Urban agriculture is coming to towns. The increase in the world population combined with growing urbanization leads to a greater need for food. The most straightforward answer would be to say that it is enough to increase the area of agricultural land.
However, 80% of them are already overexploited. To raze the forests to make arable land? Forests are the lungs of our Earth. Without them, we will lack oxygen.
In 2015, 60% of the 7.4 billion inhabitants on Earth lived in urban areas, which will be 80% in 2050.
Citizens want to be able to consume quality local products of which they know the origin and which are not the result of intensive production harmful to nature and their health.
Very modern solutions are being developed. We know the great success of direct sales from producer to consumer. We are seeing the appearance of a new form of culture that is developing in the city, it is urban agriculture.
What is urban agriculture?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) urban agriculture refers to small areas (e.g. vacant lots, gardens, orchards, balconies, roofs, terraces, and various containers) used inside cities to grow plants and raise animals to meet the different needs of the urban population: the greening of living spaces, conviviality, and social ties, recycling of organic waste… Production finally comes second.
It is essential to distinguish between the development of urban agriculture in developed countries, which meets several needs ranging from simple leisure to commercial activity through a project to create social ties.
Whereas in developing countries, urban production is a significant issue for food security and the survival of populations.
Today, urban agriculture in developing countries already provides food for a quarter of the world’s urban population.
Examples of urban agriculture
Urban agriculture is a multitude of techniques, spaces, layouts, and innovations that contribute to a city’s revegetation and agricultural production. There is, therefore, not one but much urban agriculture.
The projects develop from the garden to the balcony, climbing up to the roofs. In some town halls, for example, you can apply for a greening permit allowing anyone to plant freely on the sidewalks, at the foot of buildings and trees.
Plus, it’s eco-friendly! Plants capture CO2 and fix the particles, so they help reduce atmospheric pollution and limit global warming.
Urban fruit and vegetable production
The shared gardens
Shared or communal, these gardens are vegetable gardens managed in common by a group of inhabitants. They are easily installed in the heart of cities in small spaces.
They promote links between the inhabitants of the same district. Increasingly fashionable gardening courses can be offered in some gardens to get a green thumb.
Educational gardens
They are installed in schools or parks, they are places of learning and introduction to agriculture, food, nature, and the environment.
Planting fruit trees in cities can be a choice of municipalities traditionally found in Mediterranean cities (lemon trees in Menton, orange trees in Spain, olive trees in Greece).
It’s an excellent way to introduce young people to how the fruits and vegetables we eat are produced.
Viticulture
When we talk about viticulture, we imagine vines covering several hectares. However, urban vineyards on small surfaces are not uncommon.
Hydroponics or above-ground culture
It is the cultivation of plants on neutral soil that replaces natural soil (sand, water, clay balls, etc.). The roots soak in the water, where they draw the nutrients they need.
This culture can be adapted to the urban context with the culture on roofs or in closed spaces…
Aeroponics
Form of a soilless culture where the roots are suspended and are not in contact with a solid or liquid medium. The water supply is ensured by permanent water and nutrient sprays.
Aquaponics
This term is a contraction of the words aquaculture and hydroponics. This technique makes it possible to grow plants together with freshwater fish.
It is the fish droppings rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that serve as fertilizer for the plant, which in turn purifies the water.
Raising farm animals in the city
Volatiles
Chicken coops are set up in shared gardens and green spaces. The hens eat our kitchen scraps and lay eggs. This puts less waste in the trash!
Eco-grazing
We see more and more in the city ewes, sheep, or goats grazing the lawns. This practice makes it possible to maintain (without mowers) natural areas, meadows, or grassy areas by letting animals graze there.
Urban agriculture
Urban mushroom farm projects are emerging in disused basements or in old containers. Projects are often based on waste recovery (coffee grounds, brewery spent grain).
Urban beekeeping
Hives have been present for a long time in urban areas, especially in parks. Urban beekeeping remains mainly the work of amateurs or associations with an educational and leisure objective.
Urban seaweed farming
The production of microalgae is booming; their high levels of proteins, lipids, sugars, and pigments open up vast fields of application in human and animal food, cosmetics, energy, nanobiotechnology, and chemistry.
They are grown in open ponds or closed photobioreactors, which can be adapted to an urban environment.
Urban entomoculture
Insect production is an emerging market with various outlets: lipids and proteins for human and animal food, enzymes for the pharmaceutical industry, chitin for the production of bioplastics and droppings, and exuviae to fertilize the land.
Some species are adapted to urban agriculture, making it possible to recycle waste (food, green, bakeries, cafes, etc.). This is the case with earthworms which eat organic waste and produce excrement that we use as the soil in a vermicomposter.
Urban agriculture: on the walls and the roofs
The vertical farm
In Japan, for example, the country has an agricultural area 6 times smaller than France. For lack of space, the solution to feeding its population was to imagine cultivable spaces on several floors. These are vertical trusses.
The products are arranged in superimposed rows, which causes shade for the plants without light die! This is why vertical farms use artificial light, which allows production not to depend on the vagaries of the weather or nightfall.
According to the promoters of this type of farm, the products would grow two to four times faster than in a traditional field, and since there are no insects, there would be no need for pesticides.
The Cultivated Roof
The roofs of our homes, schools, swimming pools, or libraries hide large unused areas. In cities, these spaces are increasingly used to accommodate biodiversity.
Innovative systems like container growing, hydroponics, aquaponics, greenhouses, beehives, and orchards are well-suited for rooftop installation.
The consumption of products is generally very local and makes it possible to supply nearby restaurants or employees working in the building. With a green roof, the thermal insulation and protection of roofs against snow and wind are well ensured. Basel in Switzerland is the world capital of green roofs.
Permaculture
Modern agriculture seeks to impoverish no longer or pollute the earth. There are alternatives to intensive agriculture. We speak, for example, of permaculture.
The spirit of permaculture is harmony and collaboration between all the elements of an ecosystem, all animal and plant species, including human beings.
This agriculture strives to imitate what is done naturally in nature. Operating autonomy and zero fossil fuel consumption. Maximum biodiversity thanks to a mixture of species. No pesticides or chemical fertilizers and virtually no use of oil-powered appliances.
Permaculture is the reproduction of the natural life cycle of an ecosystem in which nothing is lost because everything is reused, and the notion of waste does not exist. (Have you ever seen litter in nature other than that thrown out by humans?).