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Growyourownfood!ThepotentialforsmallscaleurbanfarminginIndiaVolXLVIINo.24,June16,2012|HenrikValeurandArshinderKaur WebExclusives

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Urbanfarmingprovidingtheurbanpoorwithpossibilitiesofgrowingtheirownfoodisaviablewaytoimprovehungerconditionsincities.

HenrikValeur(hv@uid.dk),isanarchitecturbanistandfounderofUiD,www.henrikvaleur.dk/www.uid.dk.ArshinderKaur(arshinderkaur@gmail.com)isanenvironmentalistandfounderofEco&AgroResourceManagement,www.ecoagro.org.

GrowingyourownfoodinthecityisbecomingaglobaltrendfromgrowingvegetablesinrecycledplasticbottlesinaloftinNewYorkorinaslumdwellinginManilatocommunitykitchengardensinaposhneighborhoodinLondonorinafavelainSaoPaulopeopleareexperimentingwithwaysofbecomingselfsufficientwithfoodinurbansettings.

Thoughthistrendstillaccountsforonlyafractionofthetotalfoodproductionintheworld,ithasthepotentialtomakeurbandwellers(especiallythepoorones)lessvolatiletothefluctuatingpricesoftheglobalfoodmarketandlessdependentongovernmentsubsidies.Inaddition,smallscaleurbanfarmingmayalsoenhanceclimatechangeresilienceandreduceboththeimpactofpotentialfuturefoodcrisesandsomeoftheenvironmentalcostsassociatedwithcurrentmodesofagriculturalproductionanddistribution.ThecaseforurbanfarminginIndiaIndiaisexperiencingrapidurbanisation,fuelledbyandpoweringeconomicgrowth.Butthisgrowthisnotequallydistributed,partlybecausetheintegrationintothecitiesofpeopletryingtoescaperuralpovertyisbeingresistedbythepeoplealreadylivinginthecities.Therefore,mostruralmigrantswindupinslumareasoreventuallyinsocalledrehabilitationcoloniesliterallyorfigurativelylocatedontheoutskirtsofcities,whereopportunitiesareseverelylimited.Theupshotofthisisthatpoverty,assuch,issimplyconveyedfromonearea(therural)toanother(theurban).Andthisstandsinstarkcontrasttowhatwecanseeinotherdevelopingcountrieslike,forinstance,China,whereseveralhundredmillionpeople,overthecourseofthepastthreedecades,arereportedtohaveescapedextremepovertybymovingtocities(wheretheyhavefoundjobopportunitiesinthemanufacturingindustry,onconstructionsites,etc.).Oneofpoverty'smanyshadowsishunger,andIndia'sinabilityorreluctancetointegrateitspoorintheurbaneconomyisalsoreflectedinthefactthatdespitemassiveruralmigration,Indiaisamongonly3outof81developingcountriesthathavenotsucceededinimprovinghungerconditionsinthepast15years,accordingtothe2011GlobalHungerIndexReport.Infact,ActionAid,inits2009ScorecardReport,criticisedIndiaforhavingadded30millionpeopletotheranksofthehungrysincethemid1990swhileBangladesh,forexample,hasreducedthatnumberbymorethan10millioninthepast10years.ThissamereportalsoclaimsthathungerexistsinIndianotbecausethereisinsufficientfoodbutbecausepeoplecannotaccessit.Whatcanbedonetochangethispicture?Webelievethattheanswermaybetoprovidetheurbanpoorwithpossibilitiesofgrowingtheirownfood,eitherindividuallyorincooperation.Andwithanestimatedquarterofabillionundernourishedpeopleandaquarterofabillionpeopleexpectedtobeaddedtoitsurbanpopulationoverthenexttwentyyears,accordingtoareportbytheMcKinseyGlobalInstitutefrom2010,urbanfarmingmayhaveenormous

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2/17/2015 Growyourownfood!|EconomicandPoliticalWeekly

