Cities Feeding People: an Examination of Urban AgrIculture in East Africa

URBAN AGRICULTURE HAS been largely ignored and even treated with active hostility by governments and policy makers. It is frequently regarded, in much the same way as informal sector activities were in the 1970s, as a transitional and inappropriate retention of peasant culture in cities. This volume sets out to illustrate that urban farmers fulfill a critical role in urban areas in the provision of food security and self-sufficiency and make an important contribution to the nutritional status and income of the urban poor, and that the practice of urban agriculture is a widespread and long-established activity. Globally, 200 million dwellers are now urban farmers, providing food and income for about 700 million people.
Furthermore, it is argued, the benefits of urban agriculture are increasingly important in an international economic context which is undermining food and income security for many urban dwellers. The introduction and conclusion give a general overview of some of the issues that relate to urban agriculture; its benefits in terms of food security and income, the diverse composition of those involved in urban farming (an activity which is not confined to the urban poor), the importance of tenure, credit and access to land for urban farmers, its implications for the urban environment, waste management and health risks, and the fact that, despite a growing official recognition of urban agriculture, policy neglect and official harassment of urban farmers continues to jeopardize its benefits in many cities.
The major part of the book is four articles looking at different aspects of urban agriculture in Africa, where the significance of urban agriculture is highlighted by the fact that sub-Saharan Africa is the only part of the world where per capita food production has fallen over the last decade and where, unlike in many countries in Asia, urban farming activities tend to receive little official support. The first study looks at who is involved in urban farming in Dar Es Salaam, breaking down urban farmers by socio-economic criteria to show the diversity within this group and the higher capacity of urban farmers who are better off to benefit from this activity. The second article looks at the importance of urban agriculture for households in Kampala and the impact of the formalization of land tenure on urban farmers. The third article explores the general state of urban agriculture in Kenyan cities and the policy implications that this activity raises, advocating more supportive local authority action. The final article draws on material from Addis Ababa to examine the scope of cooperatives and more supportive policies for improving urban agriculture as a survival strategy for the urban poor. The book concludes with a call for more quantified and comparative research on the effects of urban agriculture on areas such as nutrition, employment, income and waste management in order to inform policy and encourage attitudes which are more supportive of urban agriculture amongst policy makers. References, and a bibliography suggesting further reading on the subject, are included.