INNOVA Research Journal, ISSN 2477-9024  
Agosto, 2017). Vol. 2, No.8.1 pp. 112-116  
(
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33890/innova.v2.n8.1.2017.348  
URL: http://revistas.uide.edu.ec/index.php/innova/index  
Correo: innova@uide.edu.ec  
Sistemas alimentarios sostenibles para las ciudades del futuro: potencial de la  
agricultura urbana para pequeños empresarios en el cantón de Machala  
Sustainable food systems for the cities of the future: Potential of urban  
agriculture for small entrepreneurs in Canton Machala  
Andreina González  
Metropolitan University, Ecuador  
Universidad de Zulia, Venezuela  
David Zaldumbide  
Metropolitan University, Ecuador  
James Cook University, Australia  
Javier Solano  
Metropolitan University, Ecuador  
Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Ecuador  
Autor para correspondencia: agonzalez@umet.edu.ec, dzaldumbide@umet.edu.ec,  
jsolano@umet.edu.ec  
Fecha de recepción: 31 de Julio de 2017 - Fecha de aceptación: 10 de Agosto de 2017  
Resumen: El papel de la agricultura urbana en la seguridad alimentaria global es un tema de creciente  
debate. Existen varios tipos de investigación sobre la agricultura urbana y periurbana, especialmente  
en las grandes ciudades. Estos estudios generalmente consisten en un análisis de casos que a menudo  
tienen diferentes definiciones de la agricultura urbana y periurbana dependiendo del entorno local y  
sobre todo de los objetivos del estudio. (Thebo, et al., 2014). Esta falta de estabilidad hace difícil  
cuantificar el alcance de esta práctica a escala mundial y presenta un reto para los ciudadanos, las  
autoridades y las instituciones académicas de proporcionar una estructura adecuada para la transición  
de la teoría a la aplicación de la agricultura urbana dentro de las ciudades. Por un lado, el diseño de  
políticas que buscan el desarrollo de las regiones se enmarca entre dos aspectos que configuran el  
mundo actual: el global, como una creciente integración económica, cultural y política. Por otro lado  
el local, como esa tendencia hacia niveles superiores de autodeterminación, gestión, descentralización  
y desarrollo en las comunidades. (Fuchs et al., 2003). Como resultado, cada vez es más fácil para la  
gente involucrarse en la política local planteando problemas que afectan directamente a los vecindarios.  
Las regulaciones locales se vuelven mucho más relevantes para la vida cotidiana de una persona que  
intenta hacer crecer su comida y sienten que pueden contribuir positivamente a su comunidad. Por otra  
parte, el cambio climático y los impactos ambientales representan una amenaza real y grave, pero hay  
muchas soluciones potenciales para ellos. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar el potencial  
de la agricultura urbana dentro de nuestro entorno.  
Palabras Clave: agricultura urbana; beneficios económicos; beneficios sociales  
Abstract: The role of urban agriculture in global food security is a subject of growing debate. There  
are several types of research on urban and peri-urban agriculture, especially in the major cities. These  
studies usually consist of an analysis of cases that often have different definitions of urban and peri-  
urban agriculture depending on the local setting and mostly about the objectives of the study. (Thebo,  
et al., 2014). This lack of steadiness makes it difficult to quantify the scope of this practice on a global  
scale and presents a challenge for citizens, authorities and academic institutions to provide adequate  
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INNOVA Research Journal 2017. Vol. 2, No.8.1 pp. 112-116  
structure for the transition from theory to the application of urban agriculture within cities. On the one  
hand, the design of policies that seek the development of regions is framed between two aspects that  
shape today's world: the global, as a growing economic, cultural and political integration. On the other  
side the local, as that trend towards Higher levels of self-determination, management, decentralization  
and development in communities. (Fuchs, et al., 2003). As a result, it is becoming easier for people to  
get involved in local politics by posing problems that directly affect neighborhoods. Local regulations  
become much more relevant to the daily life of a person trying to grow their food and feel that they  
can contribute positively to their community. On the other hand, Climate change and environmental  
impacts represent a real and grave threat, but there are many potential solutions to them. The present  
paper aims to analyze the potential of urban agriculture within our environment.  
