Canada’s IDRC - “From Urban Wasteland to Food and Flowers”

My unsung hero of urban agriculture is the Canadian organization, the IDRC (International Development Research Centre) based in Ottawa.

“Through more than 90 research projects in 40 countries over the past decade, IDRC has helped the cities in the South develop urban agriculture policies and methods that are increasing the food supply, raising income levels, and protecting health — and at the same time improving management of urban waste, water, and land.”

And my unsung urban agriculture hero within that organization is Luc Mougeot. From the early 1990’s, he and others in his department have created and funded innovative projects that have literally changed the world.

Research reports, grants to graduate students, funding the RUAF, on and on. These are grand programs that have given urban agriculture a face that has been seen and understood by senior decision makers around the world.

Read more in the IDRC’s Issue 1: Urban Agriculture - Is a City Also a Garden?

I first met Luc in March 1996 in Ottawa at a meeting of the Urban Agriculture Support Group (SGUA), and then at the United Nations in June 2001 where he gave a paper titled “Role of Urban and Periurban Agriculture in Urban Food Security and Poverty Alleviation”. Again in 2006 he attended the World Urban Forum in Vancouver and was interviewed by the media about his new book, ‘Growing Better Cities: Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Development’.

Hats off to Canada’s IDRC and Luc Mougeot for raising people’s awareness of urban agriculture!

Luc’s Books:

Growing Better Cities: Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Development
(Read the whole book online.)

Agropolis: The Social, Political and Environmental Dimensions of Urban Agriculture
(Read the whole book online.)

CFP Report Series Archives: 1993-2005
A series of reports on various aspects of urban agriculture, wastewater reuse and land tenure published under the Cities Feeding People Program (1992-2005). There are 40 reports.

Cities Feeding People: Past Projects in Urban Agriculture
The Cities Feeding People (CFP) Program at IDRC ran from 1992-2005, contributing to worldwide knowledge on urban agriculture as a distinct field of research and action, and its effectiveness for improving food security and generating income.
Cities Feeding People: Asia
Cities Feeding People: Global
Cities Feeding People: Latin America and the Caribbean
Cities Feeding People: Middle East and North Africa
Cities Feeding People: Sub-Saharan Africa

AGROPOLIS Awards 1999-2005 - CLOSED
International Graduate Research Awards in Urban Agriculture
AGROPOLIS was an awards program between 1999 and 2005 that supported innovative masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral research. The Program’s mission was to add to the body of knowledge of urban and peri-urban agriculture, and thereby to support interventions that address critical areas in the industry.