Seeds of Change: Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Dynamics in Brazil

In Brazil, urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) faces challenges to thrive despite being part of anti-hunger initiatives. This chapter explores UPA actors’ attempts to influence municipal policies addressing local food needs and fostering green cities. Urban agriculture offers numerous benefits, such as improving diet, fostering social connections, providing leisure activities, and greening cities. Decision-makers should recognize its potential to combat poverty and malnutrition. Using the lens of Social Regulation Theory, this chapter examines garden coordinators’ efforts and advocacy for legal frameworks, recognition, and urban planning policies to facilitate and democratize access to UPA. The study of three metropolises in Brazil allowed for actor-mapping, learning from UPA public policy-making, and making comparisons. The institutionalization of UPA in Salvador de Bahia and Florianópolis provides a model, emphasizing the role of the Health Ministry. Beyond “guerrilla gardening” present in well-to-do neighborhoods of São Paulo, the future of UPA in that metropolitan region may lie at its periphery. These areas can foster stable and productive fresh food production in proximity, contributing to a large array of family incomes. Developing public policies aligned with gardeners’ preferences can help institutionalize UPA, making it a cornerstone of urban sustainability and community food resilience in the face of climate change.