beyond food security: urban agriculture as a form of ...€¦ · beyond food security: urban...

Urban Agriculture magazine • number 22 • June 2009

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www.ruaf.org

Inthecontextofexaminingtheroleofurbanagri-cultureinbuildingresilientcities,ourresearchattheInstitute for Sustainable Horticulture in British Columbia, Canada,attemptstoanswerthequestion:How can urban and periur-ban agriculture be tied directly to the economic, social and ecological vitality of our cities?Webelievetheanswerliesinpartinbuildingsustainablebio-regional,agri-foodsystems,asanecessarypre-conditionforcreatingfoodsovereignty.

ThemetropolitanVancouver region of south-west BritishColumbia(B.C.),Canada,isanamalgamationof21citiesandmunicipaldistricts,encompassing282millionha,including41,000haoffarmland,withapopulationof2.1million.MetroVancouver has a long and rich agricultural heritage andremains an important part of the province’s agriculturesector.The region currently generates 25per cent of B.C.’sgrossfarmreceiptsfrom14percentofitsagriculturallandbase.Smaller,familyownedandoperatedfarmsstilldomi-nate(88percentaresmallerthan26ha),butthenumberoffarmshasdeclinedby25percent in the last 10years.Theaverage farmer is 55 years old, and farmlandhas becomeprohibitively expensive for those who are interested instartingout.

Effortstopromotetheexpansionofurbanagricultureinthisregion range in scale from grassroots activism (such ascommunitygardensandfarmers’markets),throughdesignparameters(suchasgreenroofsandediblelandscaping),topublicpolicyinitiatives(suchastheCityofVancouver’sFood Policy Council (Mendes, 2006), Sustainability Charters proclaimed by several municipalities, Metro Vancouver’sRegional Growth Strategy,andtheAgricultural Land Reserve maintainedbytheGovernmentofBritishColumbia).Atthesame time,however, there is a growingawareness in ourregion that the combined effects of peak oil/peak water,climatechange,rapidurbanisationandcontinuedpopula-tiongrowthhavethepotentialtounderminetheresilienceofourcities,threatenourfoodsecurityandultimatelynotresult in a sustainable agri-food system for the Metro

Beyond Food Security: Urban agriculture as a form of resilience in Vancouver, CanadaThe more people become sequestered in cities and insulated from ecological engagement, the greater the danger is that they will lose sight of the mount-ing economic, social and ecological burden that we are imposing on the earth’s resources and sys-tems.

Kent Mullinix Arthur Fallick

Deborah Henderson

Vancouver region. Evidence of the convergence of theseforceswasfeltin2008whentheoverallinflationratewas1.2percentwhilefoodcostsingeneralrose7.3percent,cerealproducts12.4percentandfruitsandvegetablesastaggering26.9percent.

A vision of the Farmscape VancouverPhoto: Michael Marrapese

The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) is a precedent-setting provincial regulation intended to conserve agriculture land and enhance agriculture in British Columbia. For the last 30 years it has been a de facto urban growth boundary, which has resulted in a metropolitan area that is significantly more compact than most in North America. While this has been a positive outcome, ALR land values have risen to CAD$ 250,000 or more per ha - a cost that cannot be supported by typical farm receipts. Urban agriculture and related efforts to support the ALR are necessary to increase sustainability and contribute to resilience in British Columbia, but they are not suffi-cient to achieve full sustainability and reconnect urba-nity to its roots in the land.

Urban Agriculture magazine • number 22 • June 2009

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www.ruaf.org

InCanada,municipalitieshaveapivotalroletoplayinlayingthefoundationsforasustainable21stcenturyurban-centredsociety.Resilienceandadaptabilityareexamplesofthetypeof potentials that we believe to be essential for creatingsustainablefuturesforourcitiesandtheirassociatedagri-culturallands.Urbanagriculture,definedtoincludefarminginandaroundcitiesforandbyresidentsofthosecities,canprovide the comprehensive social, environmental andeconomicintegrationneededtocreateasustainableagri-foodsystematthemunicipalscale.