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potentialinIndia.Severalinitiativeshavealreadybeenlaunchedbutforthispotentialtobeactivatedonabroaderscale,webelievethattheroleofthegovernmentmust(gradually)bechangedfrombeingaprovideroffoodsecuritytobeingaprovideroffoodsovereigntyaconceptoriginallyproposedbyLatinAmericanNOGsandrecentlyadoptedbytheUnitedNationsFoodandAgricultureOrganization(FAO).Insteadofmakingpoorpeopledependentonthegovernments'centralfooddistributionsystems,whynotletthemproducetheirownfood?Enablingtheurbanpoortogrowtheirownfoodwouldnotonlyliberatethesepeoplefromthedehumanisingexperienceofbeingdependentongovernmentsubsidiesandsignificantlyreducefoodcosts,whicharetakingupmoreandmoreoftheirincome,butwouldalsoimprovetheirhealthconditionsandprovidethemwithoccupationalopportunities,perhapsespeciallythewomen.Andeventhoughopportunitiesaremosturgentlyneededamongthepoor,urbanfarmingmayalsobepromotedamongothersegmentsoftheurbanpopulation,asisbeingdonewhenschoolchildrenaretaughthowtogrowfoodinorganickitchengardensorwhenordinarycitizensareengagedtogrowfoodinpublicparks.BothoftheseexamplesstemfromMumbaibutotherexamplescanbefoundinotherIndiancities.HowcanurbanfarmingbeimplementedinIndia?Inordertoenableurbandwellerstoproducefreshandnutritiousfood,freeofchemicalsandpesticides,weproposethatthefollowingtwoactionsbeconsidered:1.Theestablishmentofpilotprojectsandlearningcenters,whereknowledgeandexperiencescanbeevolvedandshared,andwheredifferentcropsandcultivationmethodscanbetestedandadaptedtolocalconditions,includingnewmethodslikehydroponics,asoillessformofcultivationthathas,however,experiencedcertaindifficultiesinIndiaduetohighcostsandclimaticchallenges.Moreover,atestingofthequalityofthelocalsoilandwater,aswellasdifferentformsofconstructionsuchasroofgardenswithbees,fruitsandberries,scaffoldinglikestructuresonbuildingfacadesforvegetablesandmedicalherbs,andspacesinbetweenbuildingsforchickens,cowsandotherlivestock.Thepilotprojectsandlearningcentersoughttobebasedonecologicalprinciplesandmayberunbylocalcommunities,volunteersandnongovernmentorganisations.However,thereiscertainlygoingtobeaneedforfinancialandpracticalbackingfrommunicipalauthorities.2.Theallocationoflandforindividual/communitygardens,especiallyforthepoor.Thismaynotonlyhelptoalleviateproblemssuchasmalnutritionandunemploymentbutmayalsohelpurbanplannerstocontrolslumdevelopment.Inaddition,ascitiesdevelopandprosper,thesepocketsofundevelopedlandcouldpotentiallyconstitutehugefutureassetsforthecity.InEurope,forinstance,allotmentgardenshaveexistedsinceatleastthebeginningofindustrialisation/urbanisationintheearly19thcentury,whenmillionsofpoorruralmigrantsweresufferingfrommalnutritionanddiseasesduetotheappallingconditionsoflifeinthecities.Inordertoimprovethesituation,piecesoflandwereprovidedforthemtogrowtheirownvegetables.Whilemanyofthesesocalledgardensofthepoorwerelocatedontheoutskirtsofthecity,todaytheyoftenoccupyattractivelocationsinsidethecityandareveneratedbytheircurrenttenants,whomaynowbewelltodopeople.InBerlin,forinstance,anestimated15%ofthecity'slandiscurrentlybeingusedforurbanfarmingthisincludesaround80000allotmentgardens.Theimplementationofurbanfarmingis,however,facingmultiplechallenges,themostcriticalofwhichmaybelandscarcity/highvalueoflandincities.However,landforurbanfarmingcouldbeprovidedinthesamewayasparkingspacesarebeingprovidedbyreservingacertainpercentageofabuildingplotforfoodspace.Thisisnottheonlychallenge,though.Otherchallengesincludecontaminatedsoil,lackofsunlightduetocrampedconditions,waterscarcityandlowqualityofwater.Solutionstothesechallengescanbedevisedwhereneeded.Furthermore,urbanfarmingmaybeinstrumentalinpromotingtherecyclingofbothnonorganicmaterial,likeplasticcontainersandconstructionelements,andorganicmaterial,likekitchengarbage,whichmaybecompostedandusedforfertilisation.Othermeansoforganicfertilisationincludeplantextracts,compostedexcrementfromanimalslikechickensandcows(manure)and,perhapsmorecontroversially,compostedexcrementfromhumans(humanure).Inareaswithouttoiletfacilities,humanexcrementisasourceofenvironmentalpollutionanddiseasesthisisespeciallyaproblemindenseurbanareas.However,thisexcrementcanberecycledthroughcompostingtoilets,whichdonotrequireexpensivesewersystemsthismightverywellprovetobeaviablesolutionforslumareas.Ifcompostingtoiletsweretobeinstalledinslumareasitwouldnotonlyimprovesanitationintheseareasbutwouldalsobeawayofprovidingfertilisation.Andiflandwerethentobeallocatedforfarming,throughwhichtheprimaryskillsofmanyslumdwellers,i.e.theirknowledgeandexperienceoffarming,areputintouse,thiswouldcometo

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ReviewofRuralAffairs:June29,2013WithIndianagriculturegrowingslowly,employmentinagriculturetoohasbeenincreasingatalowrate.Urbanemploymenthasnotexpandedrapidlyenoughtoprovideworkforthegrowingruralpopulation.So,istheriseinnonagriculturalemploymentinrecentyearsdrivenmorebydistressthandemand?ThreearticlesinthiseditionoftheReviewofRuralAffairslookataspectsofthisissue.Acoupleofrelatedissuesthatareexaminedarethegrowthofnoncultivatinghouseholdsandthemovementofwagesofagriculturallabour.

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poorlyinformededitorial...firstpremiseiswrongmajorityofpeopledon'twantfederalismaccordingtorecentsurvey..agreethatNCandUMLarereluctantfederalistbutMadhesiarebecomingjust...

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representaholisticandecologicallysustainablesolution.Andperhapsitcouldevenserveasamodelfortherestofthecity?Paradoxically,thesolutiontomanyoftheproblemsrelatedtotherapidandpervasiveexpansionofcities,includingthefactthattheproducersoffoodarebeingpushedfurtherandfurtherawayfromtheconsumers,accordinglyincreasingthecostsoftransportationandstorage,maybetheintegrationofnaturallandscapesandprocesses,ecosystemsandecologicalagricultureinthesecities.Thiscouldalsocometocompensateforthewidespreaddeforestationandmassivelossofbiodiversitycausednotonlybyexpandingcitiesbutalsobytheapplicationofincreasinglymonoculturalandchemicalintensivemethodsinindustrialfarming.Webelievethatthiswouldnotonlymakecitiesmoreliveable,butwouldalsomakethempowerfulalliesinthefightagainstpovertyandhunger,climatechange,pollutionandresourcedepletion.

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