How an Argentine City Turned Its Urban Spaces Into Farms and Markets
Argentina’s third-biggest city has been recognized by the World Resources Institute for its sustainable and inclusive approach to urban farming.
By Tony Frangie Mawad
Bloomburg
June 29, 2021
Excerpt:
When Argentina’s economy collapsed in 2001, many residents of Rosario, the country’s third-largest city, suddenly found themselves unemployed and without food.
Responding to the crisis, the municipal government worked with 700 farming families growing their own food with help from a local NGO. The city expanded the program by dedicating underutilized land to agriculture and encouraging farmers to sell their produce locally. Two decades later, some 30 hectares of Rosario serve as community parque huertas (orchard parks) alongside some 15 hectares of agricultural family gardens that provide food and jobs for impoverished communities.
On Tuesday, the project was awarded the 2020-2021 Prize for Cities from the World Resources Institute. The organization, which aims solve “challenges at the intersection of environment and human development,” considered projects that recognized innovative ways to address climate change and inequality. The municipality of Rosario — which competed with initiatives from Nairobi; London; Ahmedabad, India; and Monterrey, Mexico — will get $250,000 as part of the prize.
The orchards of Rosario’s Urban Agriculture Program have sprouted from unlikely places: empty municipal plots in the city, former trash dumps and the site of a former brick factory. Since 2015, the project has been broadened to create a “green belt” around the city that designates some 700 hectares of unused land for agroecological production.
