The greening of the ``barrios'': Urban agriculture forfood security in Cuba
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文摘
Urban agriculture in Cuba has rapidlybecome a significant source of fresh produce for theurban and suburban populations. A large number ofurban gardens in Havana and other major cities haveemerged as a grassroots movement in response to thecrisis brought about by the loss of trade, with thecollapse of the socialist bloc in 1989. These gardensare helping to stabilize the supply of fresh produceto Cuba's urban centers. During 1996, Havana's urbanfarms provided the city's urban population with 8,500tons of agricultural produce, 4 million dozens offlowers, 7.5 million eggs, and 3,650 tons of meat.This system of urban agriculture, composed of about8,000 gardens nationwide has been developed andmanaged along agroecological principles, whicheliminate the use of synthetic chemical pesticides andfertilizers, emphasizing diversification, recycling,and the use of local resources. This article exploresthe systems utilized by Cuba's urban farmers, and theimpact that this movement has had on Cuban foodsecurity.