#Periurban agriculture

Peri-urban agriculture is the agriculture that develops around cities. Due to its location, it is greatly affected by the expansion of residential, industrial and tertiary land, and also by the implementation of communication and transport infrastructures. The phagocytosis of farmland by all these elements represents the most important challenge for their survival.

The benefits attributed to peri-urban agriculture are numerous and varied, but the most relevant is its ability to produce food very close to where it is consumed. The possibility of establishing a more direct and personal relationship between the peasantry and the citizens is also important, as it helps to recover the nexus between the countryside and the city. We cannot forget the contribution of peri-urban agricultural spaces in preserving the history, identity and rural heritage of the neighbouring municipalities.

Other services of peri-urban agriculture are of an environmental nature. Among others, they highlight the improvement of air quality, the regulation of the water cycle, the conservation of biodiversity in urban and metropolitan environments, and the increase of resilience to climate change.

The main value of peri-urban agriculture is found fundamentally in increased security and food sovereignty. The protection of the agricultural areas that are close to the cities makes it possible to offer local agricultural products. It contributes to the creation and consolidation of more sustainable agri-food systems.

— BCN Smart Rural Editorial —