AGRICULTURE IN THE CITY This page intentionally left blank AGRICULTURE IN THE CITY A Key to Sustainability in Havana, Cuba Maria Caridad Cruz Roberto Sanchez Medina Outcome of the Research Project Evaluation of Urban Agriculture as a Component of the Local Economy in Two Areas of Havana, Cuba Kingston Ottawa • Cairo • Dakar • Montevideo • Nairobi • f5 Ian Randle Publishers InternationalNe Developmenw Delhi • Singaport Researce h Centre Originally published by the Fundacion Antonio Nunez Jimenez de la Naturaleza y el Hombre, Havana, Cuba, as Agricultura y ciudad: Una clave para la sustentabilidad © Maria Caridad Cruz Hernandez, Roberto Sanchez Medina y el Fundacion Antonio Nunez Jimenez de la Naturaleza y el Hombre, 2001. All rights reserved. Copyright to English edition: © International Development Research Centre 2003 Jointly published by Ian Handle Publishers 11 Cunningham Avenue, Kingston 6, Jamaica www.ianrandlepublishers.com and the International Development Research Centre PO Box 8500, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1G 3H9 [email protected] / www.idrc.ca ISBN 1-55250-104-3 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the International Development Research Centre. This book, and the completed IDRC catalogue, may be consulted at www.idrc.ca. National Library of Jamaica Cataloguing in Publication Data Cruz, Maria Caridad Agriculture in the city: a key to sustainability/ Maria Caridad Cruz, Roberto Sanchez Medina p. :.ill, maps ; cm Bibliography : p. ISBN976-637-158-X 1. Agricultural research - Cuba 2. Urban agriculture - Cuba 3. Sustainable agriculture - Cuba I. Title 630.724 dc21 Cover design by Louis Matalon Book design by Allison Brown Set in Century Schoolbook 10 pt RESEARCH TEAM Ing. Maria Caridad Cruz Hernandez Project Coordinator Fundacion Antonio Nunez Jimenez de la Naturaleza y el Hombre Ing. Roberto Sanchez Medina Fundacion Antonio Nunez Jimenez de la Naturaleza y el Hombre Lie. Roberto Perez Rivero Fundacion Antonio Nunez Jimenez de la Naturaleza y el Hombre Lie. Armando Fernandez Soriano Fundacion Antonio Nunez Jimenez de la Naturaleza y el Hombre Lie. Harahi Gamez Rodriguez Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Ing. Ramiro Diaz Alonso Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Ing. Adela Cardenas Alvarez Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Lie. Francisco Lestegas Perez Provincial Physical Planning Directorate, Havana Lie. Dalgys Sosa Ruiz Provincial Physical Planning Directorate, Havana AGRICULTURE IN THE CITY Ing. Lourdes Alvarez Hernandez Provincial Physical Planning Directorate, Havana Lie. Mario Gonzalez Novo Directorate of Urban Agriculture, Havana Lie. Aurelia M. Castellanos Quintero Cuban Animal Production Association, Havana Ing. Jorge Kalaf-Maluf Potts Water Resources Provincial Office, Havana Ing. Juan Rene Rodriguez Fuentes El Pedregal Intensive-cultivation garden, Camilo Cienfuegos Ing. Yalila Murciano Guerra Expert in Urban Agriculture Other Participants Lie. Eneyde Ponce de Leon Triana Grupo para el Desarrollo Integral de la Capital Ing. Ramon Perez Leira Water Research Centre, ISPJAE Ing. Ana Margarita Garcia Ordiales El Pedregal Intensive-cultivation garden, Camilo Cienfuegos Lie. Rodolfo L. Cata D'Villers El Paraiso Farmers' group, Camilo Cienfuegos Arq. Jorge Pena Diaz Centre for Urban Studies, ISPJAE Lie. Juan A. Echevarria Camejo Empresa Horticola Metropolitana vi Research Team Tec. Carlos Alvarez Carres Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Lie. Adriana Premat Danielle York University, Canada Lie. Silvia Diaz Garcia Faculty of Geography, University of Havana Ernesto Perez Santos Cooperativa de Credito y Servicios Vicente Perez Noa Ing. Eulogio Mario Vega Labrada El Paraiso Farmers' Group, Camilo Cienfuegos vii LIST OF ACRONYMS AAA AgroAccion Alemana AGUILA Agricultura Urbana ANAP Association National de Agricultores Pequenos CP Las Casas Posturas (Seedling Greenhouses) EHM Empresa Horticola Metropolitana (Metropolitan Fresh Vegetable Company) ESA Empresa de Surministros Agropecuarios INIFAT Institute de Investigaciones Fundamentales de la Agricultura Tropical OAR Organoponico de Celto Rendimiento (High Yield Urban Garden) TCA Tiendas Consultorios Agropecuermo (Agricultural Support Stores) UBPC Unidades Basicas de Produccion Cooperative UEAF Agroforestry Economic Unit CONTENTS Chapter I INTRODUCTION 1 Urban Agriculture 3 Community Economy 5 Chapter II METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE RESEARCH 9 Identification of the Regions under Study and Scope of Research 11 Selection and Description of the Research Region(s) 12 Location of the Regions under Study 13 The Research Team 15 Chosen Research Tools and Methods and Information Analysis 18 Chapter III EVOLUTION OF URBAN AGRICULTURE IN THE CITY OF HAVANA 23 Support and Collaboration for Developing Urban Agriculture in Havana 24 Direct Forms of Production in Urban