The United States, European Union and United Kingdom vigorously pushed back on charges by President Emmerson Mnangagwa that sanctions are behind the economic collapse and the general poverty in the country.Zimbabwe has set aside October 25 as an ‘Anti-Sanctions Day' to push for the removal of the targeted sanctions imposed nearly two decades ago as punishment for human rights violations and electoral fraud.
In response to a deluge of stories and opinion pieces in the state-controlled media blaming the western countries for Zimbabwe’s woes, the US, UK and EU missions in Harare used social media to explain their positions.
James Duddridge, the UK minister for Africa, said London’s targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe were meant to rein in officials behind human rights violations.
“The UK stands up for human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
“Our sanctions only target those, who disregard these values in Zimbabwe and across the world,” Duddridge said on Twitter.
“The UK is committed to tackling corruption and ensuring a better future for Zimbabweans.”
British ambassador to Zimbabwe Melanie Robinson echoed the minister’s statements, saying the southern African country was being hurt by corruption and not sanctions as claimed by Mnangagwa’s government.
“Sanctions are a response to human rights violations. They don’t target ordinary citizens,” Robinson tweeted.
“The UK is on the side of the Zimbabwean people.
“In 2020-21 we’re providing $176 million aid reducing poverty, fighting Covid-19, standing up for human rights and the rule of law.”
She added: “There’s no UK trade embargo on Zimbabwe: we’ve just welcomed Zimbabwe’s ratification of an (Economic Partnership Agreement), which will mean exporters continue to enjoy tariff and quota-free access to the UK market.
“The UK is Zimbabwe’s 19th largest export market.”
The US and EU missions in Zimbabwe were also active on Twitter responding to government’s claims.
US ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols said e-galas, protests or seeking international solidarity against the embargo was a waste of energy.
He advised Mnangagwa to invest in reforms that he himself promised for the sanctions to be removed.
Nichols said despite the targeted sanctions, the US has stood by the people of Zimbabwe and worked together to promote democratic institutions, equitable economic growth, public health, and food security, which has seen the superpower fork out US$3,5 billion to Harare since 1980.
The US remains the largest provider of health and humanitarian assistance, including the US President’s Emergency Fund for Aids Relief, food assistance, and disaster relief, to the people of Zimbabwe.
The EU said their only restrictive measures were against state-owned company Zimbabwe Defence Industries.
“The EU restrictive measures are a ban for European companies to do business with Zimbabwe Defence Industries and to sell arms to Zimbabwe,” the EU mission tweeted.
“That’s all. The EU has not imposed anything else on Zimbabwe.
“There is no evidence that the Zimbabwean economy is affected negatively by EU restrictive measures.
“There are no legal restrictions on EU investment entering Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabwe’s campaign against sanctions has received support from the Southern African Development Community, which says Mnangagwa is committed to reforms.
The ruling Zanu-PF accuses the opposition, especially the MDC Alliance, of campaigning for the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe.
On the other hand, the opposition says Zanu-PF invited the sanctions by failing to respect the rule of law and abusing human rights.
The months of May and October have come to be known as the months of the Holy Rosary. This is because in these two months the Catholic Faithful organise special devotions during which the Holy Rosary is prayed devotedly, daily.
We are still in the month of October, and this devotion is ongoing in the whole Catholic world. The devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary, especially through the praying of the Holy Rosary is an enduring tradition within the Church that dates back to the days of St. Dominic. The Holy Rosary is an important composite prayer in the Catholic that is elaborate and all-embracing.
According to Saint Pope John Paul II in the Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, of 16 October 2002, the Holy Rosary is Marian in Character, this means that the Holy Rosary is a devotion in honour of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Still, at heart, it is a prayer centred on Christ. Hence it is Christocentric. The Saintly Holy father continued, “With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, no. 1) In the Holy Rosary we, together with the Blessed Mother Mary, contemplate the earthly life of Christ from the annunciation of his birth to the coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth.
