Through the large variety of crops that are produced, urban horticulture makes a major contribution to food and economic security.
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It also contributes to strengthening social sustainability and increasing ecological sustainability by transforming wastes, conserving natural resources, preventing soil erosion, and reducing pollution.
UPH, like UA in general, has multiple functions. The main function is supplying fresh food, but emerging functions that are becoming more and more essential are economic (income generation), social (labour), cultural, living environment (open spaces and greening), environmental (recycling) and security (food and natural risks).
Although most of these species are not specific to periurban horticultural systems and can also be grown elsewhere, horticulture in urban areas minimises the transportation time for the supply of fresh produce to city dwellers.
The cropping system in urban and periurban areas is usually adapted to the specific circumstances. Many traditional crops have been adapted to better respond to the needs of city consumers. Horticulture is practised for home-consumption but very often also for the market as high-value cash crops.
In such a competitive environment, a focus on profitability may lead to improper management such as the intensive use of water, land and other (chemical) inputs, and thereby pose threats to humans and the environment. This issue will be discussed later in this chapter.
Policymakers around the world are showing an increased interest in urban horticulture, although their major focus is still on the temporary use of peri-urban lands. Periurban agriculture is encouraged in poor countries, mainly because it improves food security of poor households and the urban population's nutritional status (freshness of products and better access to fruit and vegetables, considered as a major source of vitamins and micronutrients), especially in view of the inefficient transportation and storage facilities in these countries.