Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture

Subject:

South Asia and Urban Agriculture

The Future of Pakistan Agriculture

"About 70 percent of the total rainfall occurs as heavy downpours in summer from July to September, originating from the summer monsoons, and 30 percent in winter. Summers, except in the mountainous areas, are very hot with a maximum temperature of more than 40°C, while the minimum temperature in winter is a few degrees above the freezing point." Posted April 27, 2006

Migration and Home Gardens in the Brahmaputra Valley, Assam, India

"In rural northeast India, home gardens are ubiquitous landscape components. In addition to the cultivation of vegetables for consumption and sale, home gardens are often sites where certain selected and valued plants collected from nearby forests are grown. Bamboo is the most versatile local plant resource. It is used for house construction, roofing and fencing, baskets, handicrafts, furniture and fishing net poles, while the young shoots are edible." Posted January 26, 2006

Agro-Psychosocial Programme For Tsunami Affected In Coastal, Urban & Suburban Western Sri Lanka

(995KB) i) Training on small scale value-addition processes in food processing technology for additional fish harvests. ii) Establishment of mushroom cultivations as leisure activity in homesteads for psychological relief and additional income. iii) Initiation of "Plant Protein Food Crop" cultivations in urban homesteads. Posted February 20, 2005

Family Business Gardens: Agricultural Options in Remodeling & Modernising Tsunami Devastated Townships in Sri Lanka (2.8 MB large file)

Dr. Thilak T. Ranasinghe, Director of Agriculture (Western) Sri Lanka

From Disaster To Economic Opportunities: "On 26th December 2004, the Boxing Day, "Tsunami Seismic Waves" caused enormous and incalculable damage from Northern, Eastern, Southern and to Western coast townships of Sri Lanka."

"It is obvious that the most needed and immediate requirement is to alleviate the suffering of affected people by providing medicine, food, shelter and other basic necessities. Then we need to begin work on economic reconstruction with sincere intentions. By so doing, it is essential to provide land, housing, drinking water and the like to resume normal life of people. Thus, we must think about urban agricultural options to enable those people to become involved in suitable production opportunities. These types of options facilitate improvements in mental levels and physical fitness of those affected people."

While relocating homes in less vulnerable areas the Concept of Family Business Garden (FBG) provide several ways of involvements mainly through appropriate adoption of "Living Structures" in remodeling homesteads in townships. Living structures, for instance, initially assist to regain the lost-mental satisfaction and in turn physical fitness through nutrition. Both aspects then pave the way to attain entrepreneurship goals in sustainable economic development in townships."
Posted January 7, 2005

UNFAO proposal for simplified hydroponics in Sri Lanka

This proposal was sent to us by Peggy Bradley, Institute of Simplified Hydroponics Posted February 2, 2005

Development of City Farms by Street Children: Mumbai, India

"A project to improve the socio-economic condition of destitute children through integrated environmental management: The pilot project would be conducted in a city school to create a farm within its premises with the involvement of street children. The street children would be given technical training to implement the technique. The farm produce, preferably flowers, fruits or vegetables, would be sold in the retail market through the school." Updated July 20, 2005

Edible Cities from Gobar Times in India

"We cityfolk consider ourselves to be very smart. Not so, discovers Gobar Times. The modern city has a garangutan appetite and is frightfully wasteful. It takes more than it gives. It ingests tonnes and tonnes of cereals, meat, vegetables and fruits grown in rural areas far and wide; chomps, chews and digests all that foodstuff; converts some of it into human energy; burps, and then spews the remaining all out as organic garbage and sewage." Posted March 28 2004

Organic Farming in Pakistan

"Organic Products, Social Qualities With Equal And Fair Trade Its Constrain And Future, Composting As An Organic Fertiliser, Producing Pesticide Free Fruits And Vegetables, The Characteristics Of Rabbit Farming, Chiku or Sapodilla The Neglected Fruit of Sindh, Gender Issue In Rural Development Of Sindh In Pakistan." Posted January 21, 2004

Regional Training / Workshop On Urban And Peri-Urban Agriculture, APRIL 25-30, 2004
KATHMANDU, NEPAL

"This training aims to sensitize development practitioners to achieve greater awareness in the Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA) development process and equip participants with tools for analysis to promote UPA through linking urban-rural for food security, reducing the urban garbage and their pollution by recycling them through composting with women's empowerment and participation and make policies and programs more equitable for women and men. " Posted January 12, 2004

Kathmandu Rooftop Organic-Hydroponics Project (KROHP)

"Combining composting and locally constructed 'simplified' hydroponics technologies, along with grey and rainwater collection for irrigation, this project encourages a form of urban agriculture that integrates energy and resource efficient production to create an innovative and sustainable industry." Updated October 13, 2003

Family Business Garden: A New Dimension Of Urban Agricultural Extension In Colombo, Sri Lanka

"The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2001 shows that urban population has risen and the highest urban population of 54.7% is concentrated in the Colombo district. The main theme of the concept of Family Business Garden is to stress the need in converting simple form of home gardening or kitchen gardening into the entrepreneurship development venture on the long-term basis. It based on conservation of resources and aesthetic values in association with mental satisfaction." Posted April 12, 2003

