Resources

  The new issue of the Urban Agriculture Magazine delves into the critical role of urban and periurban agriculture (UPA) in addressing global challenges and its multifunctional benefits beyond food production. The first section of the magazine features contributions from partners in EFUA. It showcases innovative practices, successful initiatives from across Europe and inspiring examples […]

This report responds to several trends in Asia and the Pacific which have been increasingly recognized in the region. Together with rising urban poverty, the number of urban residents facing food and nutrition insecurity is increasing despite spending the majority of their earnings on food purchases. The COVID 19 pandemic has added greater stress to […]

The new issue of the Urban Agriculture Magazine analyses five key work areas for the coming decade: Resilience, Social inclusion, Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture, Urban Planning, and Governance. Resilience Food systems around the globe are highly vulnerable to the impacts of multiple hazards, including climate shocks, natural events, global warming, and political instability. People, assets […]

The purpose of this book is to set out the key lessons learned and to provide recommendations and guidance based on existing cases and examples for a wide range of actors involved in urban food systems. In particular, the aim is for this publication to serve as a sourcebook for local decision-makers, policy advisors, urban […]

This white paper outlines the ambition, approach and Theory of Change of one of Hivos’ three impact areas: Climate Justice. Hivos works with key rightsholder groups and social movements from the Global South in putting their priorities and agency at the center of global climate action. By forging multi-stakeholder partnerships and building on our track […]

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is the production of plants, fish, insects or animals inside structures, such as greenhouses and buildings, in controlled conditions. In a rapidly urbanizing world, CEA can contribute to sustainable development, e.g. through reduced use of land, water and inputs. There is a need for innovation in policy, technology and business practices […]

Este informe se basa en el estudio de caso durante la implementación del proyecto City Region Food System en Quito, que fue un resumen de algunos temas importantes para el desarrollo del sistema alimentario sostenible de las ciudades, como la producción y distribución de alimentos, el consumo de alimentos, la cadena de valor alimentaria. , […]

This factsheet provides information on the general knowledge collected by the city region food system (CRFS) project in its phase 2 regarding the assessment of risks for the CRFS of Tamale. The data was collected through literature review and stakeholder consultations. Cite this content as: FAO, RUAF and IWMI. 2021. Assessing risk in times of […]

This factsheet provides information on the general knowledge collected by the city region food system (CRFS) project in its phase 2 regarding the assessment of risks for the CRFS of Antananarivo. The data was collected through literature review and stakeholder consultations. Cite this content as: ​FAO. 2021. Assessing risk in times of climate change and […]

This factsheet is largely based on Thiel, F., Phillips, I. and N. Drechsel. 2019. Rapid Scan: Colombo City Region Food Systems and their vulnerability towards climate change related shocks. International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 48 pp. It can be accessed here. It provides information on the general knowledge collected by the city region […]

This factsheet provides information on the general knowledge collected by the city region food system (CRFS) project in its phase 2 regarding the assessment of risks for the CRFS of Kigali. The information contained in this fact sheet is the result of literature review and data collected by the national project team. Cite this content […]

This second edition has been completely revised and updated, with new chapters and about 90 more pages to give a comprehensive overview of urban and peri-urban vegetable farming in and around Ghana’s major cities.

Cities have been recognized as playing a key role in building sustainable food systems. Now more urgently than ever, the challenges of rapid urbanisation, climate change and inequalities require transformative and comprehensive approaches to ensure long-term wellbeing for people, places and planet. In this evolving environment, policy makers and city governments need practical guidance to […]

Every five years the RUAF Global Partnership reviews its strategy. For the period 2018-2023, the RUAF Global Partnership supports and promotes knowledge exchanges between cities and towns on specific issues of sustainable food systems. 

A holistic food system approach involving all stakeholders is key to solving the urgent and interconnected challenges that our world is currently facing. A new retrospective study shows the degree to which the program’s Food Change Labs in Zambia and Uganda used systems thinking to successfully kick-start the transformation of local food systems in these […]

Interventions to improve the sustainability and nutrition of food can be misdirected when based on assumptions about people’s priorities and level of knowledge. When citizens have the capacity to act on their own priorities — in other words when they have agency — there is the potential to achieve better and more durable outcomes. This […]

This reflection paper documents the results of three multi-stakeholder initiatives (MAIs) that have come about through Hivos and IIED’s Sustainable Diets for All programme: the Food Parliament in Buikwe, Uganda; the Food Change Lab in Zambia; and the La Paz Food Council in Bolivia. The paper aims to strengthen our understanding of MAIs by showing […]

A holistic food system approach involving all stakeholders is key to solving the urgent and interconnected challenges that our world is currently facing. A new retrospective study shows the degree to which the program’s Food Change Labs in Zambia and Uganda used systems thinking to successfully kick-start the transformation of local food systems in these […]

Informal food systems contribute to the food and nutrition security of hundreds of millions of people around the world, particularly in the global South. But the concept of sustainable diets – which brings together global priorities around food and nutrition security, environmental protection and economic affordability – is built around the formal food systems of […]

Author: Nicole Szucs The deployment of Hivos’ Food Lab methodology in a women-only setting in La Paz, Bolivia, allowed stakeholders to hear from and truly involve female participants, who often lack a voice. The process led to the unexpected conclusion that the best approach to addressing gender issues is not always as concrete as lobbying, […]

This year marks the 20th anniversary of RUAF and Urban Agriculture Magazine. Over the last two decades we have played a leading role in advancing urban food systems transformation through action and advocacy, and in knowledge brokering between science, policy and practice. Each year, more international organisations have joined the urban food policy community, bringing […]

Author: Vololontsoa Volatiana Razafindratoanina, DRAEP Analamanga Women in Analamanga (the city region of Antananarivo) face considerable disadvantages in developing and professionalising agricultural activities, but the Regional Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (DRAEP) is planning initiatives to close the gender gap. Women are majority participants in the rural economy of Analamanga. They […]

Author: Jess Halliday The Turkish city of Mezitli established its first markets exclusively for women producers in 2014. Six years later, some 650 women hold stalls at nine bi-weekly markets across the city, selling fruit and vegetables, olive oils, cakes, breads, desserts, teas, and all manner of other home-produced items. Hurrem Betul Levent Erdal, programme […]

In this issue of UA Magazine, we identify the ways in which gender and inclusivity have been neglected in urban food policy, practice and research.

Authors: Lori Stahlbrand (George Brown College) and Wayne Roberts (Food Systems Analyst) Toronto and its city region – known as the Greater Golden Horseshoe – is the most populous area in Canada, with nine million inhabitants. As in much of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the economy, leading to spiraling unemployment, increased food […]

Pay Drechsel, Senior fellow, International Water Management Institute (IWMI Cities, like any area where population densities peak, are hot spots for the spread of epidemics. This is even more pronounced in those that attract many rural-urban commuters. Or in international travel destinations. Clearly, if we are to control the spread of COVID-19, any countermeasures must […]

The right to food is recognised as one of the fundamental human rights within the global framework for sustainable development and it is embedded in different agendas. In order to promote prosperity and quality of life for all, the Right to the City, recognised in the New Urban Agenda signed in Quito, promotes ensuring that […]

The Veolia Institute has just published a new issue of Facts Reports on the theme of urban agriculture. To open up discussions on the topic a conference was organized with exchanges between researchers, innovative companies, architects and experts.

The menu of actions contains over 70 examples of policies and programmes that city governments have implemented to improve food security and nutrition by making healthy and nutritious food more accessible, desirable, and affordable.