Random Recipes

© Agromisa Foundation, Wageningen, 2005. ll rights reserved. No part of this book ma y be reproduced in any form, by print, photocopy, microfilm or any other means, without written permission from the publisher. First edition: 2002 uthor: Jeroen Boland Illustrator: Barbara Oranje Design: Luis Joaquin Fernandez ISBN: 90-8573-015-5 Foreword Urban agriculture Contents Peri-urban agriculture 46 Urban agriculture for consumption by the city-dwelling growers them- This Agrodok has primarily been written for women and men involved in urban agriculture: those new to crop growing in towns, as well as the producer with prior experience in rural agriculture or horticulture Introduction It will also prove useful for those responsible for guidance of urban agriculture: district information services and community workers of community based organisation, non-governmental organisations, gov- ernment services, agricultural and nutritional extension. Urban agriculture covers a whole range of production systems, meth- ods, techniques and socio-economic aspects. The diversity of the products can be divided into: Urban agriculture 1.2 Choosing and experimenting Opportunities within urban agriculture 2 Opportunities within urban The purpose of this chapter is to address issues which are important for making choices. For working successfully, these choices need to Urban agriculture 2.2 Size and location Often, the key question is: “What is your aim: self-sufficiency in food, extra income from sales – or both?” You should assess a few impor- tant socio-economical and political factors pertaining to your own cir- cumstances. Then, the questions that would arise are: Do I want to grow crops for sale to create supplementary income? Or do I want to grow crops for further processing? Are the crops for myself for daily consumption? Or do I want to grow crops for my own use in times of scarcity? Or have I simply no choice and must grow my own food (eg, when scarcity occurs because food transport lines have been cut off, or when the local food prices are too high)? Or… combinations of the above. Opportunities within urban agriculture 11 shows that investing one’s own savings in urban agriculture interesting. However, an investment may be slow in showing any re- turn – especially if you first need to experiment with risks and time investment, or if you use your produce for your own consumption Urban agriculture including the quality of your produce, and you will have direct access to your fresh harvest. You will have less influence if your production is some distance away from home, in which case you should think Does the size of the available surface area justify the effort taken for growing crops, e.g. transportation effort? If you are not the owner of the cultivated area: does it belong to a Opportunities within urban agriculture are many types of naturally-occurring surface water suitable for one or other culture or scale of production. Cultivation in ponds is also a pos- sibility. We refer you to Agrodoks 15: Small-scale freshwater fish farming, and 21: On-farm fish culture. Even though it has not been written especially for urban environment, you may find useful infor- mation there. Hydroculture or hydroponics Urban agriculture over longer distances, or are attractive for consumers with spending power. 2.4 Opportunities and constraints in urban Successful urban agriculture requires an understanding of the growth processes of plants. This Agrodok is designed to assist you mainly with assessing the aspects in urban and However, this background knowledge is not absolutely essential. You Opportunities within urban agriculture can learn a great deal through practice and the skills you gain from experience. We offer practical descriptions, whereby experimenting, practical experience and insight becomes more important than theo- Urban agriculture 3 Safe application of urban The reputation of urban agriculture often comes under close scrutiny. Indeed, problems could arise with regard to health, hygiene, environ- ment/ecology and burdening of the human environment. Unfortu- Safe application of urban agriculture produce can be affected by diseases linked to crop contamination from, for instance, heavy metals that plants absorb from the soil or wastewater. Figure 3: Separating organic parts from domestic refuse is a com- mon activity in many towns Urban agriculture they have been ab- sorbed by the plant and have been stored in the plant parts that hu- mans will consume. The uptake of heavy metals is dependent on the properties of the crop and soil. Usually, the leaf crops are the most Safe application of urban agriculture In basic soils the absorption of heavy metals is substantially reduced because there is less of it in the soil water. The lower the acidity, the more the heavy metals dissolve and the greater the uptake by the plant. Urban agriculture Storage and use of these agents in residential