What Place for Urban Farmers in the International Year of Family Farming?

The UN declared 2014 as the “International Year of Family Farming” (IYFF) in recognition of the importance of family farms in tackling hunger and poverty, empowering women, protecting biodiversity and enhancing food security. While the IYFF places a strong focus on family farming in rural areas, what about family farming in urban areas?

In the video below, Wanda Stewart, owner of Obsidian Farm in Berkeley, CA, discusses the importance of urban agriculture in the International Year of Family Farming.

Fifteen to twenty percent of the world’s food is produced through urban farming, involving an estimated 800 million people. Producing food in cities significantly reduces energy and resources needed for packaging, storage and transportation, and can recycle sewage and organic waste. Like rural family farming, urban farming generates important benefits including opportunities for employment, community building, access to healthy food and local control over resources. Urban farming attempts to repair the link between production and consumption that has been eroded by the current industrial food system. Reclaiming control of food production is not only crucial for farmers and peasants, but also for urban dwellers who often have little choice regarding the food that is available or affordable. As the IYFF progresses, it is important to make visible the true face of family faming, including the burgeoning movement to grow food for communities on urban land.

Urban farming attempts to repair the link between production and consumption that has been eroded by the current industrial food system.

This post is an excerpt from the article “What Place for Urban Farmers in the International Year of Family Farming?” by Paula Jaramillo, published April 24th. Click here to read the full article with references. Video produced by Food First fellow Leonor Hurtado.