Sustainable Food Production for a Resilient Rosario
The Municipality of Rosario, Argentina, is growing an agroecology program for a healthier, more resilient city. Rosario's urban agriculture program has sparked citywide remediation of vacant land for sustainable and healthy food production and increased climate resilience. Rosario is the 2020-2021 Grand prize winner of the World Resource Institute Ross Center Prize for Cities - the premier global award celebrating and spotlighting transformative urban change. The Prize for Cities seeks to inspire urban change-makers across the globe by elevating trailblazing initiatives and telling impactful stories of sustainable urban transformation.
Initially launched in the wake of the Argentinian economic crisis of 2001, Rosario’s flagship urban and peri-urban agriculture program has evolved to become a cornerstone of the city’s response to increased flooding and heat events. The program, designed to help improve food security and nutrition for low-income residents by strategically repurposing public land and private peri-urban spaces, now helps improve resilience to extreme events and reduce carbon emissions via more compact food supply chains.
Rosario continues its commitment to urban agriculture and climate resilience by opening additional Vegetable Garden Parks, all located in traditionally low-income neighborhoods. The city’s holistic approach has left enduring positive marks on people’s livelihoods and wellbeing while reducing food import dependency and food insecurity. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the delivery of vegetables, for example, are estimated to be reduced by as much as 95%. Urban agriculture is still a growing movement across the city. Today, more than 2,400 families have their own gardens and practice environmentally sustainable agriculture.