You govern or plan cities that have expanded in size. Many count millions of inhabitants. Cities particularly in Africa, the Near East and Asia exhibit high rates of growth (see Table 1). The residents you serve need jobs, food, roads, shelter, hospitals, schools, security and services. They look to you for healthy, sanitary living conditions and hope for the future.
Some cities (e.g. Lagos, Dhaka, Freetown, La Paz, Kinshasa, Guatemala City) face poverty rates of 50 percent or more. Poor residents often live in suburbs or slums with little, if any, infrastructure and facilities.
The poor are challenged to feed themselves in your cities. These difficulties trigger rising levels of street begging and street vendors. Even the threat of food riots stems from the food access dilemma.
Significant food production takes place in certain cities (urban food production) or the periphery (periurban food production). These local producers often lack suitable land, safe water and adequate inputs.
Following recent market liberalization programmes, commercial food activities are now performed by the private sector. But roads, markets, slaughterhouses, licensing, dispute procedures, regulations and credit facilities have not kept pace.
Food security depends upon available income, consumers food habits and the costs faced by urban consumers in accessing food in hygienic conditions.
Unhygienic conditions and practices at each point in the food chain may introduce a major source of food contamination. Increasingly, consumers health is endangered by meat and meat products that have not been inspected. Air, water and soil are infected by improper use of chemicals and city waste disposal. Vehicle effluents and emissions compound this hazard.
Some governments still intervene in the food economy following unclear and often arbitrary rules.
In consequence, food production and distribution costs, borne by the private sector, may often be higher than necessary and private investment may not be forthcoming.
There is continuing urban expansion in many of your countries with implications for future urban food security.
More and more food is being produced, transported and distributed throughout urban areas (see Table 2 and 3). The demand for land, housing, industry and infrastructure competes with agricultural production in your cities and surroundings. Unless ample investments are undertaken to increase food production, subsequent food supplies are likely to originate from greater distances. Food may reach consumers at an even higher cost. Accessibility to food could be limited for a multiplying number of city dwellers.
Cities need More and More Food Increasing quantities and varieties of fresh and processed food are required to meet the needs of urban dwellers (see Tables 2 and 3). Other requirements are:
|
Cities need more and more food which has to be produced and/or imported, transported and distributed throughout the urban areas.
Table 1 Estimated Annual Urban Population Increase in Selected Countries
Kenya |
475 000 |
Nigeria |
2 163 000 |
Bangladesh |
1 153 000 |
Mexico |
1 233 000 |
Brazil |
2 087 000 |
China |
11 165 000 |
India |
8 991 000 |
Source: Habitat (1998) data, elaborated by the author.Will satisfactory supplies of water in quantity and in quality be available for food production, processing and drinking?
Will todays slaughterhouses, transportation, market and infrastructure handle well enough the processing and distribution of ever expanding amounts of food? Who will provide the additional capacity, facilities and necessary services if present conditions are not conducive to private investment?
What additional constraints can be expected from the impact on the environment? Badly planned and managed food supply and distribution activities may interfere with water, soil and forests.
This should be your concern!
But many of you may assign relatively low priority to overcoming food supply and distribution problems. Blurred lines of responsibility between government agencies and insufficient consultation with market users are responsible for many such problems. However, the main cause has been the inadequate understanding of:
There is a growing awareness of the need for city and local authorities - i.e. regional, metropolitan, municipal and other local government institutions directly concerned with urban development - to play a proactive and coordinating role in alleviating urban food insecurity, as confirmed by the declarations (see p. 6).
Your mandate is the focus of this guide. The content aims to assist you as well as public health, environment, water and agroforestry specialists, to formulate urban food supply and distribution policies. The goal is to facilitate the right to adequate food for all. You can achieve this goal with little, if any, additional resources. It is a matter of city and local authorities doing what they already do in a better way.
The need exists for a proper understanding of local conditions combined with a perspective of your cities. You are urged to apply an interdisciplinary, multisectoral and participatory approach to find sustainable solutions. The direct involvement of the private sector in planning decisions and their implementation is an essential requirement for sustainable impact.
FAO is ready to provide you with the required technical assistance.
Table 2 Estimated Food Consumption in Selected Cities (Thousands of Tonnes)
|
Year 2000 |
Year 2010 |
Yaoundé |
670 |
1 040 |
Nairobi |
686 |
1 140 |
Isfahan |
1 417 |
2 247 |
Karachi |
2 944 |
4 536 |
Lima |
3 015 |
3 760 |
Port-au-Prince |
441 |
685 |
Managua |
309 |
453 |
Source: FAO (2000) data on national food consumption averages, elaborated by the author.
Table 3 Estimated Increase in 2010 in Traffic to Selected Cities because of Food Transport
|
10-tonne truck loads |
Abidjan |
124 600 |
Lagos |
500 000 |
Bombay |
313 400 |
Teheran |
147 900 |
Guatemala City |
22 900 |
Maracaibo |
27 600 |
Santiago de los Caballeros |
13 100 |
Source: FAO (2000) data on national food consumption averages, elaborated by the author. Base year: 2000.
Urban and Periurban Food Production Food production in urban and periurban areas can contribute to (see Annex 5):
|
Public Health and Environmental Issues The disadvantages that emerge when good planning, management, inspection and information are absent include:
|
The vulnerable urban groups are: the unemployed, new migrants, single mothers with dependent children, pensioners, disabled or old people lacking family support, indigenous people, ethnic minorities, formal sector workers with declining or unstable incomes and those dependent on crowded informal sector activities.
Socio-economic Profile of Slums in Ahmedabad, India
The above conditions are typical of many cities in developing countries
and countries in transition. |
Source: Onumah, E.G. and Hubbard, M., 1999.Fuelwood is widely used for cooking, small-scale food processing, fish and meat smoking, etc. Periurban land can be used for fuelwood plantations.
Food marketing is a source of employment and income for the poor, particularly women and youth.
Dakar Declaration
We recognize the important role which African city and local authorities can play in ensuring urban food security. We stand ready to undertake, in partnership with all concerned stakeholders:
DECLARATION BY THE AFRICAN
MAYORS PARTICIPATING AT THE
FAO-ISRA SUBREGIONAL SEMINAR
FOOD SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION
TO FRANCOPHONE AFRICAN CITIES.
DAKAR, SENEGAL,
14-17 APRIL, 1997
Medellín Declaration
The need to increase access of all consumers, and low-income consumers in particular, to healthy food through participatory and intersectorial programmes designed to strengthen the efficiency of private systems for the supply and distribution of low-cost food and employment creation.
DECLARATION OF THE MAYORS AND
MUNICIPAL HEALTH OFFICERS AT THE
3RD CONGRESS OF THE AMERICAS
OF MUNICIPALITIES AND
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES.
MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA,
8-12 MARCH, 1999
Barcelona Declaration
We recognize the importance of ensuring access to food by low-income constituencies in low-income countries as a main objective of local development policies and programmes, following the recommendations of the World Food Summit, held in Rome in 1996.
DECLARATION BY THE MAYORS, CITY
EXECUTIVES AND REPRESENTATIVES OF
CITY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AT THE
34TH WORLD CONGRESS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF
LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
BARCELONA, SPAIN,
20-24 MARCH, 1999