for Urban Agriculture
Prepared by the Urban Agriculture Support Group [SGUA]
Urban Agriculture Group Forms a Global
Facility:
to Reduce Food Insecurity,
Create Jobs
and Improve the Environment in Cities
A new Global Facility for Urban Agriculture was created in March 1996 at an
international consultation held by the Urban Agriculture Support Group [SGUA].
The SGUA was formed by the UNDP in 1992 to examine issues related to food
security and urban agriculture, especially for developing countries. The new
Facility will be guided by an interim steering committee, and initial funding
will come from the UNDP, IDRC of Canada and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
The new Facility responds to an escalating demand worldwide for information and technical assistance from the growing constituency of urban farmers' associations; civic organizations; mayors of large and small cities; and urban, agricultural and environmental research institutions. A recent study by the UNDP estimates that 800 million urban farmers produce over one-seventh of all the food consumed on the planet, and more than half of the vegetables, poultry and pork eaten in towns and cities.
The meeting, held at IDRC in Ottawa, Canada was attended by senior representatives of the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, German Technical Assistance [GTZ], British agricultural assistance [NRI], Dutch development cooperation [DGIS], Canadian development research [IDRC], CARE International, the World Sustainable Agriculture Association, the Developing Countries Farm Radio Network, the ETC Foundation, the Urban Agriculture Network, City Farmer of Canada, and members of the academic community.
The interim steering committee will recommend that the facility establish a homepage on the world wide web, an Internet listserv on urban agriculture, an e-mail conference, and a quarterly newsletter. It may also recommend support for policy and technical workshops in Asia, Africa and Latin America over the next 3 years.
The Global Facility for Urban Agriculture will be hosted initially by IDRC in Ottawa, Canada within the Cities Feeding People Programme Initiative.
To learn more about urban agriculture you can read the latest book on the subject, Urban Agriculture: Food, Jobs and Sustainable Cities published in 1996 by the UNDP, now available from the Urban Agriculture Network in Washington DC, or visit 2 sites on the Internet: City Farmer and IDRC's Cities Feeding People
