Urban farming is known as a series of practices of farming in or around the urban area. It involves practices like producing, processing, delivering and even marketing of the products from farming. The concept of urban farming is basically shifting the traditional cultivation of crops to urban areas. The presence of urban farming creates a great possibility to fulfill basic human needs in the future. Here’s five advantages of urban farming.
Community benefits
Urban farming is usually located in or around the city which means that the community gains improved access to healthy and fresh products and can also learn about the process of growing food. Urban farms often organize workshops or programs for schools or clubs in order to instil the importance of food security and environmental awareness. It also improves the unity among the members in the community as it will attract people in the surrounding to participate. It increases the interaction and creates bonds between different ages and backgrounds to share their knowledge about the food products like vegetables, herbs and small livestock such as rabbits, fish or poultry.
Economic benefits
Local economies can be influenced positively by local food production as many different individuals and organizations are actively seeking for the sources of local food. It increases the opportunity for entrepreneurs to venture into this great potential new market. This will also lead to the increase of job opportunities for local residents. Local governments can also get benefits from urban farming as it helps to make good use of the unused land as it is costly to maintain the land.
Environmental benefits
Urban farming is very beneficial to the environment. It increases the biodiversity and also improves the quality of life in the cities which includes the reduction of air pollution and also provides a positive impact on residents’ mental and physical health. The involvement of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is very minimal when practicing urban farming, which will decrease the risk of harming the earth and the spread of plant disease. Urban farms are mostly located near to the consumers which will help to reduce the carbon footprint made in the process of transporting the food products.
Education benefits
Workshops and programs held by urban farms allow the public to gain skills and also create job opportunities by training. With more convenient access, individuals are able to participate in activities organized by urban farms which will develop skills that help them to create their own source of livelihood and also skills that are not included in schools. It will also encourage creativity and innovation to create or improvise the system in the market used for urban farming.
Health benefits
Urban farming will definitely increase the overall health of the community around the farms. As the farms are near or in cities, the availability for fresh foods will increase and it will decrease the consumption of processed foods. Therefore, the residents around urban farms are expected to have a healthy and better lifestyle. Urban farming also provides better maintenance on food nutrient content as the intermediaries are lesser and the risk of nutrient deterioration reduces as well. Urban farmers also mostly reject the use of toxic fertilizers and pesticides, which decreases the possibility of toxins contaminating their produce.
References:
- Sustainweb.org. 2021. Growing Food In Cities: The benefits of urban agriculture in the UK | Sustain. [online] Available at: <https://www.sustainweb.org/publications/growing_food_in_cities_the_benefits/> [Accessed 15 October 2021].
- Conserve Energy Future. 2021. What is Urban Agriculture? Types and Benefits of Urban Agriculture – Conserve Energy Future. [online] Available at: <https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/types-and-benefits-urban-agriculture.php> [Accessed 18 October 2021].
3. Freight Farms. 2021. Top 5 Benefits of Urban Farming – Freight Farms. [online] Available at: <https://www.freightfarms.com/blog/urban-farming-benefits> [Accessed 14 October 2021].