E-mail bulletin with news of the International Network of Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF).

In this bulletin you will find information on:

1. Proposal extension RUAF Cities Farming for the Future approved!

2. RUAF-Cities Farming for the Future programme in 2006

3. Recent and upcoming Events (co-) organised by RUAF partners

• RUAF and Urban Agriculture at the UN Habitat World Urban Forum 2006
• Urban Agriculture Conference for Municipal Authorities in Lima, Peru

4. New Urban agriculture related projects initiated by RUAF partners:

• Establishment of a Chinese Urban Agriculture association
• Sustainable Wastewater Use for Health and Livelihoods Security

5. Recent and upcoming publications by RUAF Partners

• Books
  - Cities Farming for the Future - Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities
  - and others
• CDs & DVDs
  - Small Urban Producers Organizations; Key partners for sustainable development
  - and more
• Urban Agriculture Magazine -Urban Agriculture Magazine No. 16: Formulating Effective Policies on Urban Agriculture
  - Upcoming Issues Urban Agriculture Magazine

Overview of RUAF Partners

1. PROPOSAL EXTENSION RUAF CITIES FARMING FOR THE FUTURE APPROVED!

The RUAF Foundation is proud and happy that the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS) has honoured our request for the extension of RUAF Cities Farming for the Future programme in 2009 and 2010 (100% subsidy).

This means that in those years we will be able to continue building the process in the 18 RUAF-CFF pilot cities plus adding new elements. We will continue improving the quality of our RUAF services and the impacts of our work and that of our local partners.

Some data:
- 114 organisations applied to DGIS-MFS
- 58 have been approved (of which some partially)
Average score 69; RUAF score 79 (5th ranking overall), which is very good also considering that we competed with organisations like Oxfam-NOVIB, Cordaid, and other organisations with a large staff and a track record of many years.

2. THE RUAF-CITIES FARMING FOR THE FUTURE PROGRAMME IN 2006

For a description of the objectives and strategies of the RUAF-CFF programme (and more details on the activities of the RUAF Partners in 2006), please visit our website: www.ruaf.org.

Participatory action planningThe RUAF Partners continued in the first 6 pilot cities (Beijing, Hyderabad, Accra, Pikine-Dakar, Bulawayo and Villa Maria del Triunfo-Lima; see RUAF update no. 6 on the RUAF-website) the MPAP-process (Multi-stakeholder Policy formulation and Action Planning).

In the above mentioned 6 cities MPAP facilitating teams have been formed that usually include one or more municipal departments and one or more NGO's, research institutes and farmers' organisations.

Exploratory Studies have been executed together with the local partner organisations. These studies entail different activities like a Stakeholder analysis, a policy review, mapping of the farming locations and available open spaces and diagnosis of the situation regarding urban agriculture in the city based on literature review and rapid participatory diagnosis.

In each city a Multi-Stakeholder Forum was established that discussed the results of the exploratory survey and formulated a Strategic Agenda for the development of urban agriculture in their city, which at present are being operationalised in Action Plans, projects and revised norms and regulations on urban agriculture.

Capacity Building Mid 2006, the Regional RUAF centres also started activities in a second batch of 6 pilot cities: Belo Horizonte (Brasil); Bobo Dioulasso(Burkina Faso); Freetown (Liberia); Cape Town (South Africa); Bangalore(India); and Chengdu (China).

For example: In Freetown the RUAF-CFF programme (locally named the Freetown Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Project) was successfully launched by Dr. S. Monde, Minister for Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) on the 5th of June 2006. The launching was attended by about 30 participants from various government ministries, FAO, CARE, National Farmers Association, City Council etc.

Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops have been organised for trainers from these cities (30 persons). The curriculum of these trainings was adapted to the specific local circumstances and training needs of the trainers involved.

For example: IAGU organised the ToT in Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Faso) in May 2006. The ToT consisted of 3 modules/blocks: participatory training techniques; Urban Agriculture (concepts, advantages and risks; farming systems) and the MPAP process (approach, tools, gender). The trainers applied the new knowledge and skills in “dry-run or simulation sessions� that were taped on video and discussed.

Training of local staff
In most of the pilot cities in the second batch also training was organized for staff (150 persons) from the local organizations that intend to participate in the MPAP process was trained by the regional RUAF partners together with the local trainers.

Regional Advisory Committees (RACs)In most of the regions a Regional Advisory Committee has been established. These committees will serve as an advisory body for the implementation of the RUAF Cities Farming for the Future Programme and will stimulate information exchange and cooperation on urban agriculture development in each region.

