The first meeting of the new Advisory Committee on Urban Agriculture, created by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and formed by members of the various groups involved with the segment, starting with agricultural producers, is scheduled for the end of this month. There are also representatives from education, NGOs and funding sectors. The objective is to have a strong information network that contributes both to developing policies favorable to this model of food production and to identifying possible obstacles.
For the USDA, encouraging urban agriculture is also promoting the production of fresh and healthy foods in areas where the supply chain is insufficient to serve the local population. The benefits go further, contributing to the development of regional food systems, the presentation of new ways to face the impacts of climate change, the creation of jobs and even the improvement of the appearance of neighborhoods.
There are other positive factors for producers. One of them is to be part of a fairer market, in which they get a remuneration consistent with the quality standard of the food they supply.
As in other countries, here in Brazil this relationship is equally valuable, as it opens up more markets for those who produce in small spaces, within urban areas, either individually or collectively. In the early period of the Covid-19 pandemic, many producers who supplied to restaurants had to reinvent themselves to seek new customers. One part understood that it could deliver directly to homes, as was done in the past, and reformulated its business. What was once tradition has become innovation.
The pandemic accelerated this movement, which has been around here for a long time, with successful examples. This is the case of the NGO Cidades Sem Fome, which in 2004 started a community vegetable garden project in the neighborhood of São Mateus, in the east side of the city of São Paulo. The largest unit occupies, through a partnership, 8,500 square meters of land that belongs to the electricity distribution company Enel. There, various products are grown, such as tomatoes, carrots, arugula, cabbage, lettuce, parsley, basil and a variety of other foods.
In addition to generating employment and business opportunities for people who live nearby, providing fresh food to nearby stores and customers even on the other side of the city, the implementation of the project changed the landscape of the place. Before the arrival of Cidades Sem Fome, the land was used illegally as a point for the disposal of garbage, rubble and “leftovers” from criminal actions. In other words, as it was, it was a health problem and a risk to the safety of the neighborhood.
Four years ago, on February 7, 2018, the National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Program was instituted by the Ministry of Citizenship. The aim was to “stimulate agroecological food production in cities; encourage healthy eating acts; and implement production for pedagogical purposes in educational institutions, especially in regions of social vulnerability”. Since then, the scenario has evolved, but there is still a need to integrate the agents that can promote the system, as the US is doing now, and make it a real solution to two problems that afflict Brazilians today: unemployment and hunger.
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