Key words: urban agriculture; economic benefits; social benefits  
Background  
Urban agriculture has become an instrument that among several results, has allowed  
improving the food and nutrition for the inhabitants of the cities. On the other hand, it has helped  
to conserve the environment in several instances, by reducing the ecological footprint that  
impacts our daily lives today. Citizens also have an essential role to play when transforming  
unproductive spaces into sites that generate value and produce benefits for society. Here, it is  
common to include vulnerable sectors such as people with different capacities, the unemployed,  
women and Old people. What is sought is to create a society that tends to self-production and  
self-consumption, to mitigate the usual impacts while reducing costs by accessing family  
baskets, on the one hand, and generating revenue through the sale of everything Surplus (Thin  
2
015)  
Economic benefits of urban agriculture  
Attention to the emerging problems of urban poverty is a concern that requires priority  
treatment from the different levels of our societies, given the immediacy of the social demand  
generated by the precarious living conditions of the affected groups. (Moreno O. 2007).  
Community Progress, food security, and economic development are three of the most common  
pillars for considering participation in urban agriculture. Urban agriculture not only strengthens  
social ties. It also provides healthy livelihoods that might otherwise be lacking, but can also  
contribute to growth in household incomes, offset food costs and create jobs. Food safety is  
affected by the quantity and quality of food available for the household. (Nugent, 2002) On the  
other hand, improving the conditions of poor urban communities to produce, grow and sell  
vegetables and other agricultural products will also have positive effects on other poor urban  
residents through access to fresh food And nutritious at affordable prices. Since food is the  
primary component of household expenditure (low-income families spend between 50% and  
6
0% of their income on staple foods and beverages), any savings in food spending imply that a  
significant portion of household income will be available for other non-food expenses. (RUAF,  
003)  
2
Social Benefits of Urban Agriculture  
Bryden (1994) points out that the sustainability of rural communities depends on the  
ability to regenerate themselves in the long term in social, economic and physical terms.  
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Similarly, other authors (Flora et al., 1994) consider that community sustainability is mostly  
based on the resilience they possess in response to changing environmental conditions. Several  
interpretations of the word community are emerging. The term has a connotation of a local social  
system, which provides a more fair way to give it a spatial context. For the changing nature of  
"rurality," the ways that are considered and analyzed local social systems are also changing  
(Bryden, 1994): On the other hand in the work of (Uzcátegui, et al., 2017).  
The various benefits of urban agriculture are mentioned, as they are; the creation of safe  
places, pest reduction, in addition to fostering community development and building social  
capital. On the other hand, opportunities for youth education and development finally,  
intergenerational and intercultural integration.  
Environmental Benefits of Urban Agriculture  
Industrial agriculture is a major source of pollution from the extensive use of fossil fuels.  
Petrochemicals are used to fertilize, pulverize and conserve food. Plastics made from oil are used  
to package food, and gasoline is used to transport food around the world. Urban agriculture  
provides us with an alternative to the use of oil by minimizing the ecological footprint of  
transportation and using organic farming methods. Cities face many environmental challenges,  
including air and water quality problems, lack of sufficient green space, excess heat capture,  
runoff from contaminated rainwater, and lack of ecological biodiversity. Urban agriculture  
presents a unique opportunity to use empty or inactive land and roofs throughout cities for the  
production of healthy and pesticide-free food. Increasing green spaces to the community,  
including community gardens and urban farms, is acknowledged to provide some social, health,  
economic and environmental benefits.  
