‘We’re Here Fighting for Our Agriculture’: Urban Farmers in Rio de Janeiro’s Vargens Region Resist Real Estate Speculation and Floods

Farmer Eduardo Ribeiro and his ten siblings have been farming for a living for 70 years. Photo: Eduardo Ribeiro

Bananas, greens, bell pepper, okra, scarlet eggplant, eggplant, maroon cucumber, chayote, zucchini, beetroot, carrot, arrowleaf elephant ear, sow thistle, leek, various herbs, corn, lettuce, watercress, cassava: all these foods are grown and sold by small-scale farmers with allotments and farms in an area known as the Vargens Region in Rio de Janeiro’s West Zone. However, constant flooding and real estate speculation are putting the lives of residents, land workers, and organic agriculture in the region at risk.

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This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on water issues and the LGBTQIAP+ population in Rio’s favelas and in the Baixada Fluminense for RioOnWatch.