areas is risky, espe- cially for children. Some herbicides make the soil temporarily unsuitable for the culti- vation of other crops. Insecticides can have reverse, negative effects on useful insects or natural enemies of pest eg insects, like for instance birds. There are biological, cultural or mechanical alternatives to chemical crop protection methods. In Appendix 1 “Protecting the plant” we mention a number of simple and risk-free methods for protection from 3.4 Biological disease-causing organisms In urban areas, many human activities and other uses of scarce space take place close to one another, as is shown in Fig. 3.2. This causes different, and sometimes bigger health risks than in rural areas. Eg water, especially in the rainy season, improves conditions for plant growing but at the same time implies health risks by enhancing growth of micro-organisms. Multiple health problems can occur when mixed solid waste is proc- Safe application of urban agriculture residue (bones, skin, meat remnants). Animal residue or offal, in par- ticular, contains many primary pathogens. Figure 4: In towns, diversity and number of activities on limited space imply health risks Secondary pathogens are decomposers: they attack tissue that is al- ready dying. They are therefore useful because they take care of the opportunities for urban agriculture. Sewage-based cultivation makes Urban agriculture use spate of nutrients that would otherwise disperse into the environ- ment. Pathogenic micro-organisms in household wastewater make this practice extremely risky. Most consumers are unable to differentiate leafy vegetables non-leafy vegetables food production non-food production human food fodder for non-consumed animals Safe application of urban agriculture Urban agriculture choose places where you can avoid disease-carrying vectors (flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats). Urban agriculture These are highly-productive methods that demand the right inputs, as well as efficient timing of fertilising and irrigating. Inputs for suitable soil are: earth (for the minerals), compost (for the natural supply of nutrients), artificial fertiliser if needed, water, seed and enough time and labour to keep everything running smoothly. Next, sufficient wa- ter of good quality must be available during the growing season. If one of these inputs is lacking, the risk of failure is considerable. The location for growing your plants must have the right amount of sunlight. It is advisable that you avoid places that are too sunny, hot or dry, or places that are cool and sh ady. Very windy places are not good, Urban agriculture could still be present in small quantities in the container walls and be a health risk for the plants and – ultimately – to humans. Urban agriculture Construction of a tyre container Tyre containers are easy to make and to move about. Old and worn- out tyres are easy to find. Construct the tyre container as follows (See Lay a car tyre flat on the ground. anywhere and are usually very cheap or even free as by-product. This is why planting in sacks is well worth trying out. The earth is held to- Figure 7: Crop growing in a sack Urban agriculture fertilise accordingly. Refer to the description given for growing in shallow beds on impermeable subsoil. The sun’s rays quicken the breakdown of plastic. To prolong the life of sacks you can cover the entire sack with straw, dried dung or mud with husks, fine straw or chopped grass. 4.4 Growing on beds Crop growing on beds looks very similar to soil-based horticulture. A shallow bed consists of a thin layer of soil that is regularly watered. It is simple to construct provided there is enough (open) space, prefera- bly with direct sunlight, a good growing medium and water close by. A shallow bed can also be construc ted on a robust roof, roof terrace or big balcony, but this needs adjustments: raised edges and an imperme- able (plastic) base, and the balcony will naturally need to have an ade- quate supporting capacity. We discuss two types (see table 2): the shallow, raised bed (material and construction: see Section 4.5) the dug-out or sunken bed (material and construction: see Section Table 2: Types of growing beds and their features Type of growing bed Aspect shallow / raised bed dug-out and fertilised bed; possibly compost pit, trench or bed Local (soil) conditions solid floor or ground, impermeable to water infertile soft rock, stony soil with gravel or infertile soft infertile earth layer Special feature soil ingredients to be brought from elsewhere local soil improved with mainly organic matter Crop choice, mainte- nance and crop care see text below see text below Urban agriculture drain well. Therefore, after the harvest remove up to 5 cm of the used, composted bed and mix it loosely in the top layer on a newly-laid bed. If after one crop a growing bed is still deep and loose enough, leave it after the harvest and do not turn