E-mail bulletin with news of the International Network of Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF Foundation).
In this bulletin you will find information on:
1. RUAF celebrates 10 years of promoting urban agriculture world wide
2. RUAF From Seed to Table Programme
- Voices by urban producers
- National policy making on urban agriculture
4. RUAF Publications - Urban Agriculture Magazine
- Other publications
Overview of RUAF Partners
1. RUAF CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF PROMOTING URBAN AGRICULTURE WORLD WIDE
Ten years ago, ETC Foundation initiated a programme named: “Resource Centre on Urban Agriculture and Forestry” (RUAF). The first four years of the RUAF programme (2000-2004) focused mainly on networking, documentation and sharing of experiences and data, and awareness raising at local, national and international level through establishment of databases, organising regional workshops and e-conferences and realising publications. During these years RUAF developed from a project led by ETC into an international network of 1 global and 7 regional Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security. In 2004 the network obtained independent legal status as the RUAF Foundation. With the start of the "Cities Farming for the Future" programme in 2005, the RUAF partners focused more strongly on capacity development and support to multi-stakeholder policy development and action planning in urban agriculture in 20 cities, involving local authorities, NGO’s and urban producer organisations in 17 countries.
In 2010 the RUAF partners started the “From Seed to Table programme” that focuses on strengthening urban producers organisations and enhancing local capacity in the development of “From Seed to Table” projects with urban producer groups (participatory market analysis to identify consumer demand, group business planning, urban producer field schools, processing / packaging units, direct marketing to consumers interested in ecological products).
The results of these programmes have been carefully monitored and documented (see for example the final report on RUAF-CFF. The RUAF programmes have had important effects on local institutional capacities and focus, enhanced political awareness and important policy change at city and national level.
International recognition of the potential and impacts of urban agriculture for urban food security and nutrition, poverty alleviation, recycling of urban wastes, adaptation to climate change has grown substantially in this decade. In addition over 70 local urban agriculture projects have been implemented improving the livelihoods of around 5700 households.
An overview of main RUAF publications to date can be found at the RUAF website including a number of leading publications like the thematic issues of the Urban Agriculture Magazine (5 languages, 7000 subscribers) and key publications like: Cities Farming for the Future - Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities; Women Feeding Cities - Mainstreaming gender in urban agriculture and food security; Cities, Food and Agriculture: Challenges and the way forward; and Cities, Poverty and Food; Multi-stakeholder Policy formulation and Action Planning in Urban Agriculture (forthcoming).
At present RUAF Foundation is preparing a new 5 year programme together with 5 other Dutch organisations (ETC, Both Ends, ILEIA, LBI and Heifer) and their counterparts in the South. The group is named the “Sustainable Agriculture Alliance”. The planned programme will focus on enhancing policy recognition for the role small scale agriculture has to play in answering actual challenges like the food and economic crises, climate change, deterioration of natural resources and growing competition for water). The SAA programme will promote the development of sustainable regional food systems involving responsible producers and consumers and other local actors.
To celebrate this anniversary RUAF will organise a number of activities in 2010, such as activities on World Food Day in October in all the RUAF partner cities, a Special of the Urban Agriculture Magazine and a Photo and short story contest. To find out about upcoming events and announcements please visit the RUAF website.
For the special issue of the UA Magazine (no.25 which will appear in November this year) we welcome your contributions in the form of photos and short stories (max. 250 words) that show the development of urban agriculture in the past 10 years in a certain city or country and its impacts, or that analyse the role urban agriculture can play in answering major challenges in the near future (e.g. urban food security, climate change, productive reuse of wastewater and nutrients,…). Please send us your contributions before July 1 of this year, to ruaf@etcnl.nl
2. RUAF FROM SEED TO TABLE PROGRAMME
In the past year RUAF regional partners, local support organizations and urban producer organizations participating in the RUAF- FStT From Seed to Table programme (www.ruaf.org) have engaged in farmer led market analysis and identification of ‘most promising’ business ideas and business plans for the selected urban agriculture enterprises have been formulated. The businesses are financed through a combination of project seed funding, savings and credit schemes. Farmers’ capacities are being strengthened in more ecological production technologies, processing and marketing and related organisational issues. True chain empowerment requires after all that they become involved in managing the entire production-marketing value chain, controlling the terms of payment, defining quality control and managing innovation. RUAF strengthens farmers’ capacities in these areas through “urban producer field schools” and helps farmers to strengthen their own organisations. Please read here the voices of some of the urban producers participating in the RUAF programme.
