Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Urban Agriculture as a Livelihood
Strategy in Lima, Peru
Luis Maldonado Villavicencio
1
I
NTRODUCTION
This study was a component of the baseline of the project entitled
'Agricultores en la Ciudad' (Farmers in the City), carried out by the Urban
Harvest Program hosted by the International Potato Center (CIP). This
research used the neighbourhood of Carapongo, in the city of Lima, capital of
Peru, as a case study. Lima has a population of more than seven million
people and, like many Latin American cities, has a high concentration of
urban poverty along with rampant and chaotic urban sprawl. At present,
approximately 3.3 million poor people live in the city. Poverty in Peru has
become a problem with a distinctly urban face. The explosive growth of Lima
can be traced to 1940 when people migrated from rural areas to the capital in
search of better living and working conditions. Growth occurred largely
through the illegal occupation of both privately and publicly owned
uncultivated lands.
Carapongo was selected as a case study because it represents a peripheral
area of Lima where urban agriculture (UA) is commonplace. Here, one of the
principal threats to urban producers is rampant urban sprawl. In addition,
urban households involved in agriculture contend with a lack of recognition
and understanding from policy makers. City authorities often still perceive
agriculture as a rural activity conducted far away from the city and thus there
is a marked lack of interest in the sector. In this context, an understanding of
the strengths and limitations of UA becomes a crucial starting point for
developing adequate political strategies.
This paper analyses UA as a household strategy which is used to confront
urban poverty, and it examines institutional and political factors that block
and/or support the strategy. Specifically, the paper identifies which assets
households use in order to overcome urban poverty and how they engage with
