sustainable urban development. The report presents urban and peri-urban agriculture in 23 countries and 10 cities. It shows that Upa is crucial to the food and nutrition security of poor households in many cities of the region, supplies urban dwellers with fresh, high-value “local food”, generates employment, The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the creates greenbelts that improve the quality of urban life, and stimulates local economic United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area development. or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that What’s more, when facilitated by government, integrated into city and regional planning, these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are and supported by action to promote sustainable production, improve food delivery, and ensure not mentioned. food quality and safety, Upa is a key component of robust and resilient urban food systems. For The designations employed and the presentation of material in the map(s) do not imply the expression of example, a growing number of cities in the region are linking family farmers in peri-urban and any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers. adjoining rural areas to their food banks, school meals and other food and nutrition security The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect programmes, contributing to the livelihoods and well-being of both the rural and urban poor. the views or policies of FAO. The food producers of Tegucigalpa, San Salvador, Managua and Havana, and other common ISBN 978-92-5-108250-8 (print) citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean, are helping to build the greener, more resilient E-ISBN 978-92-5-108251-5 (PDF) and sustainable cities of the future. © FAO, 2014 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that José Graziano da Silva appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. Director-General Food and Agriculture Organization All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. of the United Nations FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Growing Greener Cities El Salvador Case studies in Latin America Juan Martin Mejía Iglesias, Chief, Ermin and the Caribbean Alexander Morataya, Extensionist, José Antigua and Barbuda Ricardo Aparicio, Technical supervisor, Owolabi Elabanjo, Extension Officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing Editor Graeme Thomas Romeo Alfonso Orellana, Extensionist, National Centre for Agricultural and and the Environment; Julius Ross, Technical Consultant, Government of Overview Technical coordinator Makiko Taguchi Forestry Technology Antigua and Barbuda Layout/maps Giulio Sansonetti Guatemala Edgar Arnoldo Medrano, Mayor, Belo Horizonte (Brazil) Peer review FAO: Vyjayanthi Lopez, Chinautla Municipality; Edgar Arnoldo Zoraya B. Souza, Economist, and Caio Alberto Pantoja, Makiko Taguchi; Medrano Menéndez, President, V. Vasconcelos, Agronomist Engineer, RUAF: Marielle Dubbeling In October 2009, representatives of food producers. Savings made on food purchases, Mancomunidad Metropolitan Board of Secretariat for Nutrition and Food GO Editorial team Diana Gutiérrez, Paula Directors; Ramiro Perez, Mayor, Palencia Security, Belo Horizonte; Lorena Fischer, governments, research institutes, N s and along with sales of produce, accounted for more Fernández-Wulff, Zoraida de Torres Municipality Policy Officer, World Future Council international organizations from 12 countries than one-fifth of their household income. Burgos, Rosamaría Nuñez, Fynvola Le Bogotá Guyana in Latin America and the Caribbean met in Five years later, this report looks at progress Hunte Ward, Katja Majcen Oudho Homenauth, Chief Executive César H. Marulanda Tabares, Data analysis Yota Nicolarea, George Officer, National Agricultural Research Agronomist, Universidad del Tolima, Medellín, Colombia, to develop strategies toward realizing Medellín’s vision of “greener Rapsomanikis, Federica Alfani, and Extension Institute; George Jervis, Bogotá to end high rates of urban poverty and food cities” in Latin America and the Caribbean – Giulia Ponzini Permanent Secretary, Ministry of El Alto (Bolivia) insecurity across the region. ones in which Upa is recognized by public policy, Agriculture Juan José Estrada Paredes, Specialist Maps data © OpenStreetMap Haiti Consultant, FAO Office in Bolivia included in urban development strategies and This report is based on the results of an Ricardo St. Aime, National consultant, Havana THEY MET AS MANY COUNTRIES were emerging land-use planning, supported by agricultural FAO survey of urban and peri-urban FAO Office in Haiti; Joseph Fresnel Mario González Novo, Secretary of slowly from the effects of global fuel and food research and extension, and linked to sources of agriculture in Latin America and Sterlin, Local Agricultural Office Director, International Relations, Cuban Association the Caribbean, conducted in 2013, on Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources of Agricultural and Forestry Technicians; price inflation, which had pushed the cost of technological innovation, investment and credit, city case studies prepared by national and Rural Development Aurelia Castellanos Quintero, President, experts in 13 countries of the region, living beyond the resources of many of the and to urban markets and consumers. Honduras Cuban Animal Production Association and on a review of recent literature. Karla Andino López, Consultant, School region’s 160 million urban poor. The hardest hit The contributions of the following are Jamaica GROWING Feeding and Urban Agriculture, FAO were urban families in Caribbean countries with Since 2009, the urban population of Latin GREENER gratefully acknowledged. Roslyn Jackson, Technical Services Office in Honduras Coordinator, Rural Agricultural a high dependency on food imports, and those America and the Caribbean has increased by CITIES IN LATIN National surveys Development Authority AMERICA Jamaica in countries with high levels of extreme urban some 50 million, to almost half a billion. The AND THE Roslyn Jackson, Technical Services Lima CARIBBEAN Antigua and Barbuda Coordinator, Rural Agricultural Dennis Escudero, Project Coordinator, poverty, where food purchases account for most of region is now the most urbanized in the world, Owolabi Elabanjo, Extension Officer, Development Authority with Jennifer Zarzar, Alberto Garcia, Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing low-income households’ spending. with 80 percent of its people living in towns and Jazmine Casafranca, Jorge Elgegren, 1 and the Environment Nicaragua The Medellín meeting proposed