VOICES BY URBAN PRODUCERS
Amina (unmarried and living with her parents) is one of the beneficiaries participating in the FStT project in Amman (Jordan)
“I think that out of the projects that were implemented in our city, FStT is the most practical one; why? Because, it is part of our daily life…we are farmers and know well what we are doing but we needed to work together to improve what we have; the other activities such as weaving, pottery are good but require equipment, learning and time; we have too many chores but since farming is one of them, we have to make more profit out of it; working as a group seems to facilitate a lot of things such as taking instructions on how to produce better and how to pack; organising ourselves in one group is helping us to satisfy the market demand and add value to our produce…our produce has a label now and we intend to work on other crops as well because we are helping each other and have contacts with buyers… and donors! We want to improve what we are already doing and I feel that I belong to a group trying to improve what we usually do”.
A local label for urban agriculture produce in Amman and San’a
In MENA, the RUAF Urban Farmer groups in Amman – Jordan and San’a – Yemen are applying a “Socially Responsible Production Protocol” for their urban produce. The protocol guarantees that the produce comes from a radius of 10 kms or less from the City Centre, that environmental ethics are respected during the production process, that it does not involve any abusive women or children labour and that 75% or more of the price paid by the consumers is distributed back to the farmers. Signature of these production protocols will take early 2010 during a large public event aiming at raising further the awareness around urban agriculture.
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Ranganath is living with his parents and two elder brothers and two younger sisters. He is the member of Magadi Vayalagam Vegetable Growers Association (Bangalore, India) promoted by the FStT project
“The government is showing interest in the development of agriculture in rural areas and urban agriculture is often neglected. Hence, urban producers are ignored. The FStT project is now being implemented in our area and I have actively participated in all the steps of the project from context analysis to implementation. I have participated in a demonstration of off-season carrot production through the project. Now I have also sowed carrot seeds in a 5130 square feet area as a part of the implementation of the project. In the urban producer field school, I have learned about integrated pest management practices using organic spray. Now I know how to prepare and spray Neem Seed Kernel Extract to control pests. This is very effective to control pests and is also cost effective. This project is showing us a way to minimise costs and get more profits from agriculture. We are purchasing required inputs for the project collectively. Our association has started group savings and an internal lending scheme. It helps us to take loans from our own savings for agricultural purposes with lower rate of interest. This is a good example of mutual and self-help. This project is also helping us in the management of the association and on capacity building and leadership qualities. All members are benefiting from this project also thanks to the project team”.
Mr Musonda is an urban producer and member of the local project team working with urban tomato farmers in Ndola (Zambia)
“The FStT project is well conceptualised project. The capacity building element in the diagnosis phase helped me to learn about various issues some of which include market analysis and the importance of understanding the potential client relation to the product that one intends to sell. The implementation phase has also enlightened me regarding the working as a group, discussions and how to manage a public discussion. The other issue I have is the capacity in terms of farming inputs. One needs to plan well in time of the actual commencement of the production cycle. The nursery program was well coupled with the urban producer field school in which farmer-to-farmer learning was the key element. Unfortunately, our first cycle of producing well packed and graded tomatoes did not go well as the production was poor due to heavy rains and flooding. However this has also been a lesson to me and we will integrate water management in our next training cycle”.