We contemplate with Mary the mysteries of the life of Christ
We often call it, the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the praying of the Hail Mary on the beads is so pronounced that one could wrongly think it is only in praise of Our Blessed Mother Mary. No, we contemplate with Mary the mysteries of the life of Christ, and we invoke her intercession. It is also beautiful to note, without error, that the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the only human actor that is in the salvific history. Mary saw it all and lived it all. The salvific mission of Christ cannot be complete without the mention of Mary. Hence, the Holy Church, in her wisdom under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, has meticulously preserved this devotion and accorded it the universal character it has.
Journeying with the Blessed Mother through Covid-19
This reflection is meant to bring to light the importance of the invocation of our Blessed Mother Mary as Our Lady of Africa and the efficacy of the Holy Rosary in the life of every Christian in Africa and the world at large. In a very special way, it aims at seeing how we in Africa can benefit from this knowledge of who the Blessed Virgin Mary is in the plan of our salvation and what we can achieve through praying the Holy Rosary especially in the face of economic crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, wars, violence, killings, insecurity and terrorism in Africa. Let us journey with Mary through the mysteries of the Holy Rosary.
Mysteries of the Holy Rosary
The Holy Rosary is made up of the four mysteries, namely, the Joyful, the Luminous, the Sorrowful and the Glorious. Each of these contains five mysteries. In the Joyful mysteries, we contemplate with Mary, the annunciation, the visitation of Elisabeth, the birth of Jesus, the presentation of Jesus in the temple and the finding of Jesus in the temple among the teachers. The Luminous Mysteries, also known as (The Mystery of Light) contemplates the public life of Christ. These are: the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, Jesus reveals himself at the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus proclaims God’s Kingdom, Jesus is transfigured and then the Institution of the Holy Eucharist. In the Sorrowful mysteries, we contemplate, the passion, agony and death of Christ and they consist of, the suffering of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, the scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, the carrying of the cross and then the crucifixion of Christ. In the Glorious Mysteries, we meditate on the Resurrection of Christ, His Ascension into heaven, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, the Glorious Assumption of Mary, body and soul, into heaven and the Coronation of Mary Queen of heaven. In all these mysteries, the one person who was involved from the beginning to the end is the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ, was a humble young woman growing up with so great a favour from God which no one on earth has ever had. She was conceived without sin. Yes, it really shows that God was bent on saving humankind, hence at the appointed time, He sent his Son born of a woman. The young woman, Mary, was preserved by God from original sin so that the One to be born of her would be holy and spotless. Human beings have always venerated angels or heavenly beings in the scriptures upon discovering who they were. But it was the opposite in the case of Mary. It was instead the Angel Gabriel sent by God who had to offer homage to this young maiden. The Angel could not ignore the One whom God has blessed and highly favoured. In his words, “Hail Mary, Full of Grace the Lord is with you.” (Lk. 1, 28) She remained a virgin during and after the birth of her Son. A privilege granted to her by God.
At a very tender age, her elderly cousin Elizabeth was able to acknowledge how highly favoured she was, and so gave her homage. It is not common in our African culture, to see an elder paying homage to a child unless such a child is a royalty. In this case, Mary was carrying in her womb Jesus, God Incarnate: The King of kings and the Lord of lords and this made her worthy of the homage paid her by Elizabeth. Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women; and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Lk. 1, 42)
Mary’s child born in poverty understands the plight of poor people
We also contemplate and acknowledge the role she played during the actual moment of delivery. The evangelist Luke recounts how there was no room in the inn for Joseph and Mary on that cold winter night in Bethlehem, so they had no other option than to stay in the manger with the animals. O, what a better way for the Lord of hosts to come into our world! Jesus chose the option of the poor. He understands the plight of the poor. He knows what it means to go without shelter, food and clothing. Therefore, when the poor in Africa cry out to Him through His Mother, the Virgin Mary, He hearkens to their cry. This is to support what the psalmist says, “this poor man called, and the Lord heard him and rescued Him from all his distress.” (Ps. 34, 6) The plight of the poor does not escape the watch of God. However, some of us may ask why the poor are still suffering if God has heard their cry. Yes, we are still suffering because every one of us as Christians who contemplate the redemptive mystery of Christ through the mysteries of the Holy Rosary and according to the teaching of Christ and the Church, is not yet ready to do what Mary did. What did Mary do? She accepted to be part of the salvific event by the words: “Let It Be Done to Me According to Your Word” (Luke 1, 38).
