How Brazilian cities are boosting sustainable agriculture

Brazil is known worldwide as a huge agricultural power. But despite being one of the top food producers in the world, the country is still grappling with such challenges as finding sustainable ways to farm and sharing the wealth of fields with the overall population. Recently, some agriculture initiatives arose or boosted their presence in Brazilian cities, establishing themselves as new alternatives towards food security and providing better living conditions for citizens.

Some of these examples came in São Paulo, the 12-million population megacity dotted with skyscrapers and little obvious green space. At first glance, it is the last place in Brazil you’d expect agriculture to be present. However, 28 percent of the city’s total area is actually considered rural, due to the expansive and sparse districts of Parelheiros and Marsilac to the south of the city.

Situated about 50 km from the center of the city, Paralheiros and Marsilac are home to one of the largest urban forests in the world and some rural properties. Maintaining the vegetation in the area is important not only to produce food, but to preserve the water sources of nearby reservoirs which serve 5.6 million people in São Paulo, as well as regulating temperatures. That’s when São Paulo’s local government realized that keeping the farmers there was the best way to avoid real estate speculation and...