Urban farming covers an area the size of Europe, more growth needed

ROME, Nov 13 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - City dwellers

are growing their own food on a much greater scale than

previously thought, farming an area the size of the European

Union, according to the first comprehensive study on the global

scale of urban agriculture.

Most of the land - which totals some 456 million hectares -

lies just outside of cities, although 67 million hectares of it

is being farmed in urban centres, the study published in the

November issue of the journal Environmental Research Letters

found.

"It is surprising to see how much the farm is definitely

getting closer to the table," Pay Drechsel, a co-author of the

study and a scientist at the International Water Management

Institute, said in a press release.

Urban farms typically grow relatively expensive foods, like

fresh vegetables, compared with the wheat or rice which are

usually produced on large rura l holdings.

In sub-Saharan Africa urban farmers supply up to 90 percent

of the leafy salad greens consumed in the region's fast-growing

cities.

In Ghana, some 2,000 urban vegetable farmers are supplying

greens to 800,000 people every day, Drechsel said.

In Accra, Ghana's capital, urban farms recycle more waste

water than local treatment plants, re-using about 10 percent of

household wastewater and helping to keep the city a little

cleaner.



The study's findings are good news for food security a s the

planet's population becomes increasingly urbanised.

The world's urban population increased from 2.86 billion in

2000 to 3.88 billion in 2014, according to the World Health

Organization.



Today, 54 percent of the world's population live in urban

areas, and that number is predicted to increase to 66 percent by

2050, with much of the growth in developing countries, according

to U.N. figures.

Urban farming, however, still has a perception problem,

especially in developing countries where it is most necessary.

"We see this dichotomy where urban farming in wealthy

countries is praised for reducing emissions and enhancing a

green economy, while in developing countries, it can be regarded

as an inconvenient vestige of rural life that http://www.hgtv.com/design/topics/landscaping stands in the way

of Sprinkler Installation Denton modernisation," Drechsel said.

"That's an attitude Sprinkler Installation Denton that needs to change."

(Reporting by Chris Arsenault; editing by Alex Whiting)

http://www.reuters.com/article/global-urban-farming-idUSL6N0T33NX20141113