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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.

Hailu Araya, Alemayehu Ayalew, Azeb Werqu and Nigusie HaileMariam

In: UA Magazine no. 19 - Stimulating Innovation in Urban Agriculture

As urbanisation increases in Ethiopia, city dwellers are responding in innovative ways to problems of high unemployment and opportunities of high market demand by growing crops and raising animals. Many people in poor families, especially women and youth, take these initiatives because they already knew farming before they migrated to town, or they learned it from others who were farming in town. 

Augustin Cihyoka

In: UA Magazine no. 19 - Stimulating Innovation in Urban Agriculture

The city of Bukavu, the administrative centre of South-Kivu Province, is situated in Eastern DR Congo some 2,000 km from the capital, Kinshasa. It is an important commercial, administrative and university centre with a population of over 600,000 inhabitants. For several
reasons many of them have turned to farming to secure their livelihoods.

Jessica Alegre, Gordon Prain and Miguel Salvo

In: UA Magazine no. 19 - Stimulating Innovation in Urban Agriculture

Pig raising is an important livelihood activity in the District of Lurigancho Chosica, which is a low-income periurban neighbourhood located in the Rimac valley in the eastern part of the city of Lima. As many as 1600 families are thought to depend on this activity for some or all
of their income. Without organisation, technical support or regulation, they mostly operate in small clusters of informal livestock units perched on the arid hillsides of this desert city. This type of production raises concerns about public health risks and environmental pollution, and yet relatively simple changes in management can make pig raising a profitable, sustainable activity that can contribute
significantly to the well-being of urban and periurban families.

H. de Zeeuw

Key note paper for the International Conference

Hans Schiere, Barbara Rischkowsky, Eric Thys, Jaap Schiere and Francine Matthys

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

Livestock keeping in and around cities is a practice that can be traced back to ancient times. The functions and forms of urban livestock have changed over time, and after decades of neglect, the roles of urban livestock are now being recognised again by urban officials. This chapter reviews the categorisations, relevance and logic of urban livestock keeping in past and modern society. It stresses that animals can be both a nuisance and a benefit, serving several direct and indirect functions in urban ecosystems, each with different priorities at household, city and national level.

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.