The growth of cities will trigger important transformation in the countryside as an increasing share of food production will have to be directed to feeding towns. But urban agriculture can contribute in a significant fashion. One of the major efforts of the next 25 years must therefore be to develop urban farming systems, which can supply much of the food cities require without expensive transport costs. Such systems can also ease urban waste disposal problems, since wastewater and organic refuse are potential inputs for urban farmers. Much of the fruit and vegetables sold in urban markets is grown within or near the city.
Water is essential to good health and economic progress.
Yet almost 300 million city residents in the developing world are without safe water and about 600 million lack adequate sanitation facilities. Four million deaths of infants and children occur each year around the world, as a result of this. In many cases, the urban poor are not provided with adequate water because governments think they are unable or unwilling to pay for services. Yet they are often already paying a price up to ten times higher to private water vendors than their richer neighbors pay for water piped to their homes. Investing in the infrastucture needed to provide adequate water and sanitation facilities can sharply reduce health costs and loss of labour as a result of illness.