State of the Art Review RUAF Publications Urban Agriculture Magazine Bibliographic Database Weblinks

Like rural agriculture, urban agriculture entails risks to health and the environment, if not managed and carried out properly. The main health risks associated with urban agriculture include: contamination of crops with pathogens, mainly due to irrigation by polluted irrigation water or unhygienic marketing practices; human diseases transferred from disease vectors attracted by agricultural activity; contamination of crops by residues of agrochemicals or by uptake of heavy metals from contaminated soils, air or water; And transmission of diseases from domestic animals to people (zoonosis) during animal husbandry processing or meat consumption.

It is essential to address the health risks associated with urban agriculture to protect consumers from contaminated foods and farm workers from occupational hazards. City authorities have often been reluctant to accept urban agriculture because of perceived health risks. Nevertheless, in most cities in developing countries, urban agriculture is practised on a substantial scale, despite prohibitive laws and regulations. Hence, rather than general laws prohibiting urban agriculture, which are largely ineffective, policies are needed that actively manage the health risks related to urban agriculture.

• For a more extensive introduction and review of literature on this subject please go to State of the Art.
• Go to RUAF publications for an overview of RUAF publications on this topic (most of which are available online). You may also view the articles in the Urban Agriculture Magazine on this topic.
• Search the Bibliographic Database for other literature references, abstracts and online documents on this subject.