With more and more people living in cities, urban agriculture – including agroforestry - will be vital for food security.
In his article in The Hindu Business Line, Rana Kapoor, Founder, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of YES Bank, outlines how it is expected that by 2020 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America will be home to 75 per cent of all urban dwellers.
Kapoor discusses the many advantages of urban agriculture, including its ability to reuse water and recycle waste. It also provides easy access to fresh, nutritious food for lower income consumers, and income generation potential. Urban agriculture can also be integrated with urban greening programs to provide fuelwood for urban residents and reduce pollution.
The cities of India are home to an estimated 340 million people, almost 30 per cent of the country’s population. Like other developing nations, this shift from a rural to urban population is increasing urban poverty and food insecurity. Already though, there are some promising urban agriculture initiatives in Indian cities; agroforestry in Hyderabad, terrace farming is being Mumbai and horticulture production in Delhi.
Writes Kapoor, “[urban agriculture] creates a diverse ecology where fruit trees, vegetable plantations and even fishing, etc. could coexist and build a wholly ecologically sustainable scenario.
The challenge is to ensure governments provide policies and urban planning instruments to support urban agriculture as it is going to be essential for the sustainability of expanding cities.
Read the full story: Urban agriculture for food security
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