‘Agropolis’ to feed the cities

World food crisis seems to be more real than imagined. If one were to base it on increasing food prices (as a measure of scarcity), then this is what it is all about. The obvious question then is, how do we avert this food crisis and how do we feed the population especially those in the cities?

In the 1960s when we were faced with the same prospect, the answer was given by the Green Revolution. This was made possible by the use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides, improved seed varieties especially hybrids, expansion of irrigation facilities, and chopping down of forests to give way to agricultural areas.

But after decades of the Green Revolution, people now realize that not all of these were blessings. In particular, the use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and fungicides has poisoned not only our soils but also our farmers and consumers.

The outbreak of a number of cancer cases and birth defects seems to have been caused partly to these chemicals.

The phenomenon of large-scale, mono-crop farming has exacerbated the use of such chemicals in agriculture.

Such agribusiness enterprises established thousands of miles away from consumers also led to the necessity of a transportation system to bring these products from thousands of miles away. Definitely, these have contributed to the carbon buildup in the atmosphere.

It has been pointed out that agriculture is the second-biggest contributor to greenhouse gases. Yes, it is crops, not cars, that have the bigger share to these gases in the atmosphere. These and other factors have led to what we now refer to as climate change.

There is therefore a need to look at alternative production systems to feed our growing cities.

One of the possible solutions to this problem is what is referred to as Agropolis. I first heard about this concept from our renowned architect and urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox, Jr., currently president of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), in one of our meetings at the Agribusiness and Countryside Development Committee.

The concept captured my imagination since it combines agriculture (agro) and the city (polis). Agro and polis are Greek words. So I started my research by searching the word agropolis in Google. To my surprise, there is no exact definition of the word agropolis. So I took liberty and defined it as referring to an agricultural-food system linked to urban areas, like cities or town centers to provide food security in these areas.

In the Philippine context, I envision an agropolis as food production areas in and around urban centers. As such, it shall hope to achieve the following objectives:

1.) Lessen food prices. Much of what consumers pay at the retail outlets are costs due to bringing that product from the farm to the store. These include transportation, spoilage and shrinkage of products, and most especially markups of middlemen involved in the food chain. In the case of vegetables from Benguet, studies have shown that at least five middlemen have handled that product from the time it was bought at the farm until it reaches the consumer.

2.) Lessen the food miles. When farm products are grown near the areas where they are consumed, we actually save on transportation cost. This would mean a higher farm-gate price for the grower and a lower price for the consumer.

3.) Lessen the carbon footprint. With fewer miles traveled from its source to the consumer, it would mean less carbon (from gasoline or diesel burned) emission. And if that meat, vegetable, or fruit is grown organically, then there is even lesser carbon footprint overall. This is good for the environment.

Other benefits are also to be reaped from this system. It generates livelihood opportunities, especially the urban poor who can now grow these products in the cities. In Metro Manila alone, we can see so many idle lots owned by the government and the private sector.

Urban poor who can be relocated outside the metro area can be given training on urban or peri-urban agriculture so they will have a livelihood when they are finally resettled.

Growing plants in the cities and perimeter areas of the metropolis will even help capture carbon emissions generated in the cities. It also means fresh produce for consumers.

Pilot project

To test the concept, our small initiatives at the Foundations for People Development (FPD), MFI Foundation, and the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) of the Department of Agriculture have been integrated and together, we shall take the lead in the “Agropolis Project.”

Over the past few years, the FPD helped the province of Bulacan set up various livelihood projects for its farmers and fisherfolk. These projects are part of an alternative economic system whereby these farmers and fisherfolk can have direct access to the market. This is now almost a reality with the ongoing development and construction of the North Food Exchange.

The ATI has started a project in Metro Manila dubbed the Greening of Cities for Food and Environment. Initially, a group of city slickers has been given training in urban agriculture.

Three years ago, the MFI Foundation launched its Farm Business School in Jala-Jala, Rizal. This project is in partnership with the MAP. It shall provide business education programs geared to making a farm a family business enterprise. We hope to produce the manpower needed for the establishment of various farm enterprises.

Given our common interest to help the poor especially those from farming families, FPD, MFI Foundation, and ATI signed a partnership agreement. This partnership under the aegis of the Public-Private Partnership program of P-Noy will train out-of-school youth to become farm entrepreneurs. Last year, we launched our first batch of students from Benguet for our Diploma in Agriculture Entrepreneurship. Recently, a batch of 35 students in Palawan started classes for the Diploma in Eco-Farm Tourism Entrepreneurship.

We would like to scale up this project to include out-of-school youth from Metro Manila and other cities so that they can produce some of the food requirements like rice, vegetables, fruits and meat.

We now have some farm projects in the provinces of Rizal, Batangas and Laguna. We have also met some groups and individuals who have projects in and around Metro Manila.

As if fate would have it, we would formalize this “common bond” into what we call the Farms-Schools Network. The Metro Manila Agropolis is one of the projects we have lined up.

We welcome other like-minded groups. Join us as we take the challenge of feeding our cities and towns through the establishment of the Agropolis in various parts of the country. Interested parties may contact me via [email protected].

(The author is vice chairman of the MAP AgriBusiness and Countryside Development Committee, and Dean of the MFI Farm Business School. Feedback at [email protected]. For previous articles, visit www.map.org.ph.)