Pathways for the Amplification of Agroecology in African Sustainable Urban Agriculture

Cristiana Peano, Stefano Massaglia, Chiara Ghisalberti and Francesco Sottile
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Cristiana Peano: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, University of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Stefano Massaglia: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, University of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Chiara Ghisalberti: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, University of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Francesco Sottile: Dipartimento di Architettura, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 14, 90128 Palermo, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: A growing awareness that highly intensified agricultural systems have made a substantial worldwide contribution to the worsening of the resilience capacity of natural ecosystems has, over the last twenty years, brought general attention to agroecological management models. This aspect is even more evident in industrial agriculture, which is based on the use of multiple chemical products derived from non-natural synthesis. In more developed countries, a new idea of ecology linked to agricultural production has been increasingly developed and, for this reason, there has been a greater diffusion of differentiated agricultural models taking into consideration the environmental impact of production choices and policies addressed to the conservation of natural resources. In urban agricultural production, it is even more important to adopt resilient production models that, in addition to developing responsible production paths and allowing a positive connection with the needs of consumers, guarantees reasonable and positive behaviors respecting the environment in which most of the urban population lives; in other words, the implementation of goal 12 of the sustainable development goals (SDG #12 Responsible Production and Consumption) of the United Nations. In this work, we report some case studies inspired by the activities carried out by the Slow Food Association in Africa and demonstrate the importance of agroecological models in small-scale agricultural systems, related to the development of school and community gardens in small urban areas of different African countries, as a tool for integrating agricultural activities aimed at social resilience and the conservation of ecosystems.

Keywords: urban small-scale agriculture; school garden; community garden; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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