Mary is our defender and maternal protector against danger
She defended, with her life, the life of this God-man when Herod wanted him dead. She fled with Jesus and Joseph in the cold winter to Egypt. Here, we see, the heart of a loving mother who desperately wants to preserve the life of her child. Mary will do the same for us as her children by adoption. Through Christ, we have become children of Mary. While Jesus was hanging on the cross, he saw the disciple whom he loved with his Mother standing by the foot of the cross he said to his Mother, “Woman, behold your son.” And to the disciple, he said, “Behold your mother.” And from that moment the disciple took her to his own home. (Jn. 19, 26-27). This is the very reason she will do everything she can to protect us from the powers that seek to destroy us because she is our Mother. Whenever we pray the Holy Rosary, we are invoking this maternal protection of Our Blessed Mother. Yes, it was at her intervention that Jesus performed His first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana where He turned water into wine. This event prominently presents the intercessory role of our Blessed Mother Mary. She is always ready to ask her Son to help, and the Son would never refuse her whatever she requests of Him.
Like Mary, African mothers witness their children being killed.
Mary stood by Jesus throughout His agony and passion and was there at the foot of the cross till He breathed His last. Yes, the pains and sorrows she endured throughout the earthly life of Christ confirmed the words of the holy Simeon in the temple at the presentation of Jesus, who said to Mary, his Mother, “Know this: your son is a sign; a sign established for the falling and rising of many in Israel, a sign of contradiction; and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.” (Lk. 2, 34-35). Mary understands what pains and sorrow are. When a mother witnesses the murder of her child in cold blood, the pain is enormous. Mary experienced this. So when, African mothers witness their children murdered in cold blood due to insecurity, violence, wars and terrorism, and these mothers seek justice from heaven, the Blessed Mother Mary, will always add her voice to their pleas. As we know, for many African mothers, violence in retaliation is something they would never contemplate.
We invoke Mary, the Queen of peace
Through the Holy Rosary, we can combat violence and killings perpetrated against the innocent, by seeking the peace-loving heart of Mary for the conversion of hearts. We contemplate through the Holy Rosary the mystery of Christ who “is our peace”, since he made “the two of us one, and broke down the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph 2:14). Consequently, says Saint John Paul II, “one cannot recite the Rosary without feeling caught up in a clear commitment to advancing peace, especially in the land of Jesus, still so sorely afflicted and so close to the heart of every Christian.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae no. 6). This is that weapon we need to fight the evil of war, nepotism, tribalism, and ethnicity in Africa. Meditating on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, especially in the context of the family, promotes love and unity. It is so beautiful to see the family praying the Rosary together. I recall, my childhood days when we prayed the Holy Rosary every night at home, each person would cheerfully lead in the recitation of each mystery while everyone responded accordingly. The joy of praying the Holy Rosary together helps to unite the family, which is the nucleus of the human society.
A quiet rhythm and a lingering pace
The recitation of the Holy Rosary is never to be a mechanical thing. Saint John Paul II, using the words of Pope Sant Paul VI, warns thus: “Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: ‘In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words’ (Mt 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way, the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are disclosed.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae no. 12). Therefore, we contemplate and make the events meditated upon in the mysteries of the Holy Rosary count in our daily lives as Christians.
There have been miracles attributed to reciting the Rosary
In conclusion, The Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is Marian by nature, but centres on the Mysteries of Christ, and its efficacy cannot be underestimated. There have been many miracles attributed to the sincere and pious recitation of the Holy Rosary by the Faithful. This has been the reason why Our Blessed Mother Mary has always during her apparitions recommended the recitation of the Holy Rosary to obtain God’s favours. The Holy Rosary has been an effective weapon against the devil and his agents. In praying the Holy Rosary, we not only devote ourselves to the maternal care and protection of Our Blessed Mother Mary, but we also invoke her to accompany us in the difficult moments of life.
