The project adopts the One Health approach, rooted in agroecology principles. Its primary focus is on the transformation of the agricultural sector, particularly emphasizing peri-urban farming. This type of farming, still in the early intensification stage in many African regions and continually expanding in Europe, is a pivotal aspect for URBANE. The initiative firmly believes that the agroecological transition should encompass all types of agricultural systems, ensuring benefits for producers, consumers, and the overall well-being of the planet. By applying agroecology, URBANE aims to enhance ecosystem, animal, and human health holistically, fostering improvements in the health of humans, non-human animals, and the broader ecosystem. URBANE is dedicated to supporting the agroecological transition of peri-urban farming by collaborating closely with local farmers. This involves providing assistance through innovative technological tools, implementing suitable policies, and introducing new business models tailored to the specific contexts of the regions involved. Through these comprehensive efforts, URBANE seeks to contribute to the sustainable advancement of peri-urban farming while considering the well-being of the environment and all stakeholders involved. The project's key results advance the state of the art in this period by integrating locally-sourced synbiotics and on-site diagnostics with national public health platforms like SORMAS. This creates a holistic, field-validated toolkit for real-time farm management. Future success now depends on securing a supportive regulatory framework for product approval, market access and finance to commercialize the solutions, and strong policy adoption to scale this model internationally.
