A 100-day Plan for urban agriculture started on February 28 in eight Venezuelan cities in a bid to provide about 1300 people with vegetables and fruits.
Urban agriculture minister Lorena Freitez said one of the plan's objectives consists of teaching people how to cultivate and stir their interest for agriculture.
In the long term, the products should be able to supply about 20% of the total food consumption of the residents living in the eight participating cities: Barcelona, Barquisimeto, Caracas, Los Teques, Maracaibo, Maracay, Mérida y Valencia.
Crops include chard, coriander, spring onion, eggplant, zucchini, cucumber, tomato, chili pepper, beetroot, capsicum, carrots and lettuce.
The initiative was launched by President Nicolas Maduro with the participation of socialist supporters, brigades from the agriculture ministry's “Tree Mission” project, communal councils and other social organisations, including student groups in primary and high schools.
[Abridged from TeleSUR English.]
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