What is Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA)?
Urban agriculture (UA) broadly describes agricultural activities and livelihoods in an urban setting. Peri-urban agriculture similarly takes place in those areas immediately adjoining an urban setting, often the area between the suburbs and the countryside. UPA not only describes the maintainance of farms or gardens in a urban environment, but can also include livestock raising, water management and organic waste management. The opinion that urban agriculture is an illegal nuisance and a hindrance to the development of urbanization is a long held one. Nevertheless, agriculture is practised in the cities of many developed and developing countries and has done so for a long period of time. Ancient civilizations and cultures often incorporated urban agriculture into their social and political centers as a way of life, and in modern times a broader understanding of the potential role of UPA in supporting better health, income and livelihoods, particularly of the urban poor, is changing the