María Cleofe Abanto has been raising pigs for 12 years. In Lima, the FStT project works together with AGROSILVES, an organization formed by more than 400 peri-urban producers
“My main activity is pig farming, when they grow, we sell them, we don’t make a lot of money but we at least have some income. I raise them, I look for food and recycle it, I gather rice, corn, potatoes, vegetables, and use them to prepare food for my animals.”
Thanks to her work in the FStT project, she feels that she has learned a lot, especially how to “raise the animals more hygienically and give them better food so that they grow better”. She also comments on improvements in their organisation: “Before, each person went their own way, now we are organized and we make an effort to attend our meetings”. “The project taught us a lot of new things, for example, how to prepare food for the pigs, we have also learned how to determine the race of the pigs, and they have just taught us how to do insemination” “Hopefully we will be able to make feed just like what the factories sell”. “If I change the way I farm the pigs, the sales will be better, we are going to buy a scale to weigh them and to demand a fair price, not just whatever they want to pay, also we are going to improve how our farms look and that is also worth something!”
NATIONAL POLICY MAKING ON URBAN AGRICULTURE
The multi- stakeholder forums (MSF) in the RUAF partner cities that were established under the RUAF Cities Farming for the Future Programme, continue to work on updating and upgrading of the City Strategic Agenda (CSA) on Urban Agriculture and Food Security. This includes policy lobbying and formulation on urban agriculture at local and national level. Some of the activities implemented and outcomes achieved include the following:
In Belo Horizonte-Brazil, UA is now legally recognised as an economic activity. The RUF local multi-stakeholder forum is currently working on integrating UA as component in all new urban projects and programmes related to social and economic development.
In Burkina Faso, a policy review on UA has been conducted in order to identify possibly entry-points and constraints for development of a national policy on UA. In parallel, the Municipality of Bobo-Dioulasso (RUAF’s partner city) and the Authority of Environment are providing inputs to the development a national plan for green spaces in which urban agriculture is included as a multifunctional and productive use of such spaces.
In Yemen, all line ministries (agriculture, but also water and irrigation, social affairs, international cooperation, etc...) and the municipality of San’a have adopted the City Strategic Agenda on urban agriculture and use it as a catalyst to revive the “Green Belt Initiative” in which land for urban and peri-urban agriculture should be zoned and protected.
In Gampaha-Sri Lanka, RUAF’s partner IWMI-India and the provincial Administration of the Department of Agriculture have developed a draft policy document on support to more market-oriented (or FStT) forms of urban agriculture. The 2007-2010 National Campaign to Motivate Domestic Food Production so far mainly calls for the establishment of (rural and) urban home gardens, school gardens, home gardens and model farms on office premises and on premises of private institutions. In order however to contribute to both the country’s as well as the city’s policy goals of enhancing local and domestic food production the development of different types of urban agriculture remains crucial. Where home, school and institutional gardens will contribute to enhancing food security and nutrition at household level, the development of more commercial urban agriculture will contribute to income and job creation as well as food security at city and national level thus reducing dependence on food imports and making concrete steps towards enhancing the country’s food sovereignty.
In Zimbabwe, a national UA coordinator has been appointed by AREX (Ministry of Agriculture) and is working towards developing a UA policy for Zimbabwe. The government has started giving urban farmers inputs and other resources and they have continued to make peri-urban land available to
urban farmers.
In China, following the establishment of China UA Association under the Ministry of Agriculture, which focuses more on technical and academic research, a proposal for establishment of an Urban Agriculture China Research Commission has been put forward aiming to promote UA policy development in China. The major initiators for setting up this Commission are RUAF’s regional partner IGSNRR, the China Policy Research Association, the State Council Research Department, People’s congress members and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
For more information you are welcome to contact one of the RUAF partners listed below.
For more information on the RUAF-FSTT programme: see www.ruaf.org. The RUAF website contains information on the RUAF-FSTT programme, the activities in each region and pilot city and all RUAF publications, including the Urban Agriculture Magazine in 6 languages, as well as an extensive on line bibliographic database (English) and other valuable resources sections as well as linkages to the regional RUAF-websites with more specific information.
