Urban Agriculture for Food Security in the Caribbean

Abstract

The issue of urban agriculture has become increasingly significant in food security strategy globally as the world’s urban population (especially in developing countries) continues to climb rapidly and urban poverty spirals. It is thought that if current trends continue by the year 2020, more poor and undernourished people in developing countries will live in cities than in the countryside (Food and Agricultural Organization, 2001). Following the lead of the FAO, many countries and municipalities are making urban and periurban agriculture (UPA) an integral part of their food security and poverty reduction strategy. In 1994 the FAO launched the Special Program for Food Security (SPFS), a multidisciplinary program that integrates the perspectives of many academic disciplines to promote a holistic approach to food security. This approach was endorsed by world leaders at the World Food Summit in 1996 (FAO, 2001). A major component of the SPFS design is an element of UPA aimed at improving access to food for people living in (urban) and around cities (peri-urban).