it. Sometimes working organic matter Urban agriculture not too much of soil material of inferior quality. Use this for the bot- tom layer with the fertile layer uppermost. When the trench is half full, spray water on it. Then fill it up to make a raised bed, finishing with a layer of topsoil. You can start planting or sowing straightaway. Urban agriculture soil fertility is maintained by the steady incorporation of organic matter; little need for extensive garden preparation; it is beneficial for the soil and for water conservation. Some principles of composting are mentioned in Chapter 6: Soil care. For much more about the practical issues of composting, we refer you to Agrodok 8. Crops Plant short-term food crops that require good soil fertility for example, Chinese cabbage, spring onion, cucumber, tomatoes, capsicum and Areas for soil-bound cultures 5 Areas for soil-bound cultures In the previous chapter we described cultivation on beds of various sorts, and the art of cultivating and composting at the same time. These techniques, however, do demand a minimum surface area and/or rooting depth. Some of the techniques can also be applied by simply enlarging the surface area, namely, by making raised beds, Urban agriculture Features that we think can be seen as common to “public” locations in Scale: can be tens, sometimes hundreds of square metres in size. Location: located outside the direct vicinity of the home, but often inside or just bordering the residential area. Ownership: the grower is not the owner of the land, but has access Areas for soil-bound cultures Figure 11: Growing crops alongside a road Urban agriculture damaged by roaming cattle: if the risk is great, then you would be wise to forget it. Think about putting up a barrier. This is not possible for an individual but a growers group can do much. Suggestions to Areas for soil-bound cultures to cultivate for a longer period, then think about planting a strip of trees or shrubs next to and along the road or railway track: they will offer protection against dust and dirt; eventually they will contribute to improving the soil by organic matter (leaves, twigs, fruits); they provide shade; they form a natural barrier that you can accentuate with fencing or Urban agriculture You can usually work in horizontal strips or terraces. Figure 12 shows cultivation of a crop right up to the waterside. Beds along a stream that are flat and even are indeed the easiest to cultivate. Areas for soil-bound cultures 5.5 Construction areas and wasteland Wasteland that is actually intended for some other purpose will often do nicely for urban agriculture. These are sites that are often fairly large, from a few dozen to hundreds of square metres in size, there- fore, negative marginal effects do not play much of a role. Always bear in mind that the ground can be polluted or unfertile, es- pecially if houses previously stood th ere or it is where activities of an industrial nature or traditional crafts took place. The only way to as- sess the soil quality and check for pollution is by ascertaining what the ground was used for previously, unless you have a costly soil survey done. A growers group with enough members may be able to afford to have a chemical soil analysis done. Naturally, if you have some culti- vating experience, you could try out a few quick-growing crops that are not too demanding. If a plot is owned by a third party, it would be very wise to arrange for access and use by means of a contract or licence. It might at times Urban agriculture pruned regularly to provide the soil with organic matter and to reduce shading of the food crops. 5.7 Peri-urban agriculture We speak of peri-urban agriculture when crops are grown round about Urban agriculture Organic components on household level come from domestic waste from the kitchen, dung from small animals and other waste like leaves from trees and shrubs. It would be a pity to just throw these away in Type of soil component airiness moisture re- tentiveness fertility drainage Sand + + – – – – + Clay – – + + + + – – – Loam – + + – – Organic matter + + + + + + Urban agriculture Protect the soil surface from direct sunlight, heat, wind and heavy Urban agriculture Avoid adding too much of animal manure and do not add fresh hu- Urban agriculture 7 Water care Water care 7.1 Availability of irrigation water Urban agriculture Table 4: Potential sources of irrigation water Sorce / origin Reasons for using Reasons for not using (or doubtful) Rainwater (collecting) relatively clean; sites where other water sources are lacking relatively nutrient-poor; ventilate or cover storage to avoid occurrence of Water from source or wellshallow: less clean deep: relatively clean may be too cold for the plant for direct use; Flowing surface water if abundantly available locally; self-cleaning potential maybe health hazard by pathogens; difficult to check origin Flowing surface water with industry, residential