BRINGING AGRICULTURE INTO URBAN AREAS: Enhancing the Food Security and Socioeconomic Conditions of Vulnerable Communities through Sustainable Urban Agriculture Initiatives.

Summary

This Action aims to enhance the food security and socioeconomic conditions of vulnerable communities living Amman through collaborative urban agriculture interventions. According to the national food security Strategy 2021-2030, 53% of Jordanians and 21% of refugee households are vulnerable to food insecurity. With affordable materials and sustainable techniques, rooftops, balconies, and vacant lands, can be used to enable inclusive and self-sufficient food systems capable of meeting consumer demand, enhancing food security, increasing green exposure, and mitigating climate change effects. This project intends to bring agriculture into urban areas to enable an inclusive food system through capacity-building, awareness raising, community/home gardening, and developing guides on the optimal utilization of vacant urban lands and rooftops for urban agriculture. Beneficiaries include Greater Amman Municipality staff and communities. The project’s anticipated results are articulated around the following outcomes and outputs: Outcome 1: Enhanced socioeconomic conditions and mental wellbeing of vulnerable communities in Amman through sustainable agriculture training and interventions. Output 1.1: Enhanced capacities of vulnerable community members, of which 50% are refugees, through permaculture and hydroponic vocational training, with a special focus on home and community gardening through sustainable and affordable techniques. Output 1.2: Pilot home-based farms are established in selected homes/rooftops in Amman. Output 1.3: Pilot community urban farms are established in selected public spaces/ vacant lands. Outcome 2: Raised awareness of Greater Amman Municipality’s communities on the importance of sustainable urban agriculture and the potential behind the utilization of vacant lands and rooftops. Output 2.1: Toolkit for the local community about urban agriculture is developed and shared. Output 2.2: Community awareness raising sessions on the importance of sustainable agriculture and methods are held. Outcome 3: Strengthened capacities of the Greater Amman Municipality’s to mainstream food security in urban and land use policies and how to utilize vacant lands and rooftops for this purpose. Output 3.1: Capacities of local officials and national stakeholders on mainstreaming food security and green recovery are strengthened. Output 3.2: “Mainstreaming Food Security into National and Local Urban Policies” Guide is developed with the Greater Amman Municipality. Output 3.3: A guiding regulatory framework on utilization of vacant lands and setting up an incentive programme in the Greater Amman Municipality is developed and endorsed. Vocational training, awareness raising, and home-based/community gardens can act as catalysts for developing sustainable and resilient livelihoods, fostering local economic development, enhancing social cohesion, and providing ecological solutions. These gardens will support safe social activity and a chance to enhance the experience of the built environment in the face of crises. Sustainable green solutions can be effective tools to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities against food insecurity and provide fundamental ecological solutions, specifically within vulnerable households in Amman, specifically by utilizing front and backyards, roofs, and vacant/public lands for urban farming. The community members and households participating in the vocational training and those implementing their home-based gardens are expected to create a network of small farms as niches for social and economic support within the urban fabric.