Overview

The demand for food is increasing in urban areas, which is often associated with uncertainties in supply chains. Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (UPA) has the potential to support urban food systems, as it became more evident during COVID-19 pandemic; during this phase, several UPA local loops were created which enabled easy access to diverse food in urban areas. Although UPA strengthens urban food systems and reduces pressure on land-based agro-ecosystem in rural areas, it has not gained due attention in mainstream discussions around urban food and nutrition security owing to limited research, disaggregated data and several other challenges.

WRI India and Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) India platform collaborated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with support from Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) to understand the scope, challenges, enabling conditions and innovative solutions for sustainable UPA in the Indian context for initiating coordinated action towards sustainable food production and consumption. This partnership was formed under the Sustainable, Healthy and Inclusive Food Systems (SHIFT) initiative by the UNEP in India.