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Call for Proposals: Urban Agriculture

2002-11-08

Throughout cities of the developing world, men and women practice agriculture. They grow crops on unused lands and along roadsides, raise animals in abandoned buildings, and recycle organic wastes into compost. In this way they feed themselves and their families, earn an income, and help solve a growing waste disposal problem.

But urban agriculture also faces many problems, from unsanitary waste disposal methods to inequitable access to both resources and markets. Largely unregulated and unsupported by local and municipal authorities, urban agriculture fails to meet its potential as a development tool.

Increasing the body of knowledge of urban and peri-urban agriculture is therefore important. That is the goal of the AGROPOLIS — International Graduate Research Awards Program, launched by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in 1998 to support innovative master's and doctoral level research in urban agriculture. AGROPOLIS is an initiative of IDRC's Cities Feeding People program.

To date, the AGROPOLIS program has helped 27 students carry out field research in developing countries. Their work covers a broad scope. For example:

AGROPOLIS awardees are making significant contributions to the advancement of urban agriculture in many parts of the world. Here are two examples:

AGROPOLIS awardees also gain valuable experience and knowledge. Moez Bouraoui, for example, helped establish a national urban and peri-urban agriculture program in Tunisia. He has since disseminated the results of his research through seminars and conferences and will now train agronomy students in urban agriculture at the University Libre de Bruxelles.

Up to 14 awards will be granted annually, at least 5 of them at the masters level. AGROPOLIS covers field research expenses up to CA $20,000 a year, for periods ranging from 3 to 12 months. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of a developing country or of Canada: at least two-thirds of the awards will be made to researchers from developing countries. All applicants must be registered full-time at a university.

Starting this year, the AGROPOLIS Program will also offer up to two post-doctoral awards to promising researchers who have obtained a Ph.D. in urban agriculture or a related field and who wish to specialize further.

Deadline for applications is January 31, 2003.

For more information:

AGROPOLIS — International Graduate Research Awards in Urban Agriculture, Cities Feeding People, IDRC, PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 3H9; Phone: (613) 236-6163, ext. 2040; Fax: (613) 567-7749; Email: agropolis@idrc.ca

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