As the world population in cities has surpassed that of rural areas, urban and periurban agriculture (UPA) can become an important strategy, not only to feed the people, but also to mitigate climate change. Municipal support to UPA in the city of Rosario, Argentina, largely increased after the national crisis of 2001, when unemployment hit a large number of working families. By 2013 there were 400 gardeners involved in the programme (280 of them producing food for the market and 120 for family consumption); 100 unemployed young people are receiving job training on UPA; 4 garden parks and other smaller public areas are devoted to vegetable production, covering a total area of 22 hectares; and 3 urban agro-industries are producing processed vegetables and cosmetics from medicinal plants. The total annual production is about 95 tons of vegetables and 5 tons of aromatic plants. The fresh and processed products are sold by the gardeners on five street markets in the city.

This paper, Monitoring the Climate Change Impacts of Urban Agriculture in Rosario, Argentina, examines the city’s urban agriculture programme, the contribution of green areas to reducing the Urban Heat Island, the transportation and conservation of food and the effects of UPA on run-off and infiltration of storm water.

Further reading:

Project homepage: Monitoring impacts of urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry on climate change adaptation and mitigation

Publications:

• Report on needs and requirements of (city)governments and international organisations (such as the World Bank, DFID and UN-HABITAT) for the monitoring of UPAF impacts and the use of such data in climate change programmes and strategies
• A First Framework for Monitoring the Impacts of Urban Agriculture on Climate Change
• Surface Temperature Variations in the Kesbewa Urban Council Area, Sri Lanka
• Report on the (most relevant) potential impacts of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture and Forestry (UPA/F) on climate change adaptation, mitigation and other co-developmental benefits

Image credit: Sergio Ruiz, Flickr