In Cuba, the act of growing flood in the city has become a way of life. Since the beginning of the "Special Period in Time of Peace", brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, Cubans have engaged in many forms of urban agriculture (UA) to cope with the food crisis affecting the Island. In Havana, the popular garden movement occupies 8% of total urban land in agriculture (3.4% of urban land) and is practiced by 18,000 gardeners who produce vegetables and fruit, and raise small livestock to increase food security and generate income. The purpose of this study was to provide estimates of the user benefits of UA, as well as qualitative and quantitative information related do this activity. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to elicit users' willingness to pay (WTP) for the land they use, that is currently provided at no charge by the stale. The average WTP was estimated at 23.5 pesos/1000 m2/month under current conditions and 34.4 pesos/1000 m2/month with improvements in water and anti-theft services. These amounts represent about 11% and 14% of monthly household income, respectively. Aggregate WTP for popular gardens in the city of Havana was estimated to be 6.88 million pesos/year (344,000 $US) and 10.07 million pesos/year (503,500 $US) with the proposed improvements. The study has produced important results that give an indication of the use and non-use value of UA for gardeners of Havana. Results also suggest that CVM is a non-market valuation technique that can be successfully applied in Cuba, and can provide information to be integrated in cast-benefit analysis frameworks that assess the importance of UA.

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