Mary Our Lady of Africa, pray for us
In Africa, we need so much the intercessions of the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Africa. As a people, we are plagued by hunger, drought, pestilence, violence, tribal crisis, killings, corruption and terrorism. We need to beseech heaven with our prayers. The Popes have enjoined us to pray the Holy Rosary daily invoking her intercession. It has been a favourite prayer of many great saints in the history of the Church, St. Dominic, Padre Pio, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Pope Saint John Paul II, and many others. Many families pray the Rosary every day without relenting. There are pious associations in parishes whose apostolate involves the daily recitation of the Holy Rosary, associations like, the Legion of Mary, the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatma, the Block Rosary and many others. Finally, let us pray the Holy Rosary unceasingly for peace in Africa because we have Our Blessed Mother Mary at the right hand of her Son in Glory interceding for us. May Our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Africa intercede for us.
The European Union has mobilised a total of €96 million in 2020 for humanitarian, development cooperation as well as conflict prevention support for the Rohingyas.
The EU, along with the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, co-hosted the conference in solidarity with Rohingya refugees and countries in the region recently.
Representing the EU at the conference, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said the international community came together to show its support and deliver further assistance to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees and the communities hosting them.
“We must do all we can so the Rohingya crisis does not become a forgotten tragedy. At this difficult time, the EU continues to stand by the most vulnerable with this emergency humanitarian support.”
Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has increased the challenges on the ground. “EU pledge reinforces our engagement with partners in support of people and development in the region. We must prevent a worsening of this crisis.”
EU AID FOR ROHINGYA REFUGEES AND COUNTRIES
Today’s funding from the EU will focus on helping those most in need, channeled through UN agencies, NGOs and international organisations:
Humanitarian assistance of €51.5 million, including €20 million from the Emergency Aid Reserve, has been allocated to help refugees and vulnerable host communities. Priority sectors will be protection (including child protection andgender based violence), critical healthcare (including mental health) and nutrition, food assistance and key coordination roles.
Development support of €39 million has been allocated to strengthen the resilience and social cohesion of Rohingya refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar District and of internally displaced people in Rakhine State. Support will focus on strengthening basic social services, particularly education, health, food and nutrition security, as well as addressing protection and information needs.
Conflict prevention support of €5.5 million has been allocated to contribute to stability and peace in the region.
In nature, the believer recognizes the wonderful result of God’s creative activity, which we may use responsibly to satisfy our legitimate needs, material or otherwise, while respecting the intrinsic balance of creation. If this vision is lost, we end up either considering nature an untouchable taboo or, on the contrary, abusing it. Neither attitude is consonant with the Christian vision of nature as the fruit of God’s creation.
(Pope Benedict XVI – Caritas in Veritate, 48)
Under the direction of Paolo Ondarza #SeasonOfCreation Instagram: @vaticanmuseums @VaticanNews Facebook: @vaticannews
The European Union on Saturday welcomed the announcement of the agreement to normalize relations between Sudan and Israel.
“This is a positive development that should contribute to the stabilization and the prosperity of the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea regions,” its spokesperson said in a statement.
Besides BCL and JCD, members of Islami Shasantantra Andolan and Ahle Hadis demonstrated on the campus in Dhaka demanding the accused student’s expulsion on Saturday.
They took out a procession and organised a human-chain demonstration called by Jagannath University Islamic Society, which came into being during similar protests against alleged defamation of Islam on social media by another student in April last year.
Al Imran Babu, who is heading the Society, said even members of Islami Chhatra Shibir, Tabligh Jamaat and followers of Charmonoai Peer joined the demonstration along with general students.
Shahbaz Hossain, a BCL leader of the unit, said some activists of the organisation joined the demonstration because general students were enraged by the “Facebook post of the accused student”.
Another BCL leader, Syed Shakil, said they would announce fresh protests soon although there was no instruction on the issue from the central leadership.
Speaking to bdnews24.com, JCD leader Shahadat Hossain demanded legal action against the accused student and her expulsion.
bdnews24.com could not contact the student, who was a member of Bangladesh Council to Protect General Students’ Rights, a platform that spearheaded the anti-quota movement.
The organisation has suspended her and asked for her explanation within a week, said its leader Mahmudul Hasan Mishu.
Proctor Mostafa Kamal said they would discuss the issue at a meeting on Tuesday.
Pallabi Police Station OC Wazed Ali said the student filed a general diary alleging that her Facebook account had been hacked and the perpetrators had uploaded the post that stirred the protests.
