Agriculture in London

Agriculture in London is a small but important part of the city's landscape. Only about 8.6% of the land in Greater London is used for farming, and most of this farmland is found near the edges of the city. There are also many small farms closer to the city center, known as city farms, and around 30,000 small plots called allotments where people grow their own food.

In total, there are about 135.66 square kilometres (135,660,000 m²) of farmland in the Greater London area. This land helps provide fresh food for the city. Five areas have the most farmland: Bromley, Havering, Hillingdon, Enfield, and Barnet. The Lea Valley is especially important for growing vegetables like salads.

History

Many places in what is now Greater London used to be rural and agricultural areas, as their names suggest, like Ealing Common, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Shepherd's Bush, and Wormwood Scrubs.

In 1938, Greater London became the first area in Britain to create a green belt to stop cities from spreading out too much. A study in 2005 found that there were 423 farms in the London part of this green belt, which was a small part of all the farms in Britain. These farms used 13,608 hectares of land, half of which was rented. Farming played a small role in London’s economy, but it was important in other ways. Most farming was in northeast London, with some areas growing crops and others raising animals, though animal farming had gone down because of problems like poor access to markets. Many farms also did other activities, like horse-related businesses, to help make money. Farmers often said that strict planning rules made it hard to grow and change their farms. Over time, more farms in London were doing better, and fewer were worried about their businesses not surviving.

2008 developments

In July 2008, a meeting called "Growing Food for London" was held to help support farming in and around London. The meeting was organized by the London Parks and Green Spaces Forum as part of the London Festival of Architecture. The goal was to help farmers who work near the edges of the city by understanding their needs. This was important because fuel prices were going up, and it was necessary to bring food supplies closer to cities to keep food prices lower.