Processing and Marketing Urban Agriculture Products

 Adding value to urban agriculture (UA) products through food processing and marketing is an
innovative way of generating income and creating new jobs. For every US$100 that a
consumer pays for a processed agricultural product, $23 goes to vendor, $27 to the
person trading the goods, and $35 to the processor. The producer earns only $15. By linking food production, processing, and marketing, producers can earn a higher return for their products. This improves the social inclusion of the poor.

Municipal programs that promote the processing and marketing of UA products should
try to increase the participation of urban institutions and farmers. At the same time,
municipalities must modify legislation and improve the poor’s access to capital and
marketing venues. Finally, efforts to organize producers also need to be undertaken
independently from government, so as to ensure the continuity of programs.
This document provides guidelines and suggestions for developing municipal programs
for processing and marketing UA products.