The workshop brought together municipal authorities of the cities involved in the project, FAO representatives and experts, as well as national coordinators. It has enabled actors to be on the same level with regards to the precise course of the project, but also to exchange experiences and learn about initiatives such as the one developed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, FAO’s programme for urban and peri-urban horticulture "Growing greener cities", or FAO’s database of horticultural cultivars "HORTIVAR". Meeting the challenge of urban food security in Central Africa The living conditions of the growing urban population (food and nutrition security, sustainable livelihoods) pose a critical challenge to all the countries of Central Africa. These are also the countries with a predominantly subsistence farming, low productivity, and limited knowledge on heavy losses throughout the chain. Urban and peri-urban agriculture is generally not supervised and receives little support from authorities; it is not very productive and lacks means of production, infrastructure for storage and transformation. The project aims to aid municipalities in providing support to urban and peri-urban agriculture, including facilitating access to land, agricultural inputs and tools, as well as financial aid; assigning and securing farmland; establishing a state-owned land legislation and favourable to the sector. In practical terms, a similar workshop is being organized at national level in Malabo on the content and implementation arrangements of the project (1st Qtr. 2015) and will bring together all the local stakeholders. The development of urban and peri-urban agriculture represents an increase in productive activities and thus a potential reduction of unemployment, particularly among youth and women, improved health and food security and therefore a real opportunity to address the challenges of food and nutrition security in the cities of Central Africa. Democratic Republic of the Congo: FAO has worked with the country’s national government, provincial governments and city administrations in a project aimed at developing urban and peri-urban horticulture in Kinshasa and four other cities. More here Hortivar: FAO’s database on the performances of horticultural cultivars over the world. |