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On May 8, 2007, Senator Donald H. Oliver praised the IDRC publication, Growing Better Cities: Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Development, in remarks to the Senate on the important role governments at the local, provincial, and national levels have to play in implementing sustainable development policies.

“Urban agriculture as sustainable development is a win-win solution because it provides the basic necessities of healthy food and income to the poor while reducing malnutrition and cleaning up the urban environment…Growing Better Cities benefits all levels of government and interested groups in our country by maximizing the potential use of so-called urban agriculture to transform Canadian cities into environmentally friendly places to live.”

IDRC President Maureen O’Neil highlighted how IDRC hopes its experience in urban agriculture can benefit as many people as possible in a letter to government officials announcing the Growing Better Cities publication.

Growing Better Cities presents the results of two decades of IDRC research in the area of urban agriculture. It is part of the IDRC in_focus series which brings together years of knowledge on pressing issues in sustainable international development. IDRC’s experience is distilled and organized in such as way as to draw out important lessons, observations, and recommendations for decision-makers and policy advisors.

Read the transcript of the Senator’s statement 

2007-07

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