3. OTHER ACTIVITIES RUAF PARTNERS
Distance learning course Urban Agriculture Policy Making
A new distance learning course “Urban Agriculture Policy Making” will be offered for the first time from 08 May to 07 August 2010. It will discuss multi-stakeholder policy formulation processes leading to sustainable development and institutionalisation of urban agriculture. It starts discussing tools and methodologies for analysing stakeholders, farming systems, land uses, and regulatory frameworks. Next steps involve strategic action planning, followed by the formulation of action projects and policies on urban agriculture and their implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The course highlights lessons from a wide array of cities around the world.
The course has been developed in partnership with ETC-Urban Agriculture and RUAF, with technical support provided by The Chang School, Ryerson University in Canada. It will be fully offered on-line and does not require participation in any face-2-face meetings or sessions. Costs for participation amount to Canadian Dollar 492 (for Canadian and international participants alike). For further information on course content, set up or inscription please contact:
Reg Noble, Ryerson Coordinator of the Food Security Certificate
Email: food@ryerson.ca
http://ryerson.ca/foodsecurity/certificate/index.html
4. RUAF PUBLICATIONS
- Urban Agriculture Magazine
The next issue of the Magazine, no. 23, is a collaborative effort with WASTE, and will focus on Urban Nutrient Management. This issue will soon be available on the RUAF website. Publication of the hard copy is slightly delayed. Contributions for UA Magazine No. 24 From Seed to Table; developing urban market chains are expected before 1 April 2010. The full call for contributions can be found on the RUAF website. Your ideas and contributions of articles are most welcome. No. 25 will be a special issue to celebrate 10 years of RUAF. For information, please visit the RUAF website regularly.
Cities, food and agriculture: Challenges and the way forward (2009) by Henk de Zeeuw and Marielle Dubbeling. This is a discussion paper used a input to the FAO-RUAF Technical consultation on ‘Food, Agriculture and Cities’ that took place last September in Rome with experts on urban food security and urban agriculture from international organisations. The document discusses urban agriculture in view of the recent food and economic crisis and debates on climate change. It provides evidence-based “food for thought and action” to senior policy makers in member states and relevant UN agencies. The document intends to stimulate and facilitate the development of pro-poor policies for urban and peri-urban agriculture at international, national and city levels. The paper is available for download at: http://www.ruaf.org/node/2135
Cities, Poverty and Food; Multi-stakeholder Policy formulation and Action Planning in Urban Agriculture (forthcoming) by Marielle Dubbeling, Henk de Zeeuw and Rene van Veenhuizen (eds.)
With this publication RUAF and IDRC seek to synthesise the lessons learned with the MPAP approach (Multi-stakeholder Policy formulation and Action Planning) in urban agriculture in the 21 RUAF partner cities participating in the RUAF Cities Farming for the Future programme. The book describes the MPAP approach from a methodological (the process, steps, and tools) and as well as content point of view (what are effective policy measures and actions needed to facilitate sustainable and safe urban agriculture). The approach is further illustrated by case studies on the experiences gained with the MPAP approach and policy development in 7 RUAF partner cities. This publication will be published in April 2010 by Practical Action Publishing and will be launched at the World Urban Forum V in Rio de Janeiro.
5. WHAT'S NEW ON THE RUAF WEBSITE
- City pages on urban agriculture in Sana'a (Yemen) and Amman (Jordan)
On these city pages you can read more on urban agriculture in Sana'a and Amman and the multi-stakeholder policy formulation and action planning process and the latest activities in the From Seed to Table programme. - Video:
Animals in the city
This video tackles the very sensitive issue of raising animals in the city. Policy makers often regard small ruminants as a nuisance rather than an economic opportunity. The video was shot in Beirut.
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:
- 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://ruaf.iwmi.org/ - 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
Please, feel free to forward this bulletin. Back issues of RUAF Update are available on the RUAF website. You are very welcome to send us your comments regarding this e-mail bulletin.
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