The Farm in the city
- Planning for urban agriculture can make cities sustainable, achieve food security
Repercussions of climate change
- PREMATURE summer: The soaring temperatures adversely affect health, cause a dip in agricultural production, and also dry up rivers.
- Cities are facing the heat largely on account of ill-conceived urbanization:
- The urban heat island effect.
- India is rapidly urbanising and is estimated to host 50 percent of its population in cities by 2050.
- Our cities already suffer from a number of issues:
- High population density,
- Unaffordable housing,
- Improper waste disposal,
- Water scarcity most of the year,
- Flooding during the rains,
- Pollution and attendant illnesses,
- Food and nutritional insecurity and
- Urban poverty, among others.
- Opportune moment : To engage with urban land-use planning (ULP), especially urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA), as one of the essential elements of sustainable urbanisation.
Role of green infrastructure (GI)
- Combating pollution
- Climate mitigation and adaptation
- Health and recreational benefits.
- The Centre's 2015 AMRUT programme: included green spaces and parks as a thrust area.
What is left out in urban planning?
- Agriculture - still seen as a predominantly rural practice.
- Food and Agricultural Organisation's(FAO): recognises Urban Agriculture as a significant contributor to:
- Food security
- Livelihood generation
- Poverty alleviation
- Urban resilience and sustainability.
- Urban areas already house at least 55 per cent of the world's population and consume 80 per cent of the food produced globally.
- It underlined UPA as key to achieving sustainable food systems.
Prelims Takeaway
- FAO
- Green Infrastructure
- UPA
- AMRUT
- Urban Heat Island Effect