February 2015
RUAF Update
no.23
In this update: Ongoing activities • GROW the City Cafés in the Netherlands • UA Enterprise development in India • Promoting market oriented UA in Gaza • Urban food mapping and WASH in Burkina Faso and Ghana • WASH progress in Nepal and Bangladesh and the World Water Day
New projects • Urban Green Education for Enterprising Agricultural Innovation • Support to the City of Milan and other cities in urban food planning • Developing tools for mapping and assessing sustainable city region food systems • Supporting enterprises for urban waste recycling for food production
Publications • UA Magazine 28: GROW the City. Innovations in urban agriculture • UA Magazine 29: City region food systems photo contest! • Emerging practices for a new urbanism • Publications on urban agriculture as a climate change strategy
Events • Food Security in an Urbanising Society • Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture • Special Urban Food Forum at ICLEI Resilient Cities Congress
News Global importance of urban agriculture ‘underestimated’ The role of urban agriculture in global food security is a topic of increasing discussion. Existing research on urban and peri-urban agriculture consists largely of case studies that frequently use disparate definitions of urban and peri-urban agriculture depending on the local context and study objectives. This lack of consistency makes quantification of the extent of urban and peri-urban agriculture at the global scale difficult. This study instead integrates global data on croplands and urban extents using spatial overlay analysis to estimate the global area of urban and peri-urban irrigated and rainfed croplands. Image: Farming in urban areas of Culcutta, Chhandak Pradhan/IWMI
RUAF included in 101 Global Food Organizations to Watch Food Tank highlights organisations across the globe that are working to fight food waste, combat the dual paradoxes of hunger and obesity, recognise the multiple roles of family farmers, increase nutrient density, protect agricultural diversity, and adapt to a changing climate. To celebrate 2015, they highlight 101 organisations who are playing a vital part in creating a better food system.
RUAF Update - February 2015
GROW the city The GROW the City project, aimed at exchanging experiences with urban agriculture in the global South and North and stimulating joint learning and innovation processes, has been finalised after four successful urban agriculture cafés in the Dutch cities of Groningen, Almere, Utrecht and Rotterdam and with visiting guests from Rosario, Cape Town, Toronto, Lima, Milan and Tamale. The project has shown that there is a great potential for integrating international exchange in innovation processes in cities. The project was also well received by participating cities, as Henk Meijer from the City of Almere, organiser of the World Horticultural Expo Floriade in 2022, comments: “The urban agriculture café is a good example of how Almere wants to grow towards becoming a green city. The collaboration with GROW the City brought us the value added we were looking for, both locally and internationally”. Wout Veldstra from the City of Groningen reflects: “It is really interesting to see that cities on the other side of the world are engaged in the same kind of questions as we do. We can learn a lot from Rosario on how to deal with urban agriculture in city planning. They want to achieve a green belt of urban agriculture spaces throughout the city and it was interesting to see how they collaborate with citizens and architects in the design of such spaces.” The café also clearly resulted in a strengthening of local networks. “As municipality it is a major challenge how to deal with the participation needs of the new type of urban agriculture initiators. You need to link up with many new bottom-up initiatives and their way of working and for this you cannot depend on formal structures for citizens participation.” Also Andrea Calori, guest in the Almere café on behalf of the City of Milan indicates that he has taken several new ideas from the GROW the City collaboration. “What I found impressive about the UA café was that politicians, students and professionals discussed so easily at the same level, in an open way and without hierarchy. It was also striking to see that Almere municipality makes such a clear choice for combining food, environment and lifestyle and connects this with the city’s development and urban planning. This is rare, within Europe as well, and certainly for a city with such a rapid growth rate. It is interesting that Almere, as a city without a clear and pronounced history, is creating a new identity and personality in which agriculture and environment play a prominent role. For the situation in Milan, I have learned several concrete lessons, for example the management of municipal land by a city farm for which environmental management criteria make up part of the contract. And also the way in which Almere city mobilises young people and entrepreneurs as ‘Urban Greeners’ is an approach that we can use in Milan.” A special section on the outcomes of the GROW the City project can be read in the last edition of the UA Magazine.
