In: Irrigated Urban Vegetable Production in Ghana - Characteristics, Benefits and Risks by Emmanuel Obuobie, Bernard Keraita, George Danso, Philip Amoah, Olufunke O. Cofie, Liqa Raschid-Sally and Pay

In: Irrigated Urban Vegetable Production in Ghana - Characteristics, Benefits and Risks by Emmanuel Obuobie, Bernard Keraita, George Danso, Philip Amoah, Olufunke O. Cofie, Liqa Raschid-Sally and Pay

In: Irrigated Urban Vegetable Production in Ghana - Characteristics, Benefits and Risks by Emmanuel Obuobie, Bernard Keraita, George Danso, Philip Amoah, Olufunke O. Cofie, Liqa Raschid-Sally and Pay

In: Irrigated Urban Vegetable Production in Ghana - Characteristics, Benefits and Risks by Emmanuel Obuobie, Bernard Keraita, George Danso, Philip Amoah, Olufunke O. Cofie, Liqa Raschid-Sally and Pay

In: Irrigated Urban Vegetable Production in Ghana - Characteristics, Benefits and Risks by Emmanuel Obuobie, Bernard Keraita, George Danso, Philip Amoah, Olufunke O. Cofie, Liqa Raschid-Sally and Pay

In: Irrigated Urban Vegetable Production in Ghana - Characteristics, Benefits and Risks by Emmanuel Obuobie, Bernard Keraita, George Danso, Philip Amoah, Olufunke O. Cofie, Liqa Raschid-Sally and Pay

By Emmanuel Obuobie, Bernard Keraita, George Danso, Philip Amoah, Olufunke O. Cofie, Liqa Raschid-Sally and Pay Drechsel

Produced by Alexandra Heinegg, Patricia Maragos, Edmund Mason, Jane Rabinowicz, Gloria Straccini and Heather Walsh

This guide is written as a primer on soil contamination, as it relates to gardening in an urban setting. It seeks to provide individual gardeners or community groups with the necessary background information to address this issue. There are several important aspects of soil contamination which are addressed in this guide, including the dangers of gardening in contaminated soil, the potential sources of contamination, ways to evaluate the level of contamination present in the soil, and your options for addressing the problem. At the end of this document there are several appendices with information pertaining to the topics discussed here. Most of these are Montreal- and Canada–specific, but should provide some good starting points for similar resources in other cities and countries.

Philippe Tixier and Hubert de Bon

In: Cities Farming for the Future - Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities

Although crops have always been grown inside the city, urban horticulture is expanding and gaining more attention recently. Horticultural products include a large variety of vegetables, cereals, flowers, and trees. Vegetable production provides regular and high incomes to the various actors in the commodity chain and provides food to urban dwellers. Many specific techniques have been developed or adapted specifically for urban areas. If well managed, urban horticulture can play an important role in reducing socio-economic and environmental problems in cities. Urban authorities should collaborate with urban producers to strengthen the role of urban horticulture in waste recycling, community building and creating sustainable food systems.

René van Veenhuizen

In: Cities Farming for the Future - Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities

Attention to urban agriculture has increased markedly during the last couple of decades. The number of activities to promote urban agriculture at international, national and local level has grown, but urban farmers in many cities in the world still struggle to get their main survival strategy recognised by city authorities. The demand of policy makers and local practitioners for inspiring examples of successful policies and actions in cities is therefore growing. Urban agriculture contributes to a wide variety of urban issues and is increasingly being accepted and used as a tool in sustainable city development. Currently the challenge is its integration into city planning and facilitation of its multiple benefits for urban inhabitants. This book seeks to present the current state of affairs regarding urban agriculture and sustainable urban development.