More information on RUAF-CFFFor more information on the RUAF-CFF programme: see www.ruaf.org. The RUAF website contains information on the RUAF-CFF activities in each pilot city as well as linkages with the regional RUAF-websites which contain more specific information on the regional activities in local languages. The global and regional RUAF websites also contain contacts- and bibliographic databases (online available) as well as lots of other valuable information on urban agriculture.

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3. RECENT EVENTS (CO-) ORGANISED BY RUAF PARTNERS

* RUAF and Urban agriculture on the World Urban Forum (19-23 June 2006, Vancouver-Canada).
The World Urban Forum is convened by UN-HABITAT every two years to discuss urban issues for the purposes of developing action-oriented proposals to create sustainable cities. The WUF3, held in Vancouver, Canada received over 10,000 participants from more than 100 countries. For a report see http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=41

RUAF and IDRC organised two sessions on urban agriculture as part of the official programme: one on RUAF’s experiences, titled “Cultivating Inclusive Cities�, in which representatives from the cities where RUAF is working participated, and one on municipal programmes and policies on urban agriculture titled "Growing Better Cities", in which four municipal representatives (including mayors) participated.

Both events were fully packed (150 - 200 participants each) and discussions continued beyond the two-hour limit of the networking events. In addition RUAF organised an exhibition of its work, which was illustrated on posters, a cd, and flyers. Moreover, the RUAF book "Cities Farming for the Future� was launched. (see below)

The papers prepared for the presentations can be found on the RUAF-website:

• Cultivating Inclusive Cities: Multi-stakeholder Policy Making and Action Planning for Urban Agriculture and Food Security
• Growing better cities to enhance food security, create jobs and protect the environment

4. NEW PROJECTS INITIATED BY RUAF PARTNERS

* Establishment of an Urban Agriculture Association in ChinaUrban agriculture has gradually become an agenda item for all levels of government in China. This is shown by the establishment of an Urban Agriculture Association in China, which covers all provinces and cities in China. The first board meeting was held in Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province, mid September, and Mr. Cai Jianming, Regional RUAF Coordinator was honourably elected as the vice chairman of the board, which consists of a total of 6 vice chairmen. The chairman of the board is Mr. Shu Huiguo. He is from the National People's Congress, responsible for the rural related issues and used to be the Governor of Jiangxi Province. Professor Guo Huancheng, the chairman of the Regional Advisory Committee of RUAF-China, was also respectably elected as a honourable member of the board given his great contribution to China's agro-tourism development.

For more information contact: Cai Jianming, Regional Coordinator China (caijm@igsnrr.ac.cn)

Sustainable Wastewater Use for Health and Livelihoods Security - Ensuring Health and Food Security in Rapidly Expanding Wastewater Irrigation in South AsiaThis 3 year (2005 - 2008) BMZ funded project aims to identify the risks and benefits associated with the use of wastewater in urban and peri-urban agriculture. The project is specifically focusing on vegetables, fodder(including grain) and milk as products from wastewater irrigated agriculture in Hyderabad, India and Faisalabad, Pakistan, where wastewater is largely untreated due to the lack of public finance. The goal of the project is to improve health and safeguard wastewater-dependent livelihoods of resource-poor urban and peri-urban farmers and consumers in Pakistan and India.

Project ActivitiesFaisalabad, Pakistan and Hyderabad, India, two mega-cities with large untreated wastewater irrigation areas, have been selected to develop and promote risk mitigation options for the safe and sustainable use of wastewater. The options will focus on food safety, livelihoods and livestock. The research will combine field and laboratory methods and structured interactions with all actors in the chain of wastewater use.

Outputs1) Social and institutional map of the multiple actors along the chain from wastewater source to end-use
2) GIS database of urban and peri-urban agriculture and wastewater irrigation
3) Evaluation and documentation of human health and agricultural risks from field top consumer
4) Economic valuation of the direct and indirect livelihood benefits as well as the health and adaptation-related costs of wastewater irrigation
5) Comprehensive assessment of tradeoffs, risks, costs and benefits at different levels along the chain from wastewater users to consumers of produce
6) Concrete, actionable risk mitigation recommendations based on outputs 1 - 5

For more information contact: Rob Simmons, Regional Coordinator India (r.simmons@cgiar.org)

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5. RECENT AND UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS BY RUAF PARTNERS

Books

* Cities Farming for the Future - Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities
René van Veenhuizen (ed). 2006. Published by RUAF Foundation, IDRC and IIRR. ISBN 1-930260-14-4
Since 1999, partners of the International Network on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF Foundation) have been playing a crucial role in improving access to information on urban agriculture and in enhancing the capacities of local authorities, NGOs, farmer organisations and other stakeholders regarding local participatory diagnosis and strategic action planning on urban agriculture. This publication presents the "state of the art" of the development of sustainable urban agriculture and as such indicates progress made since the first major publications on urban agriculture: the UNDP publication "Urban Agriculture" (published in 1996 by Smit et al.) and the DSE publication "Growing Cities, Growing Food: Urban Agriculture on the Policy Agenda" (published in 2000 by Bakker et al).

