Venezuela Launches Ambitious Urban Agriculture Plan

The 100-day Plan for Urban Agriculture started Sunday in eight Venezuelan cities in a bid to provide about 1,300 people with vegetables and fruits.

The dedicated 13 lots cover about 1,200 hectares, but should extend 12,000 kilometers by the end of the next 100 days, said Venezuela's Vice President Aristonulo Isturiz.

Distribution plans to the urban population will be set up according to the various moments of harvest season.

“The surplus will be distributed to a larger sphere surrounding this territory,” said Ministry of Urban Agriculture Lorena Freitez at the end of January.

One of the plan's objectives consists of teaching people how to cultivate and stir their interest for agriculture, she added.

ANALYSIS: Latin America's Future Tied to Sustainable, Subsistence Farming 

In the long term, the products should be able to supply about 20 percent of the total food consumption of the residents living in the eight participating cities: Barcelona, Barquisimeto, Caracas, Los Teques, Maracaibo, Maracay, Mérida y Valencia.

The crops will be dedicated to the cultivation of chard, coriander, spring onion, aubergine, zuccini, cucumber, tomato, chili pepper, beetroot, bell pepper, carrots and lettuce.

The initiative was launched by President Nicolas Maduro with the participation of socialist supporters, brigades from the ministry of Agriculture's project “Tree Mission,” communal councils and other social organizations, including student groups in primary schools and high schools.