Urban agriculture in Belem, Brazil

Growing one's own food is an important survival strategy, so it shouldn't be surprising that many urbanites produce food, even in congested cities. Urban agriculture concerns such farming as animal husbandry, the growing of fruit trees, crops of basic grains and horticulture, which coexist in the city with tree crops, and the raising of rabbits, poultry, or other stock. With regard to the edible areas, we consider urban open spaces and inner courtyard plots (like homegardens), any small cultivated strips located within town boundaries as well as larger peripheral areas. Urban agriculture refers both to intra and peri-urban surfaces. Results from a research project underway in Belem, Brazil, permit us to argue that urban agriculture offers nutritional and environmental benefits. Moreover, urban planners from this Amazonian city have been integrating urban food production into municipal projects with some success. The paper provides convincing evidence of the importance of urban food production. We measure the space it utilizes, we mention the various crops and livestock produced, we quantify the food and non-food products consumed or used, we consider the production system, we value the usage of wastes. The paper concludes with the importance of producing environmentally sustainable types of fruits and vegetables to add variety to meals and to enhance the nutrition of the urban poor. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.