How Belo Horizonte is educating on agro-ecology and urban agriculture

On 19 February, the Food and Nutritional Security Secretariat in the city of Belo Horizonte promoted the virtual exchange “Public Policies of Agroecology and Urban Agriculture,” aimed at training and improving the understanding of urban agriculture and agroecology by the city’s managers and municipal employees.

This exchange of experiences included the city of Rosario (Argentina), represented by Javier Alejandro Couretot, a member of the team technician of the Urban Agriculture Program of the Municipality; the city of São Paulo (Brazil), represented by Arpad Spalding, Nicole Gobeth and Patrícia Sepe, members of Connect the Points project of the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism and Licensing; and Belo Horizonte (Brazil), represented by Vera Vilella, member of the Municipal Council for Food and Nutritional Security (COMUSAN); in addition to several partners between institutions and social organizations that operate in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte.

The representatives of the cities highlighted the history of the elaboration of public policies related to urban agriculture and food security, how these processes are organized technically at the local level, and the main challenges faced during the implementation cycle of the actions.

Daniela Adil, Director of Promotion to Agroecology and Supply of the Secretariat for Food and Nutritional Security of the Municipality of Belo Horizonte, highlighted the importance of the CITYFOOD subnet, an initiative of ICLEI South America, in promoting the approximation between cities, the exchange of experiences and fostering the creation, through cooperation, of a sustainable and resilient urban-regional food system.

The content exchanged during the exchange will serve as a reference for the formulation and qualification of actions in the municipality, contributing also for other cities to develop policies that include agroecology and urban agriculture.

Thinking of mitigating the environmental, economic, and social effects resulting from the production model prevalent in current food systems, the CITYFOOD subnet aims to accelerate the action of local and regional governments to strengthen and develop regenerative urban food systems, in ways more sustainable and resilient, combining networking with training and guidance in exchanging experiences to strengthen public policies to encourage circular development.

Learn more about the CITYFOOD network.

ICLEI Network

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network working with more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Our Members and team of experts work together through peer exchange, partnerships and capacity building to create systemic change for urban sustainability.