| dc.description.abstract | In Latin America, the combination of the Green Revolution effects and of the globalization of the food systems merged with the high rates of urbanization provoked remarkable levels of urban food insecurity. Urban Agriculture (UA) is a practice diffused across the region, in particular by low and middle-income groups. In Cuba, this movement born to escape a chronic crisis occurred during the 90s, as a solution to become food self-sufficient. However, this urban agricultural movement was a top-down and state-controlled movement, and its effect on sovereignty of the producers and consumers is undermined and unclear yet. The purpose of this thesis is to verify the possibilities of developing food sovereignty in urban agriculture by examining results of the agroecology revolution occurred in Cuban cities. The thesis explores the current importance of UA in Havana and to what extent urban agriculture contributes to better livelihood conditions of farmers and consumers, with a focus on the social, environmental, political and economic dimensions, all retained fundamental pillars of the Food Sovereignty discourse. There are identified the opportunities for further implementations and the challenges that are faced by the actors involved in the UA systems. The results proved that although the UA movement has been implemented as a top-down initiative, through large State investments, these must be associated with grounded-based activities, giving priority to farmers and consumers’ needs. | |
