Financing Urban Agriculture in London with special reference to City Farms

Beacon Mbiba

In: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture

City farms as a form of urban agriculture is a recent but increasingly important urban phenomenon in the United Kingdom. Both the start-up and operational costs are very high and the future security of the projects would need more direct inputs from the government to fund farm ownership and long-term posts for farm managers. The future of urban agriculture lies in the ability to adapt and mainstream it into prevailing development themes such as education, community cohesion, social inclusion and biodiversity. Integration with business themes also attracts private sector support both in cash and in-kind. The role of volunteers and sharing of resources among project groups is a key feature of community projects that other cities could promote as well.