“We will send the case to the cybercrime department on Sunday,” he said.
Postage stamps, letter boxes, old post offices… in fact, anything connected with the mail tells a story of its own. They tell you tales ranging from politics, history, technology, biography, genealogy, economics, geography, disaster and triumph.
Anil Dhir’s The Last Post is an ode to the romance of the post office tinged with nostalgia. He brings to us the human side of the thousands of people who have lived and worked within the system.
Our tradition of ‘mail-running’ dates back to the 15th century, when the Mughals ruled most of India. Down the ages, the job of a mail-runner was a risky one, and the ‘hirkara’, as he was called, had to protect life and limb with a staff, spear and bell.
At the hour of cow-dust, these khaki-clad runners assisted by torchbearers went through valleys, hills and forests accompanied by dug-dugiwallahs to chase away wild animals. So infested was the countryside with predators that the roads were almost impassable. ‘Day after day, for nearly a fortnight, some of the dak-people were carried off at one or the other passes.’
Today, in our cities perhaps, we take the postman for granted. It’s a courier’s world, zooming from house to house, on two-wheelers making deliveries. Elsewhere, without fuss, our man of letters continues to deliver mail to 90 percent of the countryside, just as he did a 100 years ago, when mail running was fraught with risks.
Record books have it that in the early days of our hill stations, mail totalled less than a 100 articles a week, which in June 1935 peaked to 1,31,562 articles: all managed by one post master and his two able assistants. An old colonel got a new orderly, whom he instructed to drop the mail ‘into the hole in the red box’ at the post office.
This the orderly did with regularity. Six weeks passed and urgent official letters remained unanswered, the colonel grew anxious. He dragged the servant by the ear (I believe you could do that in those days!) and that is how the twain arrived at the post office.
Adjoining the office was the post master’s drawing room—neat, clean, and with a fireplace three quarters draped in the summer months with a plush red curtain. Of course the letters had been posted, there they lay, behind the curtains—all 17 of them behind ‘the hole’.
I guess it’s about time for the post offices to reinvent themselves. Till they do so, they will hardly be capable of withstanding the new challenges thrown up by courier companies, mobiles, SMS and WhatsApp and email.
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<a href="/topic/meat" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-4572829-/topic/meat" data-vars-event-id="c23">Meat</a>-free and plant-based products can still be labelled “sausages” or “burgers”, the European Parliament has ruled.
So-called veggie burgers, soy steaks and vegan sausages can <a href="/go/london/restaurants/vegan-hot-dog-bleeding-burger-moving-mountains-a4136821.html" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-4572829-/go/london/restaurants/vegan-hot-dog-bleeding-burger-moving-mountains-a4136821.html" data-vars-event-id="c23" rel="nofollow">continue to be sold as such</a><a> </a> in restaurants and shops across the <a href="/topic/european-union" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-4572829-/topic/european-union" data-vars-event-id="c23">European Union</a>, despite lobbying from farmers.
Europe’s largest farmers’ association, Copa-Cogeca, had supported a ban, arguing that labelling vegetarian substitutes with designations that brought meat to mind was misleading for consumers.
But a group of 13 organisations – including <a href="/topic/greenpeace" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-4572829-/topic/greenpeace" data-vars-event-id="c23">Greenpeace</a> and <a href="/topic/wwf" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-4572829-/topic/wwf" data-vars-event-id="c23">WWF</a> – urged the politicians to reject the proposed amendments, arguing that a ban would have not only exposed the <a href="/topic/eu" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-4572829-/topic/eu" data-vars-event-id="c23">EU</a> “to ridicule”, but also damaged its environmental credibility.
They said promoting a shift towards a more plant-based diet is in line with the EU Commission’s ambition <a href="/news/world/hottest-year-on-record-2019-global-warming-report-a4420721.html" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-4572829-/news/world/hottest-year-on-record-2019-global-warming-report-a4420721.html" data-vars-event-id="c23" rel="nofollow">to tackle global warming</a><a> </a>.
Farmers have lobbied to protect meat products (Getty Images)
Not being able to use familiar terms like steak and sausages could make the product more obscure to customers, it was argued.