Agriculture. Uses and Types of Soils 26 Efficiency Level of Urban Agriculture's Direct Forms of Production 3 7 Support for Urban Agriculture Production. Types and Uses of Soil 40 Partnership Modes Among Producers 43 General Considerations 47 AGRICULTURE IN THE CITY Chapter IV WATER FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSES/THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK, AND PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN URBAN AGRICULTURE IN HAVANA 59 Water for Irrigation Purposes 60 Legal Framework 62 The Role of Women in Urban Agriculture 65 Chapter V TRADING OF URBAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS IN HAVANA 6 8 Trading of Urban Agriculture Products between 1994 and 1998 70 Trading of Urban Agriculture Products from 1998 to the Present 71 Regulations Governing the Sales Outlet and the Commercial Licence 78 General Considerations 80 Chapter VI PARQUE METROPOLITANO DE LA HABANA PROJECT 83 Background 84 The Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Project 85 Description of Natural Conditions of the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Site 87 History of Urban Agriculture in the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana 89 Description of Urban Agriculture in the Parque Metropolitano de la Habana 91 The Parque Metropolitano de La Habana Agroforestry Farm 93 Nguyen Van Troi Credit and Service Cooperative 107 Dispersed Producers in the Parque Metropolitano de La Habana HI General Considerations 112 Chapter VII IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STUDY IN THE CAMILO CIENFUEGOS PEOPLE'S COUNCIL ZONE 115 Background 116 Urban Agriculture Analysis 118 Law and Land Use 131 Recycling Organic Matter 134 X Contents Marketing in the Camilo Cienfuegos Popular Council Zone 138 Impact of Agricultural Activity on Producers' Families 147 Perspectives on the Maintenance and Development of Urban Agriculture in the Area Studied 149 General Considerations 152 Chapter VIII INSERTING URBAN AGRICULTURE INTO THE LAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 15 5 The Physical Planning System in Cuba 156 Land Management in Havana 159 The Group in Charge of the Integral Development of Havana 160 The Involvement of Physical Planning in the Development of Urban Agriculture During the 1990s 161 Insertion of Urban Agriculture into Land Management 165 Urban Agriculture as a Component of the City's Green System 172 General Criteria for Inserting Urban Agriculture into the Land Management System in a Prospective Housing Development Zone: Camilo Cienfuegos 175 General Considerations 178 Chapter IX MAIN RESULTS AND IMPACT OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT 181 Definition of Components Included in the Evaluation 182 Outcome and Impact on Each of the Components Included in the Evaluation 183 Projects Supported by the Research Project 190 General Considerations 192 Chapter X CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 194 Conclusions and Recommendations from the Final Workshop on the Dissemination of Research Findings 195 WORKS CONSULTED 199 INDEX 207 xi This page intentionally left blank Chapter I INTRODUCTION In this book we present the results of a research project on urban agriculture, which has been practised for more than 10 years in the city of Havana. These results are considered part of the process of improvement that this new and important urban function is currently undergoing. A team of 15 professionals from different fields of specialization has been working on this project for 3 years. None of them is exclusively dedicated to research, but they are all linked and committed to the development of agriculture in the city. Many other collaborators were invited to participate because of their experience in urban agriculture itself and/ or as representatives of different organizations directly linked to the agricultural sector and to city management and control. The multidisciplinary composition of the research team oriented the manner and methods of the research and, above all, the language and the simple and accessible way in which the information is transmitted. The target audience of this book, then, is not only researchers and high-level specialists but a wider sector, including producers, students, decision- makers and any other person interested, for whatever reason, in the management and control of the urban environment. The possibility of exchanging information on the various subjects under study was, according to the members of the research team and their collaborators, the main value of this process. The subject matters were assessed from different angles, using different criteria and, for the first time, a critical evaluation process concerning the last ten years of urban agriculture in the city of Havana was achieved. As a result, it was possible to develop a proposal for including urban agriculture as a component