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Cusimano et al. / Qualità dell’ambiente urbano – XI Rapporto (2015)
ISPRA Stato dell’Ambiente 63/15 pagg. 320-355
321
Abstract
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), almost a billion people
worldwide cultivate plants and breed livestock around cities. This practice facilitates
access to healthy food for low-income families, contributing to their savings on food
purchases, and delivers many environmental and social benefits
For these reasons, the role of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) raises a
growing interest among the scientific community. UPA can be defined as the growing
of plants and the raising of animals within and around cities, that provides food
products from different types of crops (grains, root crops, vegetables, mushrooms,
fruits), animals (poultry, rabbits, goats, sheep, cattle, pigs, guinea pigs, fish, etc.) as
well as non-food products (e.g. aromatic and medicinal herbs, ornamental plants, tree
products) (FAO). The diffusion of this phenomenon at the local level can be explained
by the use of statistical indicators. This chapter will present some key indicators
calculated at the municipal level in order to describe the main characteristics of
agricultural areas within the 85 Italian cities investigated. Source of the data is the VI
General Census of Agriculture (2010).
The following statistical indicators were considered:
•
number of farms and/or livestock farms (1982-2010),
•
utilized agricultural area (1982-2010),
•
resident population and Utilized agricultural area (2010),
•
incidence of different farm surfaces on total municipal land (2010),
•
incidence of organic agriculture (2010),
•
gender of farm manager (2010).
All census data are referred to the municipality of localization of the farm chief’s
headquarter, even if it manages agricultural land in other municipalities. Exceptions
are data on the incidence of the different farm surfaces over total municipal land.
Keywords
Census, Agricoltural land, Urban and peri-urban agriculture