The latest issue of the FAO’s Nature & Faune Journal analyzes how trees contribute to urban food supplies, drawing on the recent State of the World's Forest Genetic Resources report.
The focus of the issue is on 'Sustainable Natural Resources Management in Africa's Urban Food and Nutrition Equation.'
In an opinion piece in the issue, Richard Leakey, former director of research at the World Agroforestry Centre, outlines how researchers have worked with farmers in Cameroon to integrate and domesticate indigenous fruit and nut trees. These agroforestry systems have rehabilitated degraded farm land, promoted food and nutritional security and created income generating opportunities for both rural and urban populations. This work has achieved impressive benefits, says Leakey, and now African policy makers need to support this initiative to ensure it is scaled up.
The issue also contains article discussing: how forests can contribute to semi-urban and urban food security; the role of urban and peri-urban forests in sustainable development; family farming in urban settings; and how mobile technology can be used to improve food production.
Download: Nature and Faune – Volume 28, Issue 2