The book is available in PDF format at www.ruaf.org/node/961; and in HTML format at www.idrc.ca. Or you may order your 460 pages hard copy from IIRR:bookstore@iirr.org | www.iirr.org

* Irrigated Urban Vegetable Production in Ghana: Characteristics, Benefits and Risks
Emmanuel Obuobie, Bernard Keraita, George Danso, Philip Amoah, Olufunke O. Cofie, Liqa Raschid-Sally and Pay Drechsel.
More than 200,000 urban dwellers eat exotic vegetables daily on Accra’s streets and in canteens and restaurants. Most of the perishable vegetables are produced on open spaces in the cities or its fringes due to insufficient cold transport and storage. This activity is highly profitable and can lift vulnerable groups out of poverty. It can also contribute to flood control, land reclamation and city greening. However, poor farmers have increasing problems finding in and around the cities unpolluted water sources for irrigation. This book gives a comprehensive overview of urban and peri-urban vegetable farming in Ghana’s major cities with a special focus on
‘wastewater’ use. It ends with recommendations on how in a low income country like Ghana health risks for consumers could be effectively reduced, while simultaneously supporting the important contribution of open-space urban and peri-urban agriculture. The book highlights further research needs and will serve students, the academia and decision makers as an important resource.

Available at www.ruaf.org and a limited number of hardcopies are available on request from e.abraham@cgiar.org (RUAF c/o IWMI Ghana).

* PAPUSSA Policy BriefsMarielle Dubbeling (2006). PAPUSSA Policy Briefs (5). Quito, Ecuador: ZonacuarioThe PAPUSSA Programme has made available an increasing amount of information on peri-urban aquatic production systems in South-East Asian cities, their benefits and constraints. To further support the strengthening the peri-urban aquatic production and marketing systems in the above-mentioned cities, as well as in other South-East Asian cities, stakeholders in these cities identified 4 key recommendations to guide policy makers and other senior stakeholders in further development of the sector. An overall description of the importance, the need and recommendations for development and policy making on (peri)urban aquaculture is given in a first and introductory Policy Brief. Each of these recommendations has further been addressed in greater depth in 4 additional Policy Briefs. All guidelines given are based on PAPUSSA research and output, and aim to assist in the process of decision-making rather than to provide definitive answers.

Available at www.papussa.org or www.ruaf.org.

* Growing Better Cities - Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Development
Luc J.A. Mougeot. 2006. IDRC. ISBN 1-55250-226-0
Summarising and synthesising 20 years of research experience in urban agriculture, the text is both clearly written and nicely presented so that the reader can quickly and easily grasp the main points.

This book serves as a focal point for the IDRC thematic website on urban agriculture: www.idrc.ca/in_focus_cities. The full text is available online and leads the reader into a virtual web of resources that explores two decades of research into this important issue. A CD of the In-Focus Web site is included with the book (with texts in Spanish and French).

CDs and DVDs

* Small Urban Producers Organizations; Key partners for sustainable developmentProduced by World Report Foundation for IDRC, FAO, IPES and ETC. 2006
This video reflects the result of comprehensive studies on urban and peri-urban food and agriculture producers’ organisations. The 13 and a half minutes of footage cover experiences from Amsterdam, Dakar, Hyderabad and Rosario to illustrate and analyse the contributions of these organisations to food security, reduction of urban poverty and sustainable development. A limited number of DVDs are available upon request from ruaf@etcnl.nl.

* Cities Farming for the Future
The RUAF Partners produced this CD as a special feature for the World Urban Forum III, held in Vancouver in June 2006. We distributed 800 copies of this CD at the WUF in our information booth and during the networking sessions organised by RUAF Foundation and IDRC (see above). The CD contains information about urban agriculture, RUAF Foundation, Policy Briefs on Urban Agriculture and the PDFs of the Cities Farming for the Future - Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive CitiesBook which was launched at the WUF. The CD was wrapped in a cd-case that stated the main areas of concern in urban agriculture. The information that was published on the CD can also be found when browsing the RUAF-website: www.ruaf.org.

* Recycling Realities in African CitiesIWMI, supported by IDRC produced this high quality, short video (three and a half minutes only). The video draws attention of policy makers to the question: how to preserve the benefits of waste water use for food production, while minimizing its risks. Linked to this topic there is also a Water Policy Brief available, linking to the forthcoming new WHO guidelines and the range of alternative risk reduction measures where no comprehensive wastewater treatment is possible. Please find the policy brief here.

