Brazil: Studies highlight benefits of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Brazilian regions

Research was carried out in Natal, Manaus, Osasco and the Federal District, providing an overview of how three ecosystem services, related to climate, soil and water, have evolved in each location

FGV
Aug 22, 2024

Excerpt:

“These studies are intended to have a local impact and influence the advancement of public policies for scaling up urban agriculture. By recording and analyzing what is often known empirically by the people who interact with these initiatives, it is possible to broaden the reach of UPA to different actors, who may in future become partners, practitioners, managers and funders of these experiences. Another intention is to strengthen the transversality of this agenda and highlight its multiple facets in the form of typologies, considering the heterogeneity of Brazil’s landscape and biomes,” says Jéssica Chryssafidis, a researcher at FGVces and manager of the initiative “Municipal agendas for urban and peri-urban agriculture: Strengthening the inclusion of agriculture in urban planning processes,” to which these studies are linked.

Federal District

These are the three benefits most mentioned in the interviews in each of the dimensions:

Human: physical, mental and psychological health; (re)connection with nature and care; well-being
Social: food and nutrition security; learning and education; cooperation and partnerships
Economic: generation of employment and income; productive use of underused urban areas; strengthening of solidarity economy
Environmental: biodiversity conservation; improvement in air and soil quality; microclimate regulation
Analysis of ecosystem services indicated that soil erosion is following a positive trend, but future projections (2020-2050) for water and climate dynamics raise concerns. Both surface runoff and groundwater recharge have shown significant decreases, suggesting drier conditions and potential water stress. On the climate front, it is expected that due to an increase in temperature anomalies (i.e., an increase in the difference between the observed temperature and the expected average), existing vegetation will become even less effective at mitigating heat islands.

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