Ongoing activities Promoting market oriented urban agriculture in Gaza Following an initial assessment of the Gaza context and agricultural sector, OXFAM Italy and RUAF Foundation, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), will continue for the coming 3 years their work on the promotion of market oriented development of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Gaza. In a workshop in Jerusalem in January, market oriented programme strategies for four value chains (dairy-fodder, palm-dates, olives and selected vegetables) have been discussed and a work plan developed for the next year. For more information contact: m.dubbeling@ruaf.org or r.van.veenhuizen@ruaf. org
Urbanfood+ and WASH Alliance: Multi-stakeholder Platform meetings in Ouagadougou, Burkina and Tamale, Ghana RUAF partners in Ghana and Burkina Faso are currently developing draft policy narratives on urban agriculture for the cities of Ouagadougou and Tamale, based on work under the Dutch WASH Alliance in Ghana and ongoing Urbanfoodplus research in Tamale and Ouaga (see more on these programmes in earlier updates). These narratives will be discussed in Multi Stakeholder meetings in March and April in both cities. For more information, visit http://www.urbanfoodplus.org or contact: r.van.veenhuizen@ruaf.org or ibellwoodh@gmail.com
RUAF Update - February 2015
WASH: Progress Nepal, Bangladesh and the World Water Day in the Netherlands RUAF and Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB), supported by WASTE, agreed to work on supporting the production and use of organic fertilisers in and around Sathkira, Bangladesh in 2015. Currently PAB is mapping the key clients: households and producers in and around Sathkira, and will prepare further testing of the product. With RUAF and WASTE partners in Nepal, collaboration continued on promoting urban agriculture in Kathmandu and Surkhet. In the rapidly growing city of Surkhet, ENPHO will systematise experiences and promote the use of EcoSan and urban agriculture, including using small areas and roofs for gardening. In the Netherlands, WASH partners are systematising key products and lessons, and discuss post 2015 strategies. On Friday, 20 March, the WASH alliance will present its lessons and achievements during the World Water Day celebration in Amsterdam, as part of discussions on the new Global WASH agenda. For more information, see website WASH or contact: r.van.veenhuizen@ruaf.org
RUAF project activities in Magadi, Karnataka being sustained three years after the project ended in 2011 As part of the RUAF From Seed to Table project implemented in Karnataka, India, producers were supported to set up the Magadi Vayalagam Vegetable Growers Souharda Co-operative Society Ltd.. The Cooperative Society Ltd. works towards promoting innovations in farmers’ production technologies and marketing strategies to enhance food security and income stability for their members. It supports capacity building for more ecological crop production and group collective marketing. By end of 2014 the cooperative is still fully active. It has been supported by the Department of Agriculture and Horticulture with subsidy schemes for a power tiller and vegetable nursery (poly house). The latter now supplies improved quality vegetable seedlings to urban producers. With the collaboration of Department of Agriculture under ATMA (Agricultural technology Management Agency) programme and Dhan Foundation, training programmes are regularly conducted. Also a group savings and credit scheme was set up with support of Dhan Foundation. The total savings add up to Rs. 0.9 million (€12,740) an additional Rs. 1.8 million (€25,494) have been mobilised as on December 2014. The cooperative has also started to work on supply of inputs. Considering farmers difficulties to get fertilisers and seed on time, the society has established a fertiliser cum seed shop which was approved by Joint Director of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture.
Image: WASH Alliance
New projects Do we need new educational models to train a new generation of urban agriculture entrepreneurs? This question will be answered in the Erasmusplus funded URBAN GReen Education for ENTteRprising Agricultural Innovation (Urban Green Train) project. The project, led by the University of Bologna, aims at encouraging pioneering business oriented initiatives on urban agriculture based on knowledge exchange, mutual cooperation and innovation among SMEs, policy makers and higher education institutions. RUAF Foundation will be responsible for the project work package that set outs to map knowledge and business initiatives of urban and peri-urban agriculture (including both food and non-food – e.g. ecosystem and social services – production/activities) in 4 selected European countries and for supporting the development of educational modules and resources that respond to UA business training needs. Other project partners include: Horticity, Agreenium, Vegepolys, SWUAS, Hei-tro, STePS, Mammut film and Grow the Planet. For more information, contact f.hoekstra@ruaf.org or h.renting@ruaf.org.
