Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture

Subject:

Middle East and Urban Agriculture

Urban Agriculture for the Middle East and North Africa

"The 'Exit Workshop for the Regional Training and Knowledge Sharing in Urban Agriculture for the Middle East and North Africa' was held September 9-10, 2007 in Amman and was attended by 22 participants from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. The second day of the workshop was dedicated to formalize the 'Arab Network for Urban Agriculture' and its action plan for 2007-2008 was approved. The network will be officially registered in Jordan where it will be hosted by the City of Amman while the technical secretariat will be hosted by the City of Ariana-Soukra in Tunisia." Posted October 23, 2007

Supporting And Encouraging Food Security Within Urban Agriculture Initiatives In Gaza Refugees Camps

"The beneficiaries, 81 families in total, have received intensive technical training in different aspects of UA and organic farming and brochures related to it in order to cultivate their own crops in backyards in their houses or small greenhouses (40m2 or 20m2) on their roofs, which have been provided and totally equipped by the own project." Posted February 20, 2006

Urban agriculture in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

"Ashour al-Lahm, a Gaza farmer, explains how plants and animals are traditionally part of Palestinian urban society: ÒÉ fish-ponds, chicken gardens, pigeon cages, spinach and mulukhia, green pepper, mint, palm trees, olives, vines and lemon trees; they represent a continuation of inherited traditionsÓ . Household gardens have long held an ornamental function of bringing shade and beauty to a place, besides the function of food supply." Posted February 20, 2006

Family Gardens and Pigeons in Gaza Refugee Camps

(In French) "In Gaza agriculture is more urban than rural. The project aims at setting up family gardens and breeding pigeons within 50 dwellings in each of 8 refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (Palestine). It also aims at putting in public spaces in each camp." Posted December 13, 2005

Training Course on Urban Agriculture in the Middle East-North Africa Region, to be held in September 2005 in Beirut and Amman

"Food production inside and around urban areas is an ancient activity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. While these traditions have suffered from various negative pressures on them, crop cultivation and animal husbandry remain common throughout the region's cities. Urban agriculture (UA) in the MENA countries is hence at present a highly varied and widespread activity, yet it endures for the most part without recognition by planners, agriculturists, policy-makers, researchers." Posted July 5, 2005

Supporting and Encouraging Initiatives of Urban Agriculture in Gaza Refugees Camps

"The low standard of living in Gaza strip, the low income of individuals, the mass unemployment, the rapid population increase, ... a great number of families living in and off the cities, depend on Urban Agriculture to create job opportunities to elevate their standard of living. The majority of refugees in camps and city dwellers in Gaza Strip are farmers in origin." Posted March 22, 2003

Gaza Urban Agriculture Committee (GUAC), a Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee

"GUAC has managed to implement some important and basic activities since the beginning of the year 1999, such as; producing the first book of its kind in the country about the Future of Urban Agriculture in Gaza Strip; starting up local contacts to establish a local network for UA in Gaza; furnishing two local gardens and 15 houses and three schools with fruitful trees, shade trees, seeds and seedlings." Posted June 14, 2000

Jerusalem Cityfarmers

"Jerusalem Cityfarmers is a network of people from Jerusalem's diverse communities working for ecological use of our shared resources - in Jerusalem, in our bioregion, and our planet. We believe that every individual and community has untapped potential to create local solutions." Posted July 28, 2002

The Agriculture-Urbanization Interface in Coastal Lebanon and Needs in Urban Agriculture in the Middle East and North Africa

"The narrow yet fertile coastal plain of Lebanon and its adjacent foothills, and especially the central stretch occupied by Greater Beirut, are the country's main populated area and one of the most intensively urbanized stretches of the Mediterranean basin. How does the agricultural economy function within that corridor, contribute to its food system, and bear on its environment? How does the coast's agricultural land operate within the land economy? More generally, how have agriculture and urbanization been interacting in this zone, particularly since 1990? " Posted August 1, 2001

Agricultural Development in Israel

"...from the experience of a country situated in a less favorable natural environmemt, where farming is applied within the framework of the desert and in areas surrounded by highly populated urban zones." Posted December 6, 1998

Agroecological Aspects of The Peri-urban Process

Raanan Katzir, Specialist in Agrotechnology and Director for Projects and Technologies and Latin American Affairs in Israel's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, describes agroecological solutions which offer mutual benefits to both farmers and city dwellers.

Israel's Compost Program

"With over 400 tons of organic matter going to landfills every day from Jerusalem, the need to compost is urgent." said Naomi Tzur, head of SPNI Jerusalem branch. ... From Zevel to Zahav (Garbage to Gold) - The Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC) is pioneering a compost program in the Bethlehem area with regional outreach. Posted June 9, 1998

Jerusalem Cityfarm

The Cityfarm is located on the 20 dunam Jerusalem Educational Farm started 35 years ago to provide the new generation of immigrant youth with practical farming experience. As the city expanded, the farm became surrounded by populated neighborhoods. Over 1,000 children from 25 schools in Jerusalem visit weekly. Posted April 22, 1998

Urban Agriculture in Drylands

Katherine Waser of the Arid Lands Information Center at The University of Arizona, has put together a fascinating issue of the Arid Lands Newsletter. Included is a report on urban agriculture in Middle Eastern cities by Joe Nasr and Paul Kaldjian and another featuring city farming in Istanbul also by Paul Kaldjian. Updated March 3, 1999

Search Our Site

Return to Contents' Page