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Urban agriculture in the city of Havana: A popular response to a crisis

Before 1989, urban agriculture was almost non-existent in Havana. There was no need, not even for the poorest residents, to grow food, as food was distributed by the State. However, because of the food crisis, urban agriculture emerged. President Fidel Castro proclaimed that no piece of land should be left uncultivated. So even on the front lawn of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), crops were planted. | City Case Study Havana URBAN agriculture in the city of HAVANA A POPULAR response to a crisis Mario Gonzalez Novo and Catherine Murphy 1. Introduction The city of Havana covers an area of 721 km2 0.67 of the total area of Cuba. Unlike many other cities in developing countries Havana has not been plagued by a massive influx of migrants. The population growth is 1.8 per year. The city has about 2.2 million inhabitants or 20 of the total population of Cuba of whom 1.5 million are in their economically active age. The population density is 3 014 persons km2. The highest density is found in the districts of Centro Habana 45 093 inhabitants km2 Habana Vieja 21 774 inhabitants km2 and Diez de Octubre 19 480 inhabitants km2 . Administratively the city of Havana is one of the 14 provinces of Cuba. It is divided into 15 municipalities which are subdivided into 104 people s councils consejos populares the government structure at neighbourhood level. Havana has a tropical coastal climate with a mean annual temperature of 250C a relative humidity of 79 and average annual rainfall of 1 400 mm. 2. The emergence of urban agriculture in Havana Since the revolution of 1959 being able to eat sufficient food has been asserted as a basic human right by the Cuban Government. One of the ways by which the government secures access to food is a distribution system guaranteeing basic food packages at subsidised prices. Since 1959 much work has been done to develop the national agricultural sector into a highly mechanised sector with intensive use of agrochemicals. Most attention was paid to the production of sugarcane and other export crops. In the mid-1980s over 50 of the total foodstuffs consumed in Cuba was imported. The imports were made possible by the favourable terms of trade of the socialist bloc especially for sugarcane as well as by cheaply provided Russian oil of which part was re-exported. 329 City Case Study Havana When the Socialist Bloc disintegrated Cuba lost access to cheap