The urban gardens of Quito
March 19, 2019
Project goal: The Participatory Urban Agriculture Program (AGRUPAR) was set up by the Quito municipality's Economic Development Agency in 2002. The goal is to improve food security and preserve as many green spaces as possible in Quito, Ecuador, one of the world's highest capital cities.
Project scope: Over the past 17 years, around 4,000 allotments have been created, from urban farming on roof terraces to larger garden areas for growing vegetables.
Project implementation: The allotment gardeners are offered practical gardening help through monthly personal on-site visits, as well as through seminars. They are also given training in how to bring the products they have grown to the market. In over a dozen weekly city markets, so-called "bioferias", many of the allotment gardeners sell their organically grown food.
It may be just gaining ground as a green trend in industrial countries, but urban farming has long been used as a way to battle food scarcity in the Ecuadorian capital Quito. It's also a practical way to make a city greener, allowing thousands of people to enjoy nature in their own gardens. AGRUPAR, one of the groups behind Quito's long-standing urban farming project, was awarded the Future Policy Silver Award in 2018.
A film by Katja Döhne