RUAF Update - February 2015
Technical support to the City of Milan and other cities in urban food planning The City of Milan is leading a process with over 30 partner cities to draft an Urban Food Policy Pact that aims to build awareness on urban food systems, policies and practices and harness political engagement from cities for future activities on related issues. The International Partners for Sustainable Agriculture (IPSA) in collaboration with RUAF Foundation and FAO Food for Cities will act as a technical advisory team to support this process. The Urban Food Policy Pact will be announced at the Milan Expo in October 2015. For more information contact: m.dubbeling@ruaf.org and h.renting@ ruaf.org or look at www.cibomilano.org/en/food-policy-pact/.
Image: Carasso Foundation
Developing tools for mapping and assessing sustainable city region food systems (CityFoodTools) Both at local as well as international level there is growing recognition for city region food systems, as a promising approach for addressing sustainability and food security issues in the context of ongoing processes of urbanisation. This is a.o. exemplified by the Call for Global action adopted at the World Urban Forum in Medellín (Colombia) early April 2014 stating that: “The strengthening of city regional food systems can play a key role in helping to feed an increasingly urbanized world in ways that are sustainable, resilient, fair and healthy and that help to create the future we want” (see further www.cityregionfoodsystems.org). However, to support city region food system planning at local level and to ensure that it obtains a place on national and international policy agendas in the coming years, there is an urgent need to better systematise and operationalise the concept and develop an appropriate methodology and toolkit for mapping and assessment of city region food systems. This project, supported by the Carasso Foundation and led by the RUAF Foundation, will in the coming 3 years help develop and test such a methodological framework and toolkit in 7 cities around the world. RUAF will collaborate with the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems in Canada and the UN-FAO, that is coordinating a similar sister-project. For more information contact: h.renting@ruaf.org or m.dubbeling@ruaf.org.
Image: Accra vegetable sales point, Felix Antonio/ IWMI
Creating and Capturing Value, CAPVAL The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) coordinates this new programme in Ghana: Creating and Capturing Value (CAPVAL: supporting enterprises for urban liquid and solid wastes recycling for food, energy and clean environment), as part of the Ghana WASH Window financed by the Dutch Government. RUAF is one of the partners to work on monitoring and capacity building. Three kick-off workshops have been organised to formally commence implantation on a (co-) compost plant in Techiman, a briquette production plant in Afienya, and an aquaculture component in Kumasi. CAPVAL will support public and private partners in developing these components. For more information contact Josiane Nikiema (IWMI-Ghana): J.Nikiema@cgiar.org or r.van. veenhuizen@ruaf.org
Publications Urban agriculture: emerging practices for a new urbanism A special issue of the Spanish journal Habitat y Sociedad on urban agriculture is now available. Henk Renting from RUAF is guest editor and wrote a contribution on RUAF’s activities in promoting urban agriculture and urban food systems worldwide. The full pdf is available here. See next page for more publications
RUAF Update - February 2015
Urban Agriculture Magazine UA Magazine 28: GROW the City. Innovations in urban agriculture
This issue of the UA Magazine highlights innovations in urban agriculture. It features articles on the GROW the City project and a range of articles that highlight technical as well as social innovations in urban and peri-urban agriculture. Some highlighted articles: TERRAE Municipal Network: Boosting the Local Economy The budgets of local authorities in Spain decreased sharply with the economic crisis, making necessary new, low-cost but highly effective formulas to foster the local economy. Within this context, a group of municipalities founded the TERRAE network. Signing of the TERRAE contract. Photo: TERRAE Urban Agriculture Springs up in Greece In recent years, urban agriculture has spread remarkably in Greece, considering that there is no historic tradition for this activity. Diverse actors, such as community groups, agro-diversity networks and local governments, are all trying to deal with particular aspects of the multidimensional crisis that Greece is facing. Agios Dimitros allotment garden. Photo: N Morán and JL Fernández Farm City and Hortus Aquarius Farm City comprises a concept that can be applied for the creation of agricultural clusters with economical, ecological and social features, in order to create optimal economic and ecological performance. In this article the Farm City concept will be illustrated by 2 examples: the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands and Hortus Aquarius in Oman. The design of Farm City Blijdorp: street view. Photo: FarmCity
Low-tech Innovations in Vertical Farming: Nairobi, Kenya This article describes the further development of small-scale, “low-tech” vertical farms at the individual and neighbourhood level in informal settlements. These vertical farms are adapted to suit small urban spaces. They increase the density at which food can be produced and keep the growing medium independent of potentially contaminated ground. They require little maintenance and are more easily accessible to the elderly and the disabled by virtue of their vertical nature.
