Benefits of urban and peri-urban horticulture
Answers
✳️Benefits of urban and peri-urban horticulture (UPH)
-UPH can contribute in increasing food and nutritional security.
- No problem of marketing of the produce as it can easily be sold in a localmarket even at higher rates.
-People having little or no land can adopt part-time farming of vegetablesby use of hydroponics or substrate culture in beds, which provides foodand income.
- UPH enhances the freshness of perishable fruits and vegetables reachingurban consumers, because crops are produced in close proximity to theconsumers, which does not travel long distance.
-In urban horticulture, women can combine food production activity withchild care and other household responsibilities.
-There is significant reduction in post harvest losses as the fresh produce issold in the market immediately.
The proximity of peri-urban farms to urban areas incurs cost savings compared to those in rural areas, as farms are still able to take advantage of economies of scale, to an extent, and require less transportation infrastructure to bring food in from city outskirts. Perishable products are more easily preserved.