Urban agriculture, the practice of farming within the confines of a city, is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Exciting projects are happening in nearly every continent, with more and more every day. Learn more about several of these projects and the cities they support below.

Argentina

Over the past two decades, Argentina has been recovering after their economic collapse of 2001. As a part of this recovery, the city of Rosario launched an urban agriculture project that is now thriving.

What started as a means of feeding the population in the wake of an economy in tatters is now a cornerstone of the city’s sustainability initiatives. The city offers low-income residents access to public land to grow food, along with the tools and supplies needed to accomplish this goal. 

Rosario’s Urban Agriculture Program (Programa de Agricultura Urbana, or PAU) started small, but now grows nearly 2,500 tons of food each year. All of these crops are grown without the benefits of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, with vegetable garden parks, or Parques Huerta, and smaller neighborhood gardens dotting the city’s landscape.

Australia

In Melbourne, Australia, community gardens and street gardens are becoming the norm. Community composting projects feed the growing greens without the need for chemical fertilizers. And public housing sites boast their own community gardens, set aside for residents to use.

This bustling city of more than 4 million people is reclaiming space from the commercial and industrial and instead creating more than fifty lush, green spaces. Unlike most of the initiatives on this list, these community gardens can trace their roots back to the 1970’s. Today’s gardens are designed for sustainability, producing fresh foods or simply gracing the space with ornamental foliage. 

Canada

Our neighbors to the north have their own flavor of urban agriculture at work, and it’s deeply ingrained in Canadian culture. The first settlers in French Canada grew “potagers” or kitchen gardens, which turned into victory gardens during WWII. 

In Saskatchewan, the askîy project offers a youth internship to encourage both indigenous and non-indigenous students to learn about and participate in urban agriculture. They currently run an urban agriculture project called kiscikânis. The site grows vegetables, flowers, and herbs in containers in the heart of Saskatoon’s west side. With over 400 containers in use, this container garden is an excellent way to get young people involved.

China

Shanghai is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with all of the accompanying pollution and congestion. To clear the air and feed its growing population, the city is embracing urban farming.

Laogang is an enormous trash dump of about 6.5 sq km. It now composts about 80% of the organic material that enters its gates, turning it into potent fertilizer. This fertilizer is then used in the city’s agricultural zone, where the municipal government produces about 55% of the vegetables and 90% of the green-leaf vegetables consumed in the city. 

Colombia

In Medellín, Colombia, urban kitchen gardens are a way of life. The Mayor’s Office has a program called Huertas con Vos (Urban and Rural Kitchen Gardens with you), designed to ensure that these small family gardens will grow, thrive, and multiply. The Medellín government developed this program to ensure food security and healthy eating for the residents in their city. 

Anyone with at least 10 square meters to spare can take part in the program. They’re then given the tools and seeds they need to get started, plus access to workshops that teach how to plant and care for their gardens. Many families even grow enough food to sell the excess with help from the program. 

Ghana

Accra, Ghana has become a prime example for urban agriculture in the region. You’ll find nearly every type of agricultural production within the city, including everything from small family gardens to larger operations raising export crops.

One common form of urban farming here involves male farmers who grow the crops, then sell to female sellers who manage roadside farm stands or booths at local markets. In this country where refrigeration is rare, this arrangement has been common for decades. 

Accra’s farms are planted wherever growers can find space. In addition to the typical backyard garden, you’ll also see crops growing in the space below power lines, the area between walls and gutters, or anywhere else they can carve out a few feet of earth.

India

The city of Bihar, India is home to nearly 100 million people, so it’s no wonder that the government is working toward urban farming on a large scale. The city has plans for 230 rooftop gardens, measuring at least 300 square feet each. 

The plan is for the state government to pay half of the ₹50,000 (about $650USD) needed to start a rooftop farm. These farms would then provide healthy food and much-needed greenery for the city. Urban citizens would be given training in rooftop growing and the supplies they need, and gain extra income from selling their crops.

Netherlands 

The Netherlands is a country with plenty of waterways and lots of experience in water management. It’s no surprise that this country would develop the world’s first floating dairy farm. 

The project took seven years to develop and cost the equivalent of $2.9million USD. It currently houses about 35 cows on a two-story floating platform in the industrial section of Rotterdam. Cows are fed food waste from the city, and their waste is then used to create fertilizer for nearby fields. 

This marvel of modern agriculture is expected to produce about 800 liters of milk daily and is only the first part in a plan to develop further floating farms. Next, developers intend to create a floating chicken farm for egg production and a floating vegetable farm. Perhaps most impressively, the entire program was developed with no governmental assistance at all, mostly funded by private investors. 

South Korea

Seoul, South Korea is aiming for more urban farming with financial and professional support offered by local government offices. These government grants are meant to supply 80-100% of the funding needed to get urban farms up and running. And it appears to be working – urban agriculture has grown six-fold over a seven year period.

Perhaps the most fascinating developments in Seoul’s urban farming community comes in the form of smart vertical farms, including Metro Farm – a hydroponic farm placed in a subway station. The operation has proven so popular and successful that its developers have now installed four more in other stations throughout the urban center.

Join the Movement

If you’d like to be part of the movement toward greener and healthier urban spaces, our turnkey hydroponic greenhouses are an excellent way to get started. These facilities sit on as little as an acre and a half and are ideal for urban growing.

Each of our greenhouses can grow up to 500 tons of leafy greens each year and will provide 30 full-time, year-round jobs to the local community. Best of all, you’ll never have to wonder if you’re managing your greenhouse properly because we stand with you through every step of the growing process. That means you’ll always benefit from our advanced technology and our expertise, creating a sustainable, profitable urban agriculture solution to feed your city.

To learn more about our turnkey opportunity, contact us today.