urban | Environment.org

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Release: New JAFSCD Commentary Highlights Urgent Need for Federal Investment in Urban Agriculture

Washington, DC, October 31, 2024 – In a new commentary published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD), authors Hagan Capnerhurst of Michigan Food and Farming Systems, Hannah Quigley of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), and Jake Hawes of the University of Wyoming (UW), emphasize the vital role of urban agriculture in fostering local food sovereignty, driving economic development, and enhancing community well-being.

“Despite the significant growth of urban farming, federal support has not kept pace, with funding remaining critically low in relation to the pressing needs of urban growers,” said Hannah Quigley, NSAC Policy Specialist, adding that “NSAC Urban agriculture initiatives, often led by communities of color, have become essential

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Path to a New Farm Bill: Securing Resources for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

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| Sustainability

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a multi-part series exploring some of the key sustainable agriculture and food systems challenges that the farm bill can address. Through a series of posts comparing the House and Senate Agriculture Committees’ proposals, we provide an assessment of how each chamber’s bill would address a given challenge, and our recommended path forward. Our first post focused on local and regional market access. Future posts will explore how the next farm bill can tackle issues in meat processing, crop insurance, organic and sustainable agriculture research, and more.

Urban agriculture is a longstanding practice in communities to serve as a form of food sovereignty, resistance, mutual aid, and entrepreneurship. Urban farmers and community garden networks cultivate, process, and distribute food utilizing micro-scale and innovative production techniques. While these practices predominantly exist in urban and suburban …

Political economy of just urban transition

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| Climate

Nature Climate Change, Published online: 16 February 2024; doi:10.1038/s41558-024-01942-2

Local governments need extensive funding to realize transformative climate ambitions and this raises the spectre of privileging outside interests over just transitions. Now, research unearths how such private financial interests shape city climate actions in ways both broader, and potentially more brittle, than previously understood.
Nature Climate Change…

New but Mighty Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

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| Sustainability

Farmer Ibrahim at the Juniper Gardens Training Farm in Kansas City, KS. Photo by Alicia Alferman

Earlier this summer the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUIAP) announced a series of new investments that build on their short but impactful history since their inaugural awards in 2020

OUAIP was established in the 2018 Farm Bill and tasked with a wide variety of responsibilities to support the development and success of urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural practices. These practices are diverse and can include growing efficiently in microlots or inside warehouses, food waste reduction strategies, and community composting. OUAIP implements strategies to ensure their success while fostering community food security through networks of growers, partners, and community members.

While OUAIP is housed within the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), it works across United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies. …

Comment: NSAC Welcomes Senate Amendment to Restore Funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net

Tel. 347.563.6408

Comment: NSAC Welcomes Senate Amendment to Restore Funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

Washington, DC, September 13, 2023 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued the following comment, attributable to Hannah Quigley, NSAC Policy Specialist, in response to Senator Stabenow (D-MI) filing an amendment to restore $ 8.5 million in funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production to the Senate’s Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill, which is cosponsored by Senators Brown (D-OH), Blumenthal (D-CT), Booker (D-NJ), Durbin (D-IL), Feinstein (D-CA), Fetterman (D-PA), Gillibrand (D-NY), and Rosen (D-NV).

“NSAC applauds Senator Stabenow, Senator Heinrich and other champions as they work to restore funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture

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Farmers, Communities and Congressional Leaders Seek Full Funding for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

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| Sustainability

This week the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, together with over seventy organizations and farm businesses, delivered a letter to Congressional Appropriators to urge them to fully fund the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) and the urban agriculture data collection initiative. This request echoed one made by over 50 Senate and House leaders in a separate letter to agriculture appropriators.

The 2018 Farm Bill authorized OUAIP and its various relevant initiatives in an effort to encourage and promote urban, indoor, and other innovative agricultural practices as a tool to provide healthy, fresh food in low-access areas, workforce and community development opportunities, and promote soil health and reduce food waste.

Since the Office received its first appropriation in 2020, it has already invested over $ 50 million to increase the capacity of urban agriculture, innovative producers, and municipal composting …

A Look at the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

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| Sustainability

The 2018 Farm Bill offered a variety of victories for NSAC’s priorities. It also elevated attention and support for the growing number of urban agriculture and small-scale innovative producers across the nation by directing USDA to create an Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) and programs to support related activities.

This blog post offers a look at the status of the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production’s program activities since the 2018 Farm Bill. While full implementation has yet to be fulfilled, there has been immense progress. We are optimistic that the 2023 Farm Bill will continue to build upon its successes to date.

Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

The 2018 Farm Bill authorized a new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production whose mission is to encourage and promote urban, indoor, and other innovative …

Urban forests facing climate risks

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| Climate

Nature Climate Change, Published online: 19 September 2022; doi:10.1038/s41558-022-01481-8

More cities are including urban forests in their climate change adaptation plans. Now, research shows that more than two-thirds of tree species across cities worldwide are facing severe climate risks, undermining their roles in climate adaptation and other ecosystem services they provide.
Nature Climate Change – Issue – nature.com science feed…