Both gardens have tremendously diverse cropping systems, with over 90 different types of plants and trees (see Appendix 4). The most common plants are different types of lettuce, kale, spring onion and parsley. The gardens do not have any animals, which means that no manure is available within the farming system. Internal recycling thus only involves plant material (e.g. leaves for compost).
Setup & management
The gardens are situated in an intra-urban area on public land, and receive continuous support from a public entity (SMASAN), as well as occasional support from other sources (e.g. as part of projects). They were both run collectively at first, but due to conflicts over workload and revenues, they were later divided. Now, each gardener manages his or her own plot (making it resemble an allotment garden typically found in the Global North, but with less clear borders between plots). There are no collective decisions concerning what to grow, instead it is up to the farmers to run their plots as
Figure 3: A revised version of the Hawkesbury's Peanut Model (see Bawden & Packham 1993), adapted by the author of this thesis to present a compound image of the farming systems at the studied urban community gardens Vila Pinho and Jardim Produtivo, and the main factors affecting the gardens and their management.
Heterotrophic None Setup & management - Intra-urban - Public land - Located away from home - Public support - Collec;vely managed gardens - Individually managed plots - Agroecological management (no chemicals added) - Irriga;on Decomposi4on (Not researched) Autotrophic More than 90 different types of plants and trees PURPOSES - Food produc;on - Income genera;on - Various other (see chapter 5.2) OUTPUTS INPUTS Natural factors - Climate - Pests Poli4cal factors - Elec;ons / leadership / ideology - Legisla;on Socioeconomic factors - Farmers’ socioeconomic situa;on - Na;onal economic crisis - Unsafe neighbourhoods Internal factors Farmer rela;ons Food Jobs/incomes Various other (see chapter 5.2) Electricity, water, technical assistance Manure Seeds, tools, labour
they prefer. The farmers collaborate as much as they want, but mostly when it comes to collective tasks such as larger garden maintenance projects. Both gardens have common areas where they can prepare their sales, eat together, etc.
It is possible to grow crops year-round, but planting slows down during the rainy season between November and February. As part of SMASAN’s support system, the gardens have to be managed agroecologically, which in this setting means that the farmers are not allowed to use any agrochemicals16. Many farmers say that they would like to obtain organic certification in the future, both for the inherent benefits with organic produce and because it would increase the value of their products and provide access to more sales channels. The farmers use manure and homemade compost for fertilisation, and prevent and treat pests with various homemade pest remedies. Both gardens have irrigation systems installed, but only that in Vila Pinho is working. The water for irrigation is pumped from the groundwater through an artesian well.
Inputs, outputs, and purpose
The main inputs to the gardens are:
- Electricity, which SMASAN supplies - Water, which SMASAN supplies
- Technical assistance, supplied by SMASAN agronomists
- Manure, partly supplied by SMASAN from a yearly animal exposition in Belo Horizonte, and partly bought by the farmers themselves from farms in neighbouring municipalities
- Seeds, which each farmer buys (except for those who save seeds)
- Tools (manual – no machinery is used at the gardens) and irrigation devices (e.g. sprinklers, hoses) which each farmer buys
- Labour, provided by the farmers themselves
- A monthly contribution of 10 BRL from each farmer to the garden association (only at Vila Pinho)
The main garden outputs are:
- Food produce (vegetables, herbs, and fruits) - Jobs and incomes for the farmers
- Other benefits for the farmers, community, and city (see chapter 5.2)
16 Based on my interviews, there seems to be varying understandings of agroecology among different
actors in BH. For SMASAN, agroecological farming implies not using any agrochemicals in the production (SMASAN2). This understanding is endorsed also by one of the researchers I talked to, who means that some mineral fertilisers may still be used, and that agroecology is a step in between conventional and organic farming (UFMG1). Another researcher however rejects this understanding, meaning that agroecology is a step further than organic, and that in Brazil, agroecology is a political movement that opposes the agroindustry and struggles for agrarian reform, genetic protection, and an inclusive economy (UFMG2) In this understanding, agroecology is a practice, science, and movement, which is in line with the view taught at SLU.
The core purpose of the garden is to produce food and contribute to the farmers’ food and nutrition security, however the farmers themselves have various reasons and motivations to participate. These will be presented more in depth in chapter 5.2. The farmers sell their produce surplus (only fresh produce, as they are not allowed to sell processed products due to legal restrictions). The garden entrance is the most important sales outlet. Many also sell on the street and deliver to regular customers. On rare occasions, they sell to specific events. Furthermore, three growers at Vila Pinho and one grower at Jardim Produtivo sell produce to local schools. Finally, one farmer sells at a stand in the only currently existing UA market in Belo Horizonte, situated outside of the city in Cidade Administrativa.
5.1.2 Challenges