TheB.C.MinistryofAgricultureandLands’recentpublica-tion:British Columbia Agriculture Plan: Growing a Healthy Future for B.C. Familiescallsforenhancedcommunity-based/localfoodsystemsthatensurefoodsecuritythroughdiverselocal production, environmental stewardship / climatechangemitigationand linkagesacross theurban/agricul-turedivide.AtKwantlenPolytechnicUniversity,theInstituteforSustainableHorticulture(ISH)isrespondingtothiscallbymakingtheadvancementofurbanagricultureandfoodsovereigntyaprogrammaticpriority.Theinstituteisengag-ingcommunitypartnersinappliedresearchandusingtheland base to create living laboratories.Two examples canservetoillustrateouremergentfocus.

WearepromotingadialogueacrossMetroVancouverthroughwhichcitizens,NGOs,governmentsandinstitutionsofhighereducationcanbuildpartnershipsandexplorewaystocreateurban-focused, bio-regional agri-food systems that can, intangibleandsubstantiveways,connecturbanitestoagricul-tureandcontributetoregionalfoodself-sufficiency.Inarecentpublication,Agricultural Urbanism and Municipal Supported Agriculture(2008),weadvanceourviewofurbanandperiur-banagricultureasamechanismwherebymunicipalitiescanmakemunicipallyownedlandsavailable,ataffordablecost,for agriculture enterprise. In this approach, municipalitieswouldprocurelandstofacilitatethedevelopmentofanagri-food sector that serves its citizenry and thereby fosters

increasedfoodsecurity. Acompanionpaper,Agriculture on the Edge (2009),addressesthecentralchallengeoftheincreas-ingvalueoflandintheregion,andthepressurethiscreatesfor the remaining viable agricultural lands that face thecontinuous threat of encroachment by urban sprawl. Theproposedsolutionistoreservepartoftherural-urbanfringelandforagriculture,andtoseektomaximisethevalueofthisland.Anewzoningdesignationwouldtransferaportionofthislandtopublicownership(tobeheldinperpetualtrustforagriculture only). In addition the value of non-agriculturallandusecouldbeusedtosupportthisnewurbanagricultureinfrastructure.Tomodelthisconcept,apartnershipofalocaldeveloper, broad community stakeholders, and ISH havedesignedaplanforamodelcommunity-ahighdensity,5000persondevelopment-inwhichagriculture(on100designatedha) will be central to community economics, sustainabledesignandlandusegovernance.

OursecondexampleinvolvesapartnershipbetweenISH,theCityofRichmondand twoRichmondareaNGOs.TogethertheyplantodeveloptheRichmond Farm Schoolinrecogni-tionofthefactthatfarmersinourregionareagingandthatdeveloping urban agriculture in Metro Vancouver willrequiremanyknowledgeable,skilledanddedicatedpeople.Theobjectiveistoprepareanewgenerationofurbanfarm-ers to engage in urban agriculture enterprises includingproduction,processing,addingvalue,distribution,market-ingandsales.Theschoolwillalsodeveloptheparticipants’leadership capacity to advance urban agriculture as anelementofsustainablecities.ThispartnershipandthelandaccessprogrammeareuniqueinNorthAmerica.

Kent MullinixArthur Fallick Deborah Henderson InstituteforSustainableHorticulture,KwantlenPolytechnicUniversity,BritishColumbia,CanadaCorrespondingauthor:kent.mullinix@kwantlen.ca

ReferencesBritish Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food. 2008. British Columbia Agriculture Plan: Growing a Healthy Future for B.C. Families. http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/Agriculture_Plan/ (accessed 12/3/2009).

Condon, P. and K. Mullinix. 2009. Agriculture on the edge: The urgent need to abate urban encroachment on agricultural lands by promoting viable agriculture as an integral element of urbanization. Agriculture on the Urban Edge Summit. Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Vancouver, B.C. February 27, 2009. http://www.kwantlen.ca/ish/urban.html (accessed 12/3/2009).

Mendes, Wendy. 2006. Creating and Implementing Food Policy in Vancouver, Canada. Urban Agriculture Magazine. # 16, p. 51- 53.

Mullinix, K., D. Henderson, M. Holland, J. de la Salle, E. Porter, and P. Fleming. 2008. Agricultural Urbanism and Municipal Supported Agriculture: A New Food System Path for Sustainable Cities. Surrey Regional Economic Summit, Surrey Board of Trade, Surrey, British Columbia. September 18, 2008. http://www.kwantlen.ca/ish/urban.html (accessed 12/3/2009).

Peri-urban agriculture land in Metro-VancouverPhoto: Graham Osborne