<aside class="inline-block inline-related item-count-5 align-right"><h2 class="box-title">Read more</h2>
</aside>After the vote, the Swedish EU lawmaker Jytte Guteland said: "I'm going to celebrate with a vegan burger."
The European Consumer Organisation, an umbrella group bringing together consumers’ associations, praised the MEPs for their “common sense”.
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“Consumers are in no way confused by a soy steak or chickpea-based sausage, so long as it is clearly labelled as vegetarian or vegan,” the group said in a statement.
“Terms such as ‘burger’ or ‘steak’ on plant-based items simply make it much easier for consumers to know how to integrate these products within a meal.”
Together with Greenpeace, the group regretted that politicians accepted further restrictions on the naming of alternative products containing no dairy.
Terms like “almond milk” and “soy yoghurt” are already banned in <a class="wpil_keyword_link " href="https://europeantimes.news/category/europe/" title="Europe" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">Europe</a> after the bloc’s top court ruled in 2017 that purely plant-based products cannot be marketed using terms such as milk, butter or cheese, which are reserved for animal products.
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EU environment ministers on Friday adopted a biodiversity strategy aimed at protecting ecosystems, a move deemed essential to tackling climate change and reducing the risk of future pandemics.
Meeting in Luxembourg, the 27 national ministers backed the EU Commission’s strategy of placing at least 30 percent of the EU’s land maritime areas under special protection.
The European governments now expect the EU commission — the bloc’s executive arm — to integrate the biodiversity policy objectives in relevant future legislative proposals.
A Monday report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) warned that more than 80 percent of the European Union’s natural habitats were in poor or bad condition.
The European Parliament also easily passed a massive farm subsidy bill on Friday, to the fury of environmental activists who say it fell well short of EU commitments to fight climate change.
“It’s five minutes to midnight on the climate emergency clock, but our governments are stalling,” said Greenpeace EU climate policy adviser Sebastian Mang. “Meanwhile, the gas industry, the industrial farming lobby, airlines and carmakers are shooting holes in the EU Green Deal, and our chance of a safe climate for people and nature is fading.”
Urban farmer Rachel Rubenstein thinks the coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down major cities, state and international borders, is a chance to rethink where we get our food from.
Local car parks, median strips and rooftops, golf courses and even public parks — they’re just some of the ideas she and her city farming friends are throwing around as potential places to grow food.
“I think that having food grown close to home is super important, because we have seen a lack of access to fresh food with the bushfires and then COVID,” Ms Rubenstein said.
In Melbourne’s inner-northern suburb of East Brunswick, she’s growing fresh organic produce such as carrots, radishes, spinach, broccoli, and citrus for Ceres — a not-for-profit community-run environment park and farm.
An urban farm in East Brunswick in Melbourne is seeing a surge in demand for locally grown food by those stuck in lockdown.(ABC Regional)
Ceres has seen demand for its food boxes double since the pandemic began, as lockdowns forced people to shop more locally than ever before.
“Everything that I grow here on the farm is harvested straight away and goes straight to the grocery and the cafe on site,” Ms Rubenstein said.
“Just seeing how much I can grow in 250 square metres says something about how we can utilise space better in the city.”
Ceres grows vegetables across two sites in the inner city, but it’s not enough to fill demand with produce sourced from elsewhere to help fill the gap.
Ceres urban farm in Brunswick near the Melbourne CBD has seen demand for their produce triple since the pandemic started.(ABC Regional: Jess Davis)
Farms like this are a rare sight in Australian cities, with space a major constraint.
Calls to take existing green spaces, such as public parks and golf courses, and adapt them to support things like agriculture are growing in urban centres.
Nick Verginis recently started a social media group called ‘Community to Unlock Northcote Golf Course’ in a bid to get his local fairway converted into a public park with possible room for agriculture too.
The golf club is across the river from Ceres.
“In lockdown people have been really hungry to get in touch with nature, using whatever space they have on their balconies or in their small gardens to grow their own produce,” he said.
“This [fairway] obviously would be a natural place to expand that [farm], so some local residents could have access to a plot of land.”