Wastewater's Value in Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture

"The use of urban wastewater in agriculture is a centuries old practice that is receiving renewed attention with the increasing scarcity of fresh water resources in many arid and semi-arid regions. Driven by rapid urbanization and growing wastewater volumes, wastewater is widely used as a low-cost alternative to conventional irrigation water; it supports livelihoods and generates considerable value in urban and peri-urban agriculture despite the health and environmental risks associated with this practice." updated, September 29, 2003

A Training Manual on Urban And Peri-Urban Agriculture (For Nepal)

"The training manual has suggestions, ideas, recommendations and technologies which can contribute to UPA development in Nepal. Urban and Peri Urban Agriculture (UPA) has been in existence in Nepal since time immemorial. The Jyapus of Kathmandu were excellent producers of food in the valley. Similar groups are also found in other parts of Nepal. This training manual will present information which will help to improve traditional technologies. It will present new appropriate technologies which will be useful to the urban and peri-urban farmers in food production, processing, preservation and utilization. (21,000 words)" Posted December 10, 2002

Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Nepal (Partners and Expertise)

"Urban population is increasing in all the urban areas in Nepal. More satellite towns are getting established and older cities are getting more crowded. Traditional agricultural systems are changing. Farming in or around urban and peri urban areas is getting more sophisticated and focused. This publication can be a useful companion/reference material for anyone who is interested in urban and peri urban agriculture in Nepal. The names and addresses presented in this publication were collected from within the whole country. (12,000 words)" Posted December 10, 2002

Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Directory (People, Organizations and Enterprises - Nepal)

"This is a directory of addresses of government departments, aid agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations, community based organizations, and individuals who are involved in urban and peri urban agriculture in Nepal. Urban and peri urban agriculture does not receive the importance it deserves from the government or other donor agencies because it is mostly practiced by the poorer section of the urban population. This group own small pieces of land, practice customary farming practices and produce food to meet the needs of the family and mainly of their traditional customers. (16,000 words)" Posted December 10, 2002

Homestead Food Production - A Strategy to Combat Malnutrition & Poverty

"Home Gardening is a key program activity for Helen Keller International (HKI) in the Asia-Pacific region. In 1988, HKI conducted a pilot Home Gardening project among 1,000 households in Bangladesh. Today, the Gardening and Nutrition Education Surveillance Project (NGNESP) has achieved nationwide coverage and reaches approximately 800,000 households throughout the country - indeed it is the largest program of its kind in the world." 142 pages, 2001, large PDF (9.7 MB)
November 5, 2002

Pigs in Streets of Dili, East Timor

"Asked how many pigs were wandering around Dili, Mr. Da Silva said he wasn't sure. 'They are hard to avoid at times, choosing to cross roads when they please, bringing traffic to a halt. Initially I thought they didn't have owners, but they do. And people know exactly which ones belong to them,' he added, without explaining just how." Posted April 17, 2002

Asia Urbs Magazine Article on Feeding The Cities

See Issue No. 5, Summer 2001 (PDF format). "Importing food has always been a major activity of city life. But as the size of populations grows and the logistics become more complex, urban planners are having to address issues of food security. Vincent Rotgé, Asia Urbs Project Operations Manager, told an audience in Bangkok recently that the Asia Urbs Programme can play a key role in this area." Posted August 4, 2001

Urban Agriculture in India: A Survey of Expertise, Capacities and Recent Experience

This is the IDRC's "Cities Feeding People" Report 32, written by Gisèle Yasmeen, Ph.D.. "With the growing rate of urbanisation in India, there are increased opportunities for dairy producers to supply value-added dairy products such as butter, curd (yoghurt) and ghee due to increased demand and urban women's changing roles. Whereas, traditionally, even city-dwelling women would make their own butter and ghee, today, few young women have the time, skills and desire to do so." Posted May 9, 2001

Urban Agriculture: Relevance in the Present Day - Pollution and the Need for Scrubbing

" Just imagine a coconut tree which would yield 100-150 nuts in a rural setting with fresh air and water with sparse population, will yield 300-350 nuts per annum in a city with gas guzzlers and unbreathable air." Posted March 4, 2001

Kitchen Gardening In India

"Just raise a good crop, share something with the birds and the beasts. Even when you buy produce, buy only that fruit or vegetable with a mark on it showing you that it was visited by an insect. It is your guarantee that it has been tasted and found fit for your consumption." Posted February 28, 2001

The Utilisation of Urban Waste by Near-urban Farmers in the Hubli-Dharwad City-region of Karnataka, India

"The report outlines the current situation regarding the management and use of urban waste, composting practices currently employed, a review of the use of urban waste in other city-regions of South Asia, and a review of relevant soil fertility issues..." Posted May 30, 1998

History Of Flowers And Gardening In India

"Gardening has been popular in India from ancient times. In the Ramayana, mention is made of the Ashokavana, in which Sita was held captive. 'Ashoka trees (Saraca indica) were predominant in this garden. A description of the layout of gardens and parks and artificial lakes in the city of Indraprastha is given in the Sabha-Parva of the Mahaharata." Posted February 24, 2001

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