In conjunction with Sida, ETC Netherlands, TUAN and other organisations, "An Annotated Bibliography on Urban Agriculture" has been produced. It contains 16 themes with State of the Art introductions. This Annotated Bibliography on Urban Agriculture contains a comprehensive literature overview in 17 chapters, each with a "state of the art" overview followed by literature references with abstracts.
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RUAF Publications
Urban Agriculture Magazine
Bibliographic Database
Submitted by Guest on Thu, 06/23/2005 - 16:34
Cai JianmingIn: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture Agriculture has always occupied a very important position in China's economy. Suburban agriculture (a term often used by Chinese scholars to indicate periurban agriculture), is is fully oriented to urban demand: the production of vegetables, fruit, milk, fish, livestock and poultry, as well as some high value-added grain products such as various beans. It is labour-, and relatively capital-intensive with a high level of productivity and has absorbed many rural labourers. In the late 1990s a new development in China took place. Instead of paying attention to the quantity of food supply, people started to prioritise according to the quality of food supply. In Beijing, as well as in Shanghai, agriculture-oriented science and technology development and demonstration parks were established. Xiaotangshan modern agricultural demonstration park in Beijing is one of these.
Submitted by Guest on Thu, 06/23/2005 - 16:32
Ogunbayo Olatunde SamsonIn: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture The growth and development of urban agriculture as a response to urban poverty and increasing food prices is evident in Nigeria. Urbanisation and increasing urban agricultural production constitute an indispensable economic basis for local urban services. Agricultural financing in Nigeria, both formal an informal, is briefly discussed here.
Submitted by Guest on Thu, 06/23/2005 - 16:30
Almitra PatelIn: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture Composting of city wastes is a legal requirement for all urban local bodies in India. However, central and state governments have yet to perceive it as a social good that requires official support. This paper describes India's current agricultural scenario, the proven benefits of Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM) and the use of city compost in drought-proofing crops and restoring degraded soils. It further elaborates some of the problems faced by compost producers, the attitudes of farmers and chemical fertiliser producers. The strategic and economic benefits of co-marketing synthetic fertiliser are argued, with compost produced in composting facilities owned by the fertiliser producers. Finally, several state and central government initiatives are suggested.
Submitted by Guest on Thu, 06/23/2005 - 16:28
Mayor Estelita M. Aquino and Joseph H. BatacIn: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture The last 20 years have seen the population of Marilao increase at an average rate of 9.4% per year (4.5 times the national average). The five year local plan document of 1996 emphasised productivity improvement combined with access to financing. To counteract the rapid conversion of good land to human settlements, industry, services, commerce and trade, and the resulting degraded soil, and deterioration in surface water quality and smog, the municipality started to invest into the collection of biodegradable waste, and in the processing and use of the compost for agricultural production. Subsequently compost-based, home-grown potted vegetable production was facilitated and supported.
Submitted by Guest on Thu, 06/23/2005 - 16:25
Antoaneta YovevaIn: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture Traditionally, agriculture plays a significant role in the Bulgarian economy. Small urban farmers form a substantial and increasing part of the agricultural sector. Most urban agriculture in Bulgaria is for subsistence. Some agricultural lending programmes have been introduced, but the funding levels are insufficient to compensate for modest bank credit. The banks persist in their conservative approach to lending in general, and to agriculture in particular. Apart from relatives and commercial bank credit, rural and urban agriculture in Bulgaria currently relies on several international lending programmes, discussed in this article.
Submitted by Guest on Thu, 06/23/2005 - 16:23
Angelika KesslerIn: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture In West Africa's capital cities urban farms are not homogeneous. They differ in crops, cropping period, location, inputs, capital investments, profits and liquid assets. Different farming systems have specific economic strategies to which credits have to be adapted. In West African urban farms, we can distinguish four to five different crop production systems, which differ by type of farm, products, location (in city or periurban area), economic strategy, and profitability. In this article, the following systems are distinguished: mixed vegetable farms, irrigated with watering cans; mixed vegetable farms using pumps; women's traditional vegetable farms; ornamental plant cultivation; and staple-food farms.Interviews were conducted in Lomé, Cotonou, Bamako, Dakar, Ouagadougou and Conakry in 1999 and 2002, as part of a European Union financed INCO project for development called "The use of organic composted waste from urban households for phytosanitary purposes in periurban agriculture of West Africa". Furthermore, IWMI-FAO West Africa, financed City Resource Papers on Urban Agriculture. Based on these interviews, annual (Lome and Cotonou) or seasonal (Bamako and Ouagadougou) benefit of the farms were calculated, taking into account input costs, salaries, maintenance and depreciation.
Submitted by Guest on Thu, 06/23/2005 - 16:20
Oleg MoldakovIn: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture Annually, up to 2.5 million city inhabitants are involved in agricultural activities in St. Petersburg. The main reasons to practise gardening and farming in the city are self-sufficiency. City gardeners never obtain credit or loans. They borrow small sums of money from friends or relatives. The small-scale periurban farmers have a stronger interest in obtaining credit in order to finance agricultural activities. Several sources for micro-credit are given in this article. It is concluded that urban gardening is an important factor of political stability in society, and that thus there is a need for government subsidies.
Submitted by Guest on Thu, 06/23/2005 - 16:17
Azage TegegneIn: UA Magazine 9 - Financing Urban Agriculture The Ada'a-Liben Woreda Dairy and Dairy Products Marketing Association was established in 1998 in Debre Zeit town, 45 km southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The association was established with 34 founding members. The main objectives of the association are to minimise the high transaction cost for the sale of milk and reduce seasonal price fluctuations. The milk collection and marketing activity started in January 2000, and over the last few years, the association has made significant progress. Currently there are 428 full members composed of 245 male and 183 female farmers. In addition, 181 non-member dairy farmers supply milk to the association. The members of the association have a total of 1,716 dairy cows and a capital of over 500,000 Birr. The number of milk collection sites has increased to seven around Debre Zeit town. The association has created job opportunities for 25 regular staff. Recently, the association purchased two coolers with 25,000 litres capacity. The current milk collection has increased to 5,500 litres per day or about 175,000 litres per month. The major source of finance has been contributions from members, sales of milk and support from a number of government offices, NGOs and international organisations.
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