FAO International Symposium – Urban and peri-urban horticulture in the century of cities: Lessons, challenges, opportunities

FAO International symposium – Dakar, Republic of Senegal, 5-9 December 2010

To help developing countries meet the challenges of massive and rapid urbanization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched in 2001 a multidisciplinary initiative, Food for the Cities, which aims at ensuring the access of urban populations to safe food and healthy and secure environments.

A major component of Food for the Cities is intensification of horticultural production in and around urban areas. Urban and peri-urban horticulture (UPH) cannot meet, by itself, cities’ exponentially growing demand for fresh vegetables, fruit and other horticultural produce, and should not divert resources from horticulture in rural areas. However, FAO experience indicates that, where farm-to-market systems are inadequate, it can fill critical gaps and make a significant contribution to urban food supply and livelihoods.

Over the past decade, FAO multidisciplinary programmes and projects in developing and emerging countries have focused on the policies, institutional frameworks, farming practices and support systems needed to optimize the sector’s contribution. It has opened a dialogue with national policymakers and municipal authorities on UPH issues and, through synergies with partner organizations, helped develop policies, strategies and technical guidelines.

Symposium objectives

Together with partner organizations, FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Senegal have convened this international symposium in order to:

• review experiences and lessons learned
• assess UPH’s contribution to urban food supply, nutrition and livelihoods
• capitalize on current experiences and knowledge
• foster UPH initiatives and networking
• lay the foundations for increased policy and institutional support for UPH

The symposium will cover key links in the production, supply and value chains including: securing access to land and water, integrated plant production and protection, post-harvest handling and processing technologies, product quality and safety, and marketing. The symposium is also expected to provide guidance for the preparation of FAO’s report on the State of Urban and Peri-Urban Horticulture in Africa (SOUPHA), to be published in 2011.

Sessions

Session 1: The impact of urbanization and the role of UPH
Session 2: Characterization of urban and peri-urban agriculture
Session 3: Measuring the contribution of UPH to urban food supply, nutrition, income generation and livelihoods
Session 4: Management of natural resources and waste for UPH
Session 5: Safeguarding food quality and safety and growers’ health, safety and welfare.

See the conference website here.