Growing greener cities in Latin America and the Caribbean
This FAO report (PDF), released at the World Urban Forum 2014, highlights urban and peri-urban agriculture in 10 major cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report looks at the progress that has been made toward realizing ‘greener cities’ in which urban and peri-urban agriculture is recognized by public policy and included in urban development strategies and land-use planning. The study is based on the results of a survey in 23 countries and data on 110 cities and municipalities. The study highlights that urban food producers and their families enjoyed a more diverse diet than and were more likely to consume fruit and vegetables regularly. Furthermore, women are the driving force behind urban agriculture in many of the countries. Main challenge facing farmers in the cities surveyed was lack of space, followed by the poor quality of soils and the unreliability of water supplies. An important recommendation of the report is that strong political commitment, regional development plans and effective public-private partnerships are required in order to address current short-comings.