Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
urban authorities and local marketing practices. The inability to adequately
use and employ the various assets at their disposal can leave households
vulnerable to economic, environmental, health and political stresses and
shocks.
Various studies illustrate how UA is used as a strategy by the urban poor
to generate income and provide fresh produce to urban consumers. The
practice of UA is considered an important tool of the urban poor in order to
contend with poverty, generate income and deal with insecurities such as
procuring food (Rakodi, 1991; Maxwell, 1994; O'Reilly and Gordon, 1995;
Antweiler, 2000; Arm-Klemesu, 2000; Nugent, 2000). Other work has
analysed the crucial role played by women in UA (Rakodi, 1988; Mbiba, 1993;
Maxwell, 1994; Mianda, 1996; Mudimu, 1996; UNDP, 1996; Hovorka, 1998;
Mougeot, 2000).
This paper analyses UA as a livelihood strategy, using the following
definition:
An industry located within (intra-urban) or on the fringe (peri-
urban) of a town, a city or a metropolis, which grows and
raises, processes and distributes a diversity of food and non-food
products (re-)using largely human and material resources,
products and services found in and around that urban area, and
in turn supplying human and material resources, products and
services largely to that urban area. (Mougeot, 2000)
R
ESEARCH
F
INDINGS
Urban agriculture: The Carapongo case
In Peru, the importance of UA increased with the implementation of land
reform during the 1970s. Prior to land reform, much of the agricultural land
around Lima was occupied by large estates - haciendas - which primarily grew
crops on an industrial scale. Reforms led to the establishment of production
cooperatives for former hacienda workers, followed by a gradual redistribution
of this land into small plots of less than one hectare. Initially, former hacienda
workers and their families planted these plots to enhance food security by using
crops such as maize and sweet potato. More recently, commercial vegetable
production and livestock raising are increasingly common.
The neighbourhood of Carapongo rests at approximately 200m above sea
level in the lower zone of the Rı´ mac River watershed. The community
encompasses an area of 400 ha and has more than three times as much
cultivated land than an average residential area. The Rı´ mac River is the
source of irrigation for Carapongo's agricultural plots. The water is conveyed
through a system of irrigation channels which permit farmers to produce three
or four harvests annually. The most commonly grown vegetables are beets,
lettuce, cabbages,
turnips, celery and radishes (Figure 3.3). Agriculture
