INTERNATIONAL

Addis Ababa, April 12, 2013  - The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in collaboration with Hawassa and Bahir Dar City administrations launched two Urban Agriculture Networks to strengthen agricultural production in urban centres aimed at increasing employment opportunities and improving nutrition.

According to FAO press release sent to The Ethiopian Herald Tuesday, the Networks will join the Addis Ababa Urban Agriculture Network launched in early 2012.
The release also indicated that Urban Agriculture Networks were established with the objective of bringing together different urban agriculture stakeholders from the government, research organizations, development partners and the private sector, who are working on urban agriculture related issues. It is also stated that the primary objective of the Networks is to improve information sharing, learning and coordination among stakeholders thereby increasing employment in the sector along with boosting productivity to bear the consumption of fresh and nutritious foods.

Urbanization is one of the major global trends of the 20th and 21st centuries. With already more than 50 per cent of the world’s population living in urban areas, it is expected that the number will increase to 70 per cent by 2050, with particularly sharp increases of urbanization in Asia and Africa. In Ethiopia, urban growth is more than 4 per cent annually and it is also projected the number of people living in towns and cities will increase from 15 million today to more than 50 million in 2050. As urban areas grow the demand for employment and fresh food will also increase dramatically.

According to the release, the City Administrations and FAO believe that the networks will help energize the sector and in turn support stakeholders to assist more urban households.
Bahir Dar Mayor Simachew Wondimagegn said that the launching of the Network has the potential to significantly alleviate the problems of the city by providing employment and improving food security; increasing and diversifying household incomes; and building people’s capacity to produce and consume nutritious foods.

“Multi-sectoral collaborations have paramount importance not only to address challenges to urban agriculture, but also to support and promote its expansion,” the Mayor said.
Similarly, Addis Ababa and Hawassa City administrations recognize that the Networks will help improve agriculture production, productivity and nutritional status of households.(WIC)