Introduction: City context

The city of Belo Horizonte is the capital of the brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Located on the southeastern part of the country, Belo Horizonte is the third largest metropolitan area and fourth largest city in Brazil (after Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador). With an extension of 330.9 km2 and a population of 2.238.526 inhabitants (IBGE, 2000) is also characterized for not containing a rural area. The city has a political-administrative structure composed by a prefeitura (municipality), subdivided in 09 Regionais (regions) with its own and decentralized administrations (North, the Northwest, Northeast, East, West, South Center, Barreiro, Pampulha e Venda Nova). These, in turn, are subdivided in Planning Units –PU’s- composed by urban quarters, villages and communities.

Belo Horizonte presents a high incidence of areas with irregular settlements, called favelas (slums), whose population is predominantly black, of low income and with an adult population, mainly young and women, idle due to the lack of employment.

The study area of the Program Cities Farming for the Future (CFF) is the Regional Barreiro, located in the Southwest of the City of Belo Horizonte with an area of 55,54 km² and 262,194 inhabitants. Barreiro possess the biggest amount of green areas for m² in the city (43.779m²), distributed in 30 public squares of the 49 existing ones, which beyond composing the natural landscape, contributes in the maintenance of biodiversity.

Main types of urban agriculture

Agricultural activities and the raise of small livestock are regular practices in the municipality of Belo Horizonte -Minas Gerais- Brazil. These are present in various forms with diverse functions: ornamental, medicinal, cosmetic, vegetable and fruit farming, etc.

Development strategies

The city of Belo Horizonte is the capital of the brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Located on the southeastern part of the country, Belo Horizonte is the third largest metropolitan area and fourth largest city in Brazil (after Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador). With an extension of 330.9 km2 and a population of 2.238.526 inhabitants (IBGE, 2000) is also characterized for not containing a rural area. The city has a political-administrative structure composed by a prefeitura (municipality), subdivided in 09 Regionais (regions) with its own and decentralized administrations (North, the Northwest, Northeast, East, West, South Center, Barreiro, Pampulha e Venda Nova). These, in turn, are subdivided in Planning Units –PU’s- composed by urban quarters, villages and communities. Belo Horizonte presents a high incidence of areas with irregular settlements, called favelas (slums), whose population is predominantly black, of low income and with an adult population, mainly young and women, idle due to the lack of employment.

In the two last decades, some promotional initiatives for urban agriculture have been implemented in the city and in the State of Minas Gerais. The Municipality of Belo Horizonte -MBH- promoted, in the 90’s decade, the creation of two Agroecological Experiences Centers – CEVAEs- in the East and Northeast of the city. In 1995 the Program of Urban Agriculture and Food Security - PASA/REDE was initiated with a community building approach through the participative diagnostics and the implementation of Urban Agriculture Training for Community Teachers Program during 2002-2004.

Events as workshops, meetings and seminars had been carried in order to articulate the various sectors of the society interested in the subject. This was the context for the creation of the Minas Gerais’ Forum on Food Security and Nutrition -FMSAN- and the Metropolitan Articulation of Urban Agriculture -AMAU-. There also could be observed a State-level movement around the subject through the articulation of an Urban Agriculture Reference Group -GT AU-, which aimed to add some experiences in urban agriculture from other State’s cities.

An advance in terms of legislation was the approval in 2006 of the State Law of Urban Agriculture in Minas Gerais. A commission, composed for the State Legislature of Minas Gerais –ALMG-, organizations of the state government and of some municipalities, and representative institutions of the civil society, is working in the regulation of this law and in the definition of a group with the function to transform the urban agriculture in a State’s policy, with programs and budgets executed, assisting the 853 State’s municipalities in the debate and creation of its own public policies in urban agriculture.

The implementation of the CFF Program in the city is done through a partnership between Foundation RUAF/IPES, Rede de Intercâmbio de Tecnologias Alternativas -REDE-, representing the civil society, and the Municipality of Belo Horizonte, representing the government.

Results (as of date)

The execution of the CFF Program in the pilot city of Belo Horizonte is at the phase of the urban agriculture participative diagnostic, which will be finished by July 2007. It will give inputs for the following phase of the Program: the Action Planning.
Due to the size of Belo Horizonte, it was decided to make the diagnosis activities in one of the city’s region: “Barreiro”. A Work Group - GT, formed by representatives of the municipality and civil society was organized. This group has collected the secondary data already existent in the municipal district and in Barreiro. They are also working in the elaboration for the stakeholders mapping. Currently, the CFF Program is in the phase of preparation of the team that will be in charge of the research for the land mapping, the situational analysis, and the review of the legal frame; defining the methodology that will be used (samples, diagnosis tools and schedules).

Linkages to regional websites

For more information on the RUAF-Cities Farming for the Future Programme in the region, contact the regional coordinator at RUAF Latin America and the Caribbean or see their website.

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