area or agriculture up- only if: certainty of little or no effluent being dis- charged upstream and if: no pollution or pathogens occur often fairly polluted through effluent and wastewater; control on origin is some- times difficult Stagnant water rather contaminated due to decomposing dis- charged effluent health hazard by patho- gens fairly high Mains/piped water clean costly; nutrient-poor; plants “Grey” wastewater: suit- able after simple cleaning mostly available locally; “Black” wastewater: not suitable unless thor- oughly cleansed (biologi- cally) mostly available locally; Soap residue and dirt can easily be skimmed off from household wastewater that has been left standing for a while. Therefore, after a minimum of effort “grey” wastewater can often be suitable for irriga- tion purposes. Eutrophication is the term for uncontrolled growth of algae which is undesirable. Growth of algae is enhanced by the presence of nutrients, Water care Urban agriculture collecting streaming rainwater via a solid roof, so-called rooftop water harvesting. This is potentially a very good source of irrigation water. It can be efficiently used provided that you take care of collecting, transporting and storing it. It is an ideal way to collect water in an ur- ban area. A disadvantage is that the water can also contain dust and dirt from the air and from the roof and sometimes from trees. Use plastic or a wooden lid to cover the water to prevent mosquitoes from Some storage methods require unavoidable investments. A cement tank is robust, but very expensive and immobile. Clean oil drums or used plastic fuel cans make simple and practical rainwater tubs. Pro- Water care saturation point, when the soil contai ns so much water that the roots can absorb as much water and as much oxygen as it needs. The wilting point is the point at which the soil is so dry that the leaves of the plant continue to hang – thus even during the evening and at night. Transpiration is the process of water disappearing in the air by heat; ‘sweating’ by plants. Most commonly it is not visible; sometimes it shows as condensation in eg a plas tic warehouse with too little venti- lation. It is the direct loss of water from the leaves, stems, flowers, fruits or even roots. This water can hardly be recaptured from the air by the plants, so it is worthwhile to avoid transpiration. Evaporation is the same process, from the soil or from a water surface. Urban agriculture Water care face as possible to avoid eroding the soil and to avoid the soil struc- ture becoming too compact. A gentle and dispersed stream of water will resemble rainfall, by obtained almost anywhere. Figure 15: Different ways of watering plants manually by sprinkling An earthenware jug of very porous material buried in the ground, al- lows water to slowly seep through its walls. Water in an upturned, wide-necked bottle placed in the ground will also slowly leak away. Urban agriculture The principle is very simple: water is supplied to where the plant needs it, namely, at its roots. A porous unglazed, unfired, earthenware pot is buried in the ground – Water care Figure 16: Drip irrigation installation on a stand Urban agriculture the material is long-lasting is prevented soil compaction drip irrigation is applicable in rows for beds and for pots Drip irrigation also has disadvantages: Water care Figure 18: The materials needed for drip irrigation and their fixation Figure 18 shows the materials needed and their fixation. a rubber ring in the clamp holder (2) connecting tubes or pipe-ends (3) specially made perforated drip tubing (5) (on a robust tube end) a small out Urban agriculture Water care Urban agriculture small containers seeds can simply be sprinkled across the soil surface, then covered with a layer of dry garden soil, pressed down firmly and gently watered. The soil must be kept moist around seeds and young seedlings because they do not have an extensive root system for gath- ering and storing water. If the soil dries out they will quickly die. Too much water, on the other hand, can lead to soil saturation. This can kill the seeds or seedlings and it encourages fungal attack of root and stem which can also be fatal. Watering frequency will depend on weather and soil conditions, planting methods and plant types, and must be organised to fit in with the gardener’s schedule. Socio-economic aspects 8 Socio-economic aspects You may be aware of the potential of urban agriculture and want to give it a try. However, before you start you need to take into account all the aspects involved, and try to estimate the added value of urban farming for your household. Once you have outlined these aspects you can answer for your situation the questions described in Chapter 2 like: “what can I produce – and how?” Socio-economic aspects of urban agriculture have not been focused on Urban agriculture Economic rent or lease . As a farmer, you have official access