Transforming urban food systems to support healthy diets and resilient livelihoods – A new WorldVeg infobrief
The world’s population is on track to reach 9.6 billion people by 2050. Much of the increase in population across Africa and Asia ends up in rapidly growing cities, as people seek opportunities for employment and higher income. This is usually accompanied by a demographic shift, with young people becoming the dominant age group in urban settings, with many finding themselves in marginal situations. Urban food systems have a vital role in supporting access to healthy diets, including a range of safe and affordable fruits and vegetables.
WorldVeg began looking at urban contexts as far back as 1976, that started with a study on patterns of vegetable consumption in cities in Taiwan. This developed into research on appropriate systems for urban food production, such as rooftop gardens, low-cost hydroponics and peri-urban production. Over time, these efforts have evolved into ever more holistic approaches that cut across urban food systems to improve diets and livelihoods. This is exemplified today by the variety of urban agriculture initiatives in which WorldVeg leads or is involved, in 30 cities across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, as summarized in this four page infobrief.
This was previously published in the World Vegetable Center 2023 Annual report https://worldveg.tind.io/record/75955?ln=en&v=pd
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