Just published: a policy brief, background paper and research reports on urban agriculture as a climate change strategy Climate change impacts on cities are increasing. Cities must embrace the triple challenges of reducing the vulnerability of their population to climate change; of mitigating their Green House Gas emissions and of providing sufficient and nutritious food for their residents. There is growing recognition of urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry as an important strategy for climate-change adaptation and disaster-risk reduction, while also bringing mitigation and important developmental benefits. Several cities already promote urban agriculture in floodplains, develop rooftop gardens in dense urban settlements, include urban forestry in new housing schemes and preserve peri-urban greenbelts for local food production. RUAF Foundation has just published several materials on this issue, including a policy brief providing examples from innovative policies and practices from various cities, a background paper featuring experiences in Sri Lanka and Argentina developed in collaboration with Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) cities, a RUAF working paper and a series of Methodological guidelines on Monitoring impacts of urban agriculture and forestry on climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as different related research reports (see RUAF website).
Upcoming UA Magazine 29: Send in your photos or graphic impressions of city region food systems While the latest issue of the UA Magazine has just been released we are already working hard on the new issue. This time the topic will be city region food systems. We want to address the growing attention for policy and practice approaches that focus on food issues in urban areas from a city-regional perspective, taking into account possible contributions from urban and peri-urban agriculture and a strengthening of urban-rural relations. We would love to know what a sustainable city region food system looks like according to you. So, please send in your high resolution photos (300 dpi or approx. 1 MB) or graphic impressions and add a short description of the image and why you think the portrayed scene contributes to sustainable city region food systems. The best image will feature on the cover! Contact: f.hoekstra@ruaf.org Image: A vision of the Farmscape Vancouver by Michael Marrapese RUAF Foundation is a global centre of expertise in the field of urban and peri-urban agriculture and food systems. Since 1999, RUAF has supported local and sub-national governments, urban producer organisations, NGOs, CBOs, research centres and other stakeholders with training, technical assistance, action-research and policy advice in various related areas. RUAF is a not-for-profit organisation registered in the Netherlands. For more information: http://www.ruaf.org The RUAF Update is the newsletter from RUAF Foundation. To subscribe: ruaf-news-on@ruaf.org, to unsubscribe: ruaf-news-off@ruaf.org. You can contact us for more information at info@ruaf.org. Lately, we received several donations for which we are really grateful. Among the core aims of RUAF Foundation are our support to projects and programmes on the ground, as well as our efforts to share experiences on urban agriculture through our open-access UA magazine, distance learning courses, policy briefs and other publications. We set aside the recent donations to improve our services for beneficiaries of RUAF’s work through improved information sharing and local action on the ground. If you would also like to support us go to: http://www.ruaf.org/donate
Events Food Security in an Urbanising Society; 9-20 March 2015, Wageningen, Netherlands
This course, organised by CDI, Wageningen UR and RUAF Foundation, focuses on how rural production and urban market systems can be integrated in such a way that urban dwellers can be assured better access to adequate quantities of nutritious food while sustaining the viability of the production areas. The training programme consists of two modules of one week that can also be taken separately, in 2 different years. Module 1 focuses on Agrifood systems in an urbanising society and Module 2 on Planning for sustainable city region agri-food systems.
Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture; 9-11 March 2015, Abu Dhabi
The Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture has the aim to demonstrate new ideas through presentations, demonstration and interactions on sustainable agriculture solutions. This year a focus is on Edible Cities, Building Resilience with Urban Agriculture, featuring vertical farming, urban greenhouses, and urban planning and a Forum on Water Technologies, Innovation, Recovery and Re-use, with RUAF members in the panel. Find here our latest UA Magazine on innovations.
Special Urban Food Forum at ICLEI Resilient Cities Congress, 8-10 June, Bonn, Germany
RUAF Foundation, together with the SUPURBFOOD programme and ICLEI, will organise a special Urban Food Forum on Wednesday 10 June as part of the ICLEI Resilient Cities Congress 2015. Mayors and high-level representatives from cities in Europe and the global South will share some of their innovative urban food practices and policies in a plenary session; followed by a series of parallel events that will address issues like the integration of urban agriculture into land use planning; a global assessment of urban agriculture through the lens of intensifying urban pressures and increasing climate risks and the role and potential of small and medium enterprises in urban food systems. For more information please contact: m.dubbeling@ ruaf.org.