Urban agriculture for food secure cities? : the case of Cuba

Abstract

During the last decades, urban and peri-urban agriculture initiatives have emerged in cities across the world as a response to increased urbanization, climate change, and food insecurity. In the case of Cuba, the rise of urban agriculture started as a response to the crisis that occurred after the fall of the Soviet Union. Due to food shortage and a failing agricultural sector the Cuban people, a population consisting of mostly urban settlers, implemented an urban food production system. This case is often represented as a success story in which urban agriculture saved Cuba in a time of crisis. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to assess how urban agriculture has contributed to food security in Cuba. To do this, I will analyze food security outcomes using a six-dimensional framework (availability, access, utilization, stability, agency, and sustainability). The findings are based on a desk study of secondary sources. The paper concludes that although urban agriculture is an important element of the Cuban agricultural sector and certainly contributed to the increase in food security Cuba has experienced since the 1990s, the contribution should not be overestimated. Urban agriculture has diversified production in the agricultural sector through increased production of fruits and vegetables, but challenges related to poor soil quality, access to land, instability, and the organization within the sector continue to create obstacles for urban farmers. Urban agriculture is not the only reason Cuba has experienced improved food security but acts as an important supplement to food imports and rural agriculture.