Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture

The fast urbanization taking place mainly in developing countries (Africa, Asia, Latin America) has generated a concentration of population in the cities. These accelerated changes entail a great social, environmental and sanitary challenge. Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (AUP) takes place within the limits or in the neighborhood of the cities worldwide and includes the products of farming, fishing and forest activities, as well as the ecological services they provide. Considering the implications related to food, health, environment and the incentives for intellectual and social development, urban and peri-urban agriculture constitutes a powerful tool for development.

The Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (UPA) activities carried out since 1992 by FAO’s Regional Office Plant Production Programme, tend to generate and systematize expertise and knowledge which will contribute in the design of strategies, policies and programmes of urban and peri-urban agriculture for the food and nutritional security, as a tool for poverty alleviation generating sources of employment and income. The activities have been centered in the dissemination of adequate technologies for horticultural crops under controlled conditions including the design of simplified methods of family hydroponics production and small-medium enterprises, the dissemination of concepts on UPA, training courses, the development of adequate technologies and the start-up of experiences and projects in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela.

In order to support local authorities and those in charge of the formulation of policies on the subject, an Interdisciplinary Group on Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture and Education on Nutrition has been created to formulate projects and provide technical cooperation as from an integral and multi component point of view. The activities of the group for 2007 consider the preparation of an International Seminar on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in La Paz, Bolivia, presenting the bases for a regional project profile and the launching of the Declaration of La Paz on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture, as well as the components for a basic AUP programme at municipal level. Likewise, the group supports the formulation of projects in several countries of the Region such as Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela and Peru.



Working priorities

  • Formulation and execution of UPA projects in the Region.
  • Establish and disseminate a multi-component and integral approach in the UPA activities.
  • Definition of a strategy on food and nutritional education for the UPA.
  • Promote education, training and information on UPA and Food and nutritional Security to local authorities and organizations.
  • Systematize experiences and promote trading and associability strategies between UPA beneficiaries with productive surplus.
  • Promote training with gender equity.
  • Evaluate and validate experiences and technical and socio-economic methodologies on UPA.
  • Support the formulation and municipal policy management of UPA.

Relevant documents (spanish version)