Poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition have become critical urban problems. In many cities around the world, women play a crucial role in household food production, growing vegetables in gardens and vacant urban spaces, raising animals, and trading in fresh and cooked foods. They boost household nutrition as well as generating income and building social inclusion among the urban poor.
Women’s vital contribution, however, has largely been neglected by city officials, economic planners and development practitioners, who have tended to concentrate on the industrialisation of food production.
Women Feeding Cities analyses the roles of women and men in urban food production, and through case studies from three developing regions suggests how women’s contribution might be maximised. In the second part, detailed guidelines and tools show how to bring women into the mainstream of urban agriculture research and development. Providing evidence from around the world as well as field-tested guidelines, Women Feeding Cities is essential reading for both policy makers, planners, researchers and practitioners working on urban agriculture programmes.