to the land and pay rent as a share of income earned on the land. Usufruct rent or lease . This means official access by which you have the right to use the land, provided that you continue to culti- vate it. Examples include excess land around airports and the public facilities that would otherwise be unused. Socio-economic aspects land management becomes more efficient in places where agriculture is one of the permitted land uses. Agreements should provide both Urban agriculture 8.2 Gender aspects in household provision of This chapter illustrates the extent to which urban agriculture is a “household strategy”. This has important implications for programmes that attempt to promote it. Experience has often shown that the first interest group to approach for any extension or cooperative activity should be women farmers. This is perfectly illustrated in a case study in Kampala, Uganda, by Daniel Maxwell of CARE International. We challenge the reader to discover similarities and differences in their own local situation. Urban agriculture is largely a deliberate effort of mostly urban women to provide themselves and their household with food that is not de- Socio-economic aspects 3 Farming for food security: these farmers’ incomes were mainly from non-agricultural sources and thus they bought most of their Urban agriculture ale for engaging in urban agriculture, like Fig. 8.2 shows for a situa- tion in Indian context. This was the reason for the strong incentive for Appendix 1: Protecting the plant Germination problems It can be very frustrating to see seeds fail to germinate or to watch seedlings die. If seedlings fail to emerge, the following questions Urban agriculture Kerosene and soap Spray with a mixture of a quarter cup soap powder, a quarter table- spoon of kerosene and one litre of water. It will combat serious insect Tomato Boil stems and leaves and leave to cool. Spray for an effective, long- term way of tackling caterpillars and flies. Grind dry red pepper and sprinkle liberally on plants as a general re- Garlic, onion and red pepper Chop and boil onions for a few minutes with garlic and red pepper. Grind and blend this mixture, dilute with water and then spray on Appendix 2: Checklist of benefits and costs This list is a rough guideline primarily meant for sociologists, exten- sion workers and agronomists. It may help them with making an ap- Urban agriculture Costs checklist : Land, rented or purchased Water Wage for labour Voluntary, unemployed, and contributed labour Capital and raw materials Machinery and tools Seeds and plants Energy (fuel, oil and electricity) Soil quality impacts Air quality impacts Water quality impacts Solid waste and wastewater disposal Hygiene and health impacts Nuisance (noise, bad odours, offal/waste) from: For Hunger-proof Cities – see Further reading and reference Further reading Few literature sources were found to give specific technical informa- tion or descriptions of techniques relevant to urban agriculture. We did, however, find a few magazines that regularly report on the sub- ject, much of it based on experience in Europe, Canada or the USA. Therefore, we call on readers for references and resources in countries in South and the East. (F) - recommends an edition as worthwhile for further reading; (R) - refers to an edition used as a source for the contents of this edi- Urban Agriculture Magazine (UAM) (F) Urban agriculture An extensive review of all as- pects of urban agriculture worldwide. (R) Useful addresses is an international training institute, which focuses on all the links in the production chain on plant and animal commodities, (agri- cultural) technology, (food) technology and natural areas. Training programmes are practice-oriented and mix theory with prac- tical classes. PTC offers “open entry” programmes, “tailor-made” Head Office Urban agriculture gathers a wide range of practical ideas for those who work for com- munities living under difficult conditio ns in the tropics and subtropics. It shows there are no simple answers, but there are many possibilities, methods and technologies which hold potential. With radio as the primary method of communication, DCFRN assists farming families in about 100 countries in the Caribbean, Southern and Central America, Africa, Asia and Pacific, with learning about simple proven ways to increase food supplies and nutrition and health. In English and in French. Drip irrigation For ordering a drip irrigation kit for the installation described in Sec- tion 7.6. you can turn to Isaya Sijali, Kenya Agricultural Research Centre. PO Box 14733, Nairobi, Kenya Tel.: +254 2 444 029/030; Fax: +254 2 443 956 E-mail: ; Website: www. alin.or.ke Special reference is made in the text of this edition to: Agrodok 8 : Preparation and use of compost (F,R) Agrodok 16 : Agroforestry (F,R) Besides, the following are also certainly interesting for further read- Agrodok 2 : Soil fertility management (F)