In Venezuela, 320 technicians will engage in urban agriculture as part of a training program by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. In an interview with the national television station VTV, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated that professionals in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have been trained and will contribute to improving Venezuela's domestic food production. He further announced that the number of projects involving urban agriculture, called 'organopónicos', will double in the near future. The program involves a system of organic urban gardens managed by a cooperative.
Maduro plans to launch 'organopónico No 80,000' by October 2014 next year. Until the end of this year just over 39,000 new city gardens will be put to use. Right now that number is around 24,000.