* PAPUSSA Interactive DVD
This DVD contains documents, films, and photos that are the output of the PAPUSSA Research Project on Production in Aquatic Peri-Urban Systems in Southeast Asia (see also Urban Agriculture Magazine no. 14). Please check the PAPUSSA website for more information.

Urban Agriculture Magazine

* Urban Agriculture Magazine No. 16: Formulating Effective Policies on Urban Agriculture
No. 16 of the Urban Agriculture Magazine (the English edition) will be distributed to our readers end of October. It will soon be translated into the other languages.

This issue of the UA Magazine was edited by the ETC - RUAF team. As our readers will have noticed it took us more time to develop this issue of the UA-magazine. This is mostly because it includes three articles based on a systematisation of experiences gained by the partners in the RUAF programme as well as an analysis of recently prepared policy documents on urban agriculture, which took some time to prepare. As a result, this issue was delayed but also contains 20 more pages than usual.

The electronic version of the UA-Magazine is available on the RUAF website (and soon also no. 16) at www.ruaf.org

* Upcoming Issues Urban Agriculture Magazine

No. 17 Strengthening Urban Producers' Organisations
This issue is currently being edited. Experiences of past and ongoing studies on Urban Producers' Organisations by IPES/ETC and by FAO are included. The magazine will seek to discuss experiences of organisations of small urban and peri-urban producers with a focus on urban agriculture and sustainable development, but also development perspectives and strategies to support various urban producers (organisations) towards social, economic and environmental impact. Social formation and organisation are critical for interest groups wishing to secure recognition, legitimacy, and representation. It also enhances the possibility of vulnerable and weaker members of society to overcome barriers and constraints to development and to gain access to resources (including natural resources, micro finance, training and information). This is particularly true in an urban context, and opportune for urban small producers.
This magazine will be published in December 2006.

No. 18: Community Based Urban Agriculture (including experiences of UA for HIV/Aids)
This issue will seek to discuss experiences related to social inclusion of migrants, youth and marginalised groups by urban agriculture. Experiences from both the South and the North (community gardening in the USA, migrant farming in Europe, etc.) will be discussed. The issue will look at social inclusion and community building in relation to various topics such as revitalisation of neighbourhoods, productive use of open spaces, etc. Moreover, experiences with urban agriculture and HIV/Aids projects (focus on SE Africa) will shed light on social inclusion in relation to health aspects.
Planned publication: May 2007. Deadline for your contribution: February 1, 2007.

In case you would like to contribute, please contact the editor: Rene van Veenhuizen (r.van.veenhuizen@etcnl.nl). Calls for contribution are published on: www.ruaf.org.
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The RUAF programme is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS, the Netherlands) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada)

The partners in the RUAF programme are:

• International coordination: ETC-Urban Agriculture, Leusden, the Netherlands.
  Email:ruaf@etcnl.nl | Website: www.etc-urbanagriculture.org
• Regional Coordination Latin America and the Caribbean: IPES(Promocion del Desarrollo Sostenible), Lima, Peru.
  Email: gunther@ipes.org.pe | Website: www.ipes.org/au
• Regional Coordination East and Southern Africa: MDPESA (Municipal Development Partnership for Eastern and Southern Africa), Harare, Zimbabwe.
  E-mail: tmubvami@mdpafrica.org.zw
  Website: www.mdpafrica.org.zw/urban_agriculture.html
• Regional Coordination West and Central Africa (Anglophone): IWMI-Ghana (International Water Management Institute Sub regional Office for West Africa), Accra, Ghana.
  Email: o.cofie@cgiar.org
  Website:
  http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/africa/west_africa/projects/RUAFII-CFF.htm
• Regional coordination West and Central Africa (Francophone): IAGU (Institut Africain de Gestion Urbaine), Dakar, Senegal.
  Email: moussa@iagu.org | Website: www.iagu.org/ruaf/ruafiagufr.php
• Regional Coordination South and South East Asia: IWMI-India (International Water Management Institute India Office), Hyderabad, India.
  Email: r.simmons@cgiar.org
  
  Website:
  http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/southasia/ruaf/about.html
• Regional coordination China: IGSNRR(Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resource Research of the National Academy of Sciences) Beijing, China.
  Email: caijm@igsnrr.ac.cn | Website:www.cnruaf.com.cn
• Regional Coordination Northern Africa and the Middle East: AUB-ESDU (Environment and Sustainable Development Unit, American University of Beirut), Beirut, Lebanon.
  Email: ziadmoussa@yahoo.com
  Website: www.ecosystems.org/esduhomepage.php

Please, feel free to forward this bulletin. Back issues of RUAF Update are available on the RUAF website in PDF and html (www.ruaf.orgnode/848). You are very welcome to send us your comments regarding this e-mail bulletin.

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