Kigali among 6 African Cities that FAO seeks to turn into green metros
On June 21, 2021, FAO launched the Green Cities Regional Action Programme for Africa.
The programme will use innovative solutions and turn cities to become more sustainable, more resilient and will provide access to healthy foods and ensure a better life for everyone.
Six large, medium and small African cities were selected to run the first phase of the programme
Among the selected cities that the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) plans to turn into green metros, Rwanda’s Capital City of Kigali is on the list.
Apart from Kigali, other cities are Praia in Cabo Verde, Kisumu and Nairobi in Kenya, Antananarivo in Madagascar and Quelimane in Mozambique.
Phase one includes promoting local food production and short supply chains, establish green agro-processing hubs.
It will create good natural environments, more integrated nutritious food production-and-distribution systems that help the residents and farmers.
According to information reaching our desk, FAO will help the local administrations to set up rooftop and backyard gardens, vertical farms in abandoned structures and high-tech aquaculture.
Other initiatives like parks, water management, cleaner air, food waste reduction are also planned.
Around 55% of the world’s population lives in cities today, and that is expected to rise to 68 % by 2050.
Most of these populations are in low-income countries, especially in Africa and Asia.
Even though cities provide economic opportunities, they have poverty, high natural resource use, GHG emissions and food consumption.
The FAO highlights that with the right policies and innovative solutions, local administrations can improve the well-being of the people in these cities.
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