Abstract :
Urban food gardening is seen as an important means of overcoming problems caused by unemployment, inequality, poverty, falling real wages, malnutrition and nutrition-related degenerative diseases in the small-island states of the Pacific Ocean, such as Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati and Nauru. This paper argues that the formal promotion, expansion and improvement of small-scale urban food gardening is a direct and economically, socially, technologically and nutritionally appropriate means of bringing about sustainable national development and promoting food security. Despite the fact that the potential urban foods production is not clearly understood by planners and policy makers, it should be viewed as a component of agricultural development strategies given the benefits it confers. Policies which would lead to its growth are discussed.
