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Sepetiba's vegetable garden is inaugurated with the capacity to produce 6 tons of food per year.
Published on 02/11/2025 - 15:57 | Updated on 11/11/2025 - 15:00
The Sepetiba community garden already has 194 garden beds, each measuring six square meters - Photo: Beth Santos The Rio de Janeiro City Hall, through the Municipal Secretariat for the Environment and Climate (SMAC), inaugurated the Sepetiba Community Garden this Sunday, November 2nd, as part of the Hortas Cariocas program. The new green space covers a total area of 4.652 square meters and marks a significant advancement in urban agriculture, food security, and sustainability policies in the city.
Located in a strategic region, the new community garden already has 194 plots, each six square meters, and an estimated production capacity of six tons of food per year. More than just a planting project, the Sepetiba Community Garden is a milestone in urban and social transformation; thus promoting the production of fresh and healthy food, income generation, and community engagement in the region.
– The community garden reinforces the sense of community, the connection with the environment, and demonstrates that simple and well-structured public policies can generate significant results. In addition to producing fresh and affordable food, the garden promotes environmental education and also offers new income and training opportunities for residents – highlighted Mayor Eduardo Paes alongside Deputy Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere and the Municipal Secretary of Environment and Climate, Tainá de Paula.
For Tainá de Paula, the Sepetiba Garden is not just a record-breaking area. It's a record-breaking achievement in social and climate ambition for Rio.
– By expanding the Hortas Cariocas program, we are combating food insecurity with organic food (without the use of pesticides), generating employment and income for the population and, at the same time, transforming idle land into biodiversity corridors that help to mitigate the heat and bring quality of life. Each garden we plant is a step towards a fairer, more resilient and greener city. This is an achievement that fills us with pride and shows the power of agroecology in an urban environment – stated the secretary.
Rio de Janeiro Vegetable Gardens Program
The launch of the Sepetiba Community Garden is part of the Hortas Cariocas program, coordinated by SMAC. The program has transformed idle land into productive and educational spaces, focusing on agroecology and social inclusion.
In total, the program already has 53 active community gardens and 30 gardens in municipal school units, directly reaching 20.450 students. Thousands of people have already benefited; and, in 2025 alone, the program has already impacted 3.600 families.
The produce from Hortas Cariocas supplies 46 schools, 30 of which have their own gardens linked to the program. In addition, the initiative contributed to the delivery of two Sustainable Kitchens (Bangu and Chapéu Mangueira/Leme).
The program invests in the training of urban farmers. By 2025, Hortas Cariocas had already directly trained 80 volunteers; who, along with the general contingent of 300 gardeners, learn agroecological practices through knowledge transfer and practical experience.
