Urban agriculture is key to building knowledge for future resilience
Green spaces, such as this one at Ensjø, can be used for agriculture in crisis situations. Photo: Kathrine Torday Gulden
Despite the limited agricultural land available in our cities, food production can still be increased in major urban areas like Oslo. “Urban food production is important, not least to build knowledge for future preparedness and resilience”, says Research Professor Sebastian Eiter.
On behalf of the Regional Office of Agriculture and the Agency for Urban Environment, NIBIO has examined the potential for food production in the City of Oslo. The report on the findings was recently presented, and the conclusion is that we currently have an untapped potential for urban food production.
The degree of self-sufficiency in food in Norway is just above 40 percent. Today, 83 percent of Norwegians live in urban areas, and it is in and around the major cities we find most of the arable soil. All food is produced somewhere, making it important to examine where food production occurs in relation to where consumers are located.
“Oslo has suitable areas for food production. The total cultivable land covers just over 6,080 decares, which limits the potential volume relative to the population size. Increased production, especially in urban agriculture, will therefore primarily contribute to building and maintaining awareness and knowledge in the population about food production and the importance of preserving land resources”, says Research Professor at NIBIO, Sebastian Eiter.
Knowledge and food preparedness
During the First World War, Oslo’s allotment gardens were important for food supply, and potatoes were grown in the Royal Palace Park. In a crisis, areas near the city can again be used for cultivation of vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. In addition, some livestock farming can be done, for meat, milk, eggs, and manure.
Eiter specifies why knowledge about food production is important in terms of preparedness.
“Knowledge is an input factor that can be challenging to maintain unless measures are implemented. One option could be to establish networks of experts with existing competence and experience in agricultural production, particularly in urban agriculture,” he says.
“Broad participation among the population in the city's food system can foster and sustain essential societal knowledge about cultivation. This applies regardless of whether participants are active growers, shareholders, or simply customers.”
Greater knowledge of cultivation means we could become more self-sufficient in the event of a crisis. This knowledge can also be applied beyond the local municipality. At the same time, participation in the food system fosters social connections, which can have a reinforcing, positive effect on society.
“Over shorter periods, it can even make a significant contribution to the city's food security, such as in situations where transport options are limited. From this perspective, it is crucial to preserve the capacity of food production in Oslo as part of preparedness planning”, emphasizes Eiter.
Old and new maps
Both old and new information was used when NIBIO began mapping the potential for food production in Oslo. Historical land resource maps (‘Økonomisk kartverk’) that are not available digitally were reviewed to identify areas where land suitable for food production had previously been recorded. This was the compared with newer data, including the relatively new map of green structures in urban areas (‘FKB-Grønnstruktur’) from NIBIO.
“This map shows green structures in urban areas, such as lawns, park areas, or residual areas after previous agricultural production. The green area covered by low (‘field layer’) vegetation is 38,786 decares. This is an area that is approximately the same size as the area covered by buildings and roads.”
“These areas may have potential for expanding urban agriculture, but more information is needed about soil type, soil depth, and several factors that are not currently available on our maps”, Eiter concludes.
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Urban agriculture
Urban agriculture refers to a variety of activities related to cultivation and animal husbandry in urban and suburban areas. Urban agriculture can be commercial, in the form of more traditional agriculture and horticulture, shared agriculture, rooftop farms, combined land-based fish farming and vegetable production, vertical farming, e.g. in empty industrial buildings, or beekeeping. Urban agriculture can also be cultivation in allotment gardens, school gardens, roof gardens, community gardens, private gardens, pallet collars, and on balconies.
Source: http://www.regjeringen.no
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Publications
Abstract
Rapporten presenterer muligheter for jordbruksproduksjon i Oslo kommune generelt og for noen typer urbant landbruk spesielt. Vi har analysert jordbruksareal registrert i arealressurskartet AR5, areal som var registrert som fulldyrket på en tidlig versjon av Økonomisk kartverk og som er registrert vegetasjonsdekt i kartet FKB-Grønnstruktur, og areal registrert som dyrkbar jord. Totalarealet tilhørende én eller flere av disse kategoriene er 16.692 dekar. Vi har også studert areal som tidligere har blitt registrert som tilplantet jordbruksareal, og registrert beliggenheten av seks typer urbant landbruk, begge basert på data fra oppdragsgiver. I tillegg til areal er kompetanse en viktig innsatsfaktor. Kunnskap om jordas egnethet, planters vekstkrav, praktisk dyrking og eventuelt regelverk er en forutsetning for at arealenes potensiale for matproduksjon kan utnyttes. Vår konklusjon er at matproduksjonspotensialet i Oslo kommune ikke er utnyttet per i dag. Godt egnete arealer, dog et begrenset mulig produksjonsvolum i forhold til antall innbyggere i kommunen, tilsier at økt produksjon, særlig innenfor urbant landbruk, først og fremst kan bidra til å bygge og vedlikeholde bevissthet og kunnskap i befolkningen om matproduksjon, og om viktigheten av å ta vare på arealressursene.
