The City of Fort Saskatchewan has completed the Urban Agriculture Plan (UAP).
What is Urban Agriculture?
Urban agriculture is the cultivation, processing, and distribution of food in and around an urban area, such as cities. This can include growing plants or raising animals on public or private property. Urban agriculture is typically for personal consumption; however, it can also be used for commercial purposes. Examples of urban agriculture may include but are not limited to community gardens, green roofs, edible landscaping, urban beekeeping, urban chickens, hydroponics, aquaponics and more.
Why do we need Urban Agriculture Plan?
Our city is surrounded by agricultural lands and also home to agriculture lands in the north and south parts of the city. Agriculture is one of the prime industries in the region and the region is home to some of the world's best agricultural lands. As the world's population increases this limited resource becomes increasingly important. The Urban Agriculture Plan will provide education and tools that create awareness about where food comes from, enhance local food sustainability and diversify the economy through agriculture-related and value-added industries.
How does the Urban Agriculture Plan relate to the Edmonton Metropolitan Region?
The Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB) is a regional growth management board mandated by the Province of Alberta to implement the Region’s 30-year Growth Plan. In 2017, the Province approved the Growth Plan that recognizes Agriculture as one of the six policy areas to ensure the wise management of prime agricultural resources to continue a thriving agricultural sector. In December 2022, the Province of Alberta approved the Regional Agriculture Master Plan (RAMP) as an amendment to the Regional Growth Plan.
The RAMP is designed to manage land use for the future of agriculture and the agriculture sector, providing direction to conserve prime agricultural lands and minimize conversion to non-agricultural use. The RAMP requires urban municipalities within the Region complete an Urban Agriculture Plan (UAP) to determine the role of urban agriculture as these urban communities continue to grow.