Several studies have determined that the impact of environmental damage on our  
environment is increasing. The use of fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides are negatively  
affecting the health and welfare of consumers. For the above, it is necessary to promote an  
agriculture according to the benefit of the human being and without harming the environment. Is  
here that the concept of urban and peri-urban agriculture is born, where the use of nutrients and  
micronutrients is encouraged through the Extensive use of organic manure "Building an organic  
matter base is essential for improving poor soils. It contains nutrients in more complex forms,  
which are released for plant use after the organic material decomposes (Cofie, et al. 2010).  
Urban agriculture for the city of Machala  
Possibility of food production within the Canton Machala  
Understanding the ability of urban agriculture to feed urban populations necessarily  
depends on estimating the amount of food that can be grown in an urban area. In this stage is a  
critical assessment, insofar as the viability of urban agriculture and the degree of political and  
cultural support depend to some extent on whether it can have a significant impact on the  
availability and safety of food local. Ecuador has an antecedent with Quito since in 2000 a pilot  
program for the development of urban agriculture in the Panecillo Sector was carried out, a lot of  
public and international entities participated, and the result was a success. On the one hand, the  
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economies of the participants improved, just like their nutrition, there were processes of  
recycling of the organic wastes. Today the Metropolitan Agency for Economic Promotion  
(CONQUITO) is in charge of this initiative, whose primary objective is the consolidation of an  
entrepreneurial, sustainable and innovative city, generating jobs and equitably redistributing  
wealth (www.fao.org, 2015)  
These efforts can be replicated in the towns like Machala, even more so when the land  
they own is suitable for crops because of the fertility of their soil; there are many spaces such as  
solar that are currently unproductive areas and have great potential to be transformed into  
orchards. That we have several benefits; the reduction of costs in operation generated by the  
transportation of organic waste, encourages recycling, income is produced by families, increases  
the nutritional quality of the population, among others.  
Challenges and barriers to food production in the city of Machala  
Given the neglect of agriculture in urban planning policy. Planners tend to think that  
growing public food is a messy business and they have little understanding of the need for towns  
to grow food in cities. But for hundreds of millions of people in urban areas, it is a vital  
component of their livelihoods and during difficult times is a self-sustaining and important  
conservation strategy, city dwellers are increasingly trying to persuade planners. To receive a  
space for food crops, this is true not only in developing countries but also increasingly in  
developed cities where unemployment is endemic. (Deelstra et al., 2000).  
A holistic perspective for policy making would take into account macro, sectoral and  
micro enterprises, and consider the following in development strategies:  
Incentives to households about food production and consumption  
The resources available to the local government in the provision of infrastructure and  
services;  
Trends in regional and national agricultural markets, especially supplies; Y  
Linkages between urban, peri-urban and rural farmers and processors  
This brief description has been a review as suggested for additional research  
Environmental Monitoring of a Commercial Farm within the Canton Machala  
Conclusions and recommendations  
With the help of urban agriculture, up to 100 times more food can be produced than with  
conventional farming (per square meter). How is it possible? This is the direction - most urban  
farms are vertically designed, which allows you to grow products on as many levels as possible  
in a square meter. Agriculture strengthens local economies through job creation and access to  
healthy food. It enhances local ecologies by sequestering carbon. Additionally, creating green  
spaces that add shade and counteract the "heat island" effect of so much concrete. Finally, urban  
farms also provide a much-needed respite for pollinators that are so vital to our food system.  
Urban agriculture facilitates the organization of communities to obtain social cohesion.  
Economic benefits are analyzed in the same way. By working as a team, you can have  
greater control over activities. On the other hand, it generates the capacity of utilization of the  
surfaces to cultivate while the ecosystem is preserved by the friendly practices with the  
environment.  
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Cultivating together propitiates community development there is nothing like joining  
your neighbors during this summer's huge tomato harvest. Many cultures revolve around food  
cultivation, cooking and consumption. Food connects people, and growing food is one of the best  
ways to connect. Even individuals who do not get their hands dirty feel a greater sense of  
community thanks to urban farms.  
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