50. Urban Agriculture

The latest Brussels Development Briefing no. 50 on “Growing food in the cities: Successes and new opportunities” took place on 10 April 2018 from 09h00 to 13h00, ACP Secretariat, Brussels 451 Avenue Georges Henri, 1200 Brussels. This Briefing was organised by the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), in collaboration with the European Commission / DEVCO, the ACP Secretariat, and CONCORD.

TWITTER: Follow @brubriefings and use hashtag #BBUrbanAg

This Briefing discussed the development of urban agriculture in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, looking at successful urban agribusinesses and the innovations, partnerships and policy developments that are creating new opportunities in this field.

In particular, the Briefing featured an exchange of views and experiences around agriculture in urban and peri-urban areas, and the main drivers for its growth and uptake by youth and women. It shared best practices and achievements across ACP countries from the private and public sectors, and discussed the factors for success, their replicability, and potential for upscaling.

The intended outcome of the Briefing was to contribute towards successful strategies and partnerships that will promote sustainable, resilient and inclusive urban food production, and identify promising opportunities across the value chains with insight from policymakers, research networks, private sector representatives, experts, civil society groups, development practitioners, and international organisations.

NEW! on the subject of Urban Agriculture

Background Note and Programme

Highlights

Reader

Photos

Biodata of the speakers

Resources

– RUAF (2018) UA Magazine no. 35 – Youth in Food: Opportunities for education and employment

– Brussels Briefing 48: “Strengthening rural livelihoods in the face of rapid urbanisation in Africa”

PROGRAMME

08h00-09h00 Registration

09h00-09h10 Introduction of the Briefing

Introductory remarks: [video] Viwanou Gnassounou, Assistant-Secretary-General, ACP Secretariat; Leonard Mizzi, Acting Director Devco C, Planet and Prosperity and Head of Unit Rural Development, Food Security, Nutrition, Europeaid, European Commission; Isolina Boto, Manager, CTA Brussels Office

09h15-11h00 Panel 1: Trends and opportunities in urban agriculture
This panel will give an overview of the main trends in urban and peri-urban agriculture and the various ways of growing food in the cities across the ACP and in Europe.

Panellists:

What do we know about urban agriculture?
Henk de Zeeuw, Senior Adviser, RUAF Foundation, The Netherlands [presentation|video]

Successes of Urban agriculture in Europe
Axel Timpe, COST-Action Urban Agriculture Europe [presentation|video]

Innovation on vertical farming technology: the case of Growing Underground
Richard Ballard, Co-Founder, Growing Underground, United Kingdom [presentation|video]

Panel 1: Questions and Answers [video]

11h00-11h15 Coffee Break

11h15-13h00 Panel 2: Successes in urban agriculture across ACP regions
This panel will share some successes from the field, which show that growing food in the cities can offer opportunities for young entrepreneurs. It will particularly focus on innovative businesses and serving urban market needs.

Panellists: