Catalogue of Local Inclusive Public Policies

Public policies
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Urbana Agriculture Program (PAU)

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Cuenca - Ecuador

Region
Latin America and the Caribbean
Range of Demographic Size
500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants (big)

2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.

2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.

2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.

8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.

8.4 Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead.

10-2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

A - Full integration of population dynamics into sustainable development with equality and respect for human rights.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Summary

The program of Urban Agriculture seeks to recover the cultural traditions and reduce the food insecurity by training the producers, farmers, senior citizens and the general population in the management of urban vegetable gardens in reduced spaces of the houses, agro-ecological farms and the management of small animals. It trains in matters such as the production of bio-fertilizers for the use and management of soils in order to increase production. To such end, its has a School of Education of Agro-Ecological Promoters, two agro-ecological demonstration farms and pilot demonstration projects for their replication in buildings.

Implementation Date:

Start: 03 / 1 / 1998

End: End: Currently in force

Local economic development - Family farming Local economic development - Food sovereignty /safety
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The identified problems pointed out the existence of many unoccupied spaced owned by the municipality, the State, institutions and the private sector; an urban expansion with compromise for the agricultural soil and water sources; agricultural activity based on chemicals, monocrops and bad management of soils and steep lands, which generated erosion and pollution; high degree of unemployment and migration to other cities and abroad, which entails family weakening problems and cultural changes; increase of agricultural product prices to the detriment of the most vulnerable population sectors; and institutional actions, which were provisionary, isolated and quite sectorial. Among the potentials were the political will of the local Government to drive the urban agriculture on behalf of the population and the environment; the concern of the population to preserve natural resources, culture and built heritage; and the action of OMG which developed organic agriculture projects or its components in the city and its outskirts.
Generating processes which encourage food security and sovereignty of the Cuenca canton, framed in the principles of agro-ecology and dialogue of knowledge.
Directorate of Social and Productive Development. it coordinates the PAU team, executes actions in its instrumentalities (fairs and markets, slaughterhouse, cemetery, Unit of Parks and Gardens) and advises and supports community groups, families, schools and others.
It has a cross-cutting strategy in municipal policies. The UA program is officially included in the municipal flow chart.
The promotion and development of the urban agriculture is included in the Strategic Plan of Cuenca and in the urban territorial planning.
The elderly
Society in general
Women
Persons with disabilities
Social/citizen participation
Education and training
It provides training in the management of urban vegetable gardens in reduced spaces of houses and agro-ecological farms and of the management of small animals. In addition, it trains in matters such as the preparation of bio-fertilizers for the use and management of soils, increasing the production of vegetable gardens, fruit gardens, home vegetable gardens, traditional crops and grasses. They have two agro-ecological demonstrative farms. Vegetables are grown in an agricultural system which recovers the fertility of the soil and generates a healthy diet for the children who attend the Child Development Centers, women and their children victims of violence dwelling at Shelter Houses, and children who attend Soup Kitchens. It coordinates with the Technical Department of the Direction of Historical Areas for the creation of Urban Vegetable Gardens in unoccupied spaces such as the terraces of the buildings of the Municipal Palace and the Local Government Building. A School for the Education of Agro-Ecological Promoters was created in order to train the farm leaders to be those in charge of transmitting the knowledge to the owners of the farms and vegetable gardens implemented in the different churches and in order for the citizens to have access to healthy products which comply with the production processes that do not affect the environment and particularly that contribute to a healthy and sustainable diet. The activities are carried out in the demonstrative municipal farm in Yanaturo. Agro-Ecological Fairs are held in the Foundation and Independence Days of the City to disseminate and allow healthy and clean production without the use of chemicals known to the community and tourists. The municipal GAD of the Cuenca canton is the only public entity which provides support and the guarantee of production and commercialization of healthy and clean products attained in harvests of agro-ecological farms of the canton’ producers.
Cuenca is a reference to foster urban agriculture in the cities due to the participation of multiple local players from the beginning until the implementation. The interest and demands of the communities and several organization were considered. The program generated jobs for retired and disabled individuals, supervised by university students. Organic waste of the city is used on behalf of the population and the environment.
At the beginning, PGUALC/UN-HABITAT and the City of La Habana.
A multi-player platform was created to drive the Program, composed of 8 municipal directorates and more than 30 base organizations, NGOs and international entities. Later on, different groups with their own projects were included such as Old Age Group of IESS, ETAPA and others to guarantee the process. The players decided, in meeting and through surveys, the type of activities to be developed within the Program, generating commitments and municipal resources for their implementation. A work ethic was design to recognize the experience and specialization of each entity, to support actions in common areas, to avoid paternalism, to respect the dynamics of the communities with a gender perspective, to impact on the lack of manifest credibility between the municipality and the NGOs, and to reject the institutional center stage. With these definitions, the Urban Agriculture Program (PAU) of Cuenca was presented to the population in an public event held to such end.
Local goverment
NGOs
International cooperation
The program has managed to improve the nutritional quality of an important number of families in Cuenca’s poor sectors by means of quality products’ consumption. The families have increased their income and consolidated their integration around agricultural tasks, giving new value to the role of women. In addition, an important group of communities have been trained in clean production techniques and fair and solidary trade. The neighborhood and community organization has been consolidated. Hundreds of units of agro-ecological production have been implemented in urban and suburban neighborhoods and rural areas of Cuenca. Micro credits and credits were granted and executed to producers. There are around 2,000 families involved in the practice of urban agriculture. Many have in turn integrated to the Association of Agro-Ecological Producers (APA), a structure which has allowed to advance towards the commercialization of the surplus of production in small spaces, commonly around their houses.
(Español) Cuenca: Municipio saludable.
(Español) Sistematización de Políticas Municipales e Intervenciones en Agricultura Urbana
(Español) http://eagroagriculturaurbana.blogspot.com/2009/

Instrumentos

2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.

2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.

2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.

8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.

8.4 Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead.

10-2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

A - Full integration of population dynamics into sustainable development with equality and respect for human rights.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Location

Region
Latin America and the Caribbean
Range of Demographic Size
500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants (big)

Contact details

Other projects from #CiudadesInclusivas

/* Educacion = 2 Empleo = 14 Género y diversidad sexual = 8 Interculturalidad y no discriminación = 21 Medio ambiente = 18 Movilidad Humana = 7 patrimonio e identidad cultural = 88 Salud = 25 Seguridad = 31 Vivienda = 30 */