03 Jun Wed 2009
Urban Farming Challenges and Benefits in the Hot South Zone of Sub-tropical Florida.
Urban Agriculture as defined by Wikipedia is :"The practice of cultivating ,processing and distributing food in or around a village,town or city...It contributes to food security and safety in two ways:
-It increases the amount of food available to people in the cities.
-It allows fresh vegetables to be made more available to urban consumers through the bio-intensive method ..and is seen as susatainable practice."
Urban farming in history was predominant in ancient cultures of :Mesopotemia, the Incas, Persians and Egyptians .
Urban Farming is now making it to the headline news with the decline of the economy .Income loss is forcing many middle class households to revisit their back yards /front yards and transform them -from the lawn inefficient , unproductive and expensive water bill , not to mention the draught and dwindling water resources side effects-to flourishing vegetable gardens .
Here in the Sub-Tropical Florida hot zone frontier , those are few of the felt impressions by some URBAN FARMERS :
A) CHALLANGES:
1-Ecconomic incentives: With the budget cuts that are prevailing now, no or less financial aid/incentives are made available or accesible by local public authorities or and private organizations to small urban farmers. Green markets mostly are run to attract tourists like the snow birds during the season and they are shut down during the summer, for example.Green markets offer no affordable or subsidized stands to small urban farmers.Grocery produce stores like extensions stands are mostly invited to sell produce that is mostly conventional that has been shipped from abroad or travelled the road of the 1500 miles!
2-Available agriculural land:Developers and Big Agri-Business have the lion share of the land here. Farms (mostly conventional)have been dwindling in size tremendously and losing the battle to the developers.No programs are available for urban farming such as the ones in neighboring Cuba.There are a population of hispanics and Caribean Islanders who are experienced in urban farming but have no access to agricultural land.Lots stand idle and neglected after the shrinking of real estate market .
3-Lack of Sustainable and Permaculture Education:Even though the talk of the town is about GREEN ENERGY the reality is still :Agri-business as usual!
B) BENEFITS of Urban Farming:
1-Stimulates the local economy:It helps in generating and creating more businesses opportunities , job opportunities and contributes in reducing local unemployment.It boosts and diversifies the green markets to include other than merchants : Local enterpreneurs and small farmers.
2-Provides a beautification touch to urban neighborhood landscapes through the addition of more green settings.
3-Contributes in providing more affordable locally grown ORGANIC produce to lower income families.
4-Socially , it helps in reducing the crime rate and increases the level of community interaction,awareness,diversity and racial tolerance.
5-Helps in transforming neglected and crime infested arenas and lands used to dumpdebries into flourshing beautiful vegetable and flower gardens.
6-Saves energy by reducing the carbon foot print of the average 1500 miles travelled by produce shipments by offering a locally grown produce harvested from a neighborhood near you.
This is to be more on the GREENY positive side and less on the GREEDY negative one!
New beginings awaits those who venture to embrace new GREEN PRODUCTIVE opportunities even in the city .
Help out in stimulating the economy on a smaller local scale: Be an urban farmer!
Tony
Alternative Community Farmer