Nick Verginis, with his son Teddy, started the Facebook group Community to Unlock Northcote Golf Course in the hope it could be used as a public space and potentially as a farm.(ABC Regional: Jess Davis)
Farming on the fringe
Converting sections of green spaces into farmland to create a local food bowl is already a reality in Western Sydney Parklands in New South Wales.
Thou Chheav learnt to farm 24 years ago after she moved from Cambodia. She now runs the family’s Sun Fresh Farms with her daughter, Meng Sun.(ABC Regional: Ben Deacon)
Five per cent of the 264-hectare park has been set aside for urban agriculture and 16 farms are already operating on it, selling at the farmgate or across Sydney.
Western Sydney Parklands is one of the largest urban parks in Australia — almost the same size as Sydney Harbour — and is one of the biggest urban farming projects in the country.
Sun Fresh Farms, run by Meng Sun and her mother Thou Chheav, has been leasing land off the Parkland for nine years to grow cucumbers, strawberries, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and broad beans.
Ms Sun said, even before the pandemic, the popularity of sourcing food from peri-urban farms like her family’s was taking off.
“All the locals come out on the weekends. It’s providing food for the local community and also it gives them a better understanding of where food and vegetables come from,” she said.
Unlike produce sold at larger supermarkets that was often picked before it ripened, Ms Sun said being able to buy fresh vine-ripe produce appealed to customers.
“We like to pick fresh and sell direct to the customers. Cut the middleman out so there’s not much heavy lifting involved, it is just straight to the farm gate,” she said.
There are 16 urban farms operating in the Western Sydney Parklands, but there are plans to increase that number.(ABC Regional: Ben Deacon)
Suellen Fitzgerald, the chief executive of Greater Sydney Parklands, said they were currently accepting applications for new farming projects so that the precinct could expand its food production.
“Many of our farmers have roadside stalls and during the pandemic have reported an up-swing in customers, with the community choosing to shop locally over traditional supermarkets,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
Suring up food supply
Rachel Carey, a lecturer in food systems at the University of Melbourne, said cities should increase their urban farming capacity as an “insurance policy” in the event of future natural disasters or pandemics that disrupt supply chains.
“Obviously urban agriculture is a much smaller part of our food supply system, but I think it does have an important role in future,” Dr Carey said.
“If we can keep some of this food production locally it acts as a bit of a buffer or an insurance policy against those future shocks and stresses.”
Food systems lecturer Rachel Carey says urban farming has an important role to play in our future.(ABC Regional: Jess Davis)
Dr Carey said cities were more conducive to agriculture than most people realised.
Europe‘s largest urban farm opened in Paris during the COVID-19 pandemic.(Supplied: Nature Urbaine)
“Cities have access to really important waste streams, and also food waste that can be converted into compost and used back on farms,” she said.
“If we can keep some urban food production close by it enables us to develop what we call circular food economies, where we are taking those waste products and we’re reutilizing them back in food production to keep those important nutrients in the food supply.”
The other benefit was financial.
Dr Carey said buying food from local farmers helped to “keep that money circulating within our own economy rather than going outside to other areas”.
She believed Australian towns and cities should also consider the United Kingdom’s food allotment system, where local governments or town councils rented small parcels of land to individuals for them to grow their own crops on.
Major European cities such as Paris have also embraced urban farming amid the pandemic — the largest rooftop farm in Europe opened there in July.
The farm, which spans 4,000 square metres atop the Paris Exhibition Centre, supports a commercial operation as well as leases out small plots to locals who want to grow their own food.
There are plans to increase it to 14,000 square metres, almost the size of two football fields, and house 20 market gardeners.
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a surge in people growing their own crops, making their own bread, and even cooking more at home.(ABC Regional: Marty McCarthy)
From converting sections of golf courses or public parks into small farms, or median strips, car parks or rooftops, Dr Carey said the pandemic had shown the time was ripe to reconsider our urban food production methods.
“I see COVID-19 is a transformational moment that is going to lead to some rethinking about the way that we use our spaces in urban areas and in the city,” she said.
“So cities around the world are starting to look more to urban agriculture not just in terms of city soil-based farms, but also non-soil-based farms such as vertical farms and intensive glasshouse farming.”
City golf courses are being identified as potential sites for small urban farming plots.(ABC Regional: Jess Davis)
