If we consider that one needs on average 50 m2 of market garden to feed one person, it would be necessary to cultivate 11,000 hectares to guaranty the self-sufficiency in fruit and vegetables of the population of Paris and 5,000 hectares more for non-resident workers, that is 1.5 times the surface area of Paris. This doesn’t include the 29.3 million visitors to Paris each year. However this population (32.6 million) represents a very large consumer potential of fresh products. Here lies the urban agriculture challenge: to produce, supply networks and distribute.
A few figures:
- 11,000 ha : agricultural surface area needed to supply all Parisians with fruit and vegetables
- Present day surface area reserved for parking vehicles in Paris = 20,000 fruit trees
- 50 m2 : surface area traditionally used to supply one person with fruit and vegetables
- 30 million : the number of mass catering meals served each year in Paris (69% of which are for school refectories)
- 50% : quantity of sustainable food served in mass catering refectories (objective fixed by the 2015-2020 Paris Sustainable Food Plan)
