Urban Agriculture in Zimbabwe

THE DEFINITION OF URBAN as something “non-agricultural” means that the existence of agriculture in cities has often been underplayed. However, research in eastern and southern Africa is beginning to highlight the importance of urban food production as a survival strategy for the urban poor. This book, reporting on the author’s research in Zimbabwe, goes further than other work on the subject by questioning some common assumptions made about urban agriculture: that it is predominantly an activity of the urban poor; that it is an illegal activity; that it is an efficient land use; and that it has serious negative environmental and health impacts. These assumptions have prevented the formulation of appropriate policy approaches to the management of urban agriculture.

Following an introductory chapter, chapter two builds up a typology of urban agriculture in Zimbabwe based on location, legality and output (crop or livestock production). Based on research in Harare, chapters three and four look in detail at off-plot and on-plot cultivation, with attention to who is involved in cultivation, what crops are grown, what inputs are used and at the legality of land use. Contrary to expectations, the poorest of the poor are excluded from urban agricultural activities. This has important policy implications for donors and other bodies who advocate support to this sector as a key poverty-alleviation strategy. The author also draws attention to the issue of adequacy of space for subsistence cultivation in high density residential areas and argues that this should be factored into government policy on low-income housing supply. Current government policy, which views residential plots in terms of sleeping space rather than economic production space, has reduced standards for housing space by 50 per cent. This approach is contrasted with the views of local people, the majority of whom believe that more rather than less plot space is needed. Chapter four also looks at wider questions of the linkages between urban cultivation and rural land shortages. Chapter five examines the linkages between the government’s adoption of economic reform measures in 1991, household consumption patterns and urban agriculture, and argues that urban agriculture needs to be considered in debates about urban food security.

Chapter six examines the issue of institutional responses to urban agriculture, showing how local authorities in Harare have adopted a repressive, ad hoc rather than an accommodating, planned approach to the issue. It is argued that local authorities require more resources and capacity-building so that they can engage with local populations in a process of strategic urban development planning. Chapter seven looks at the gender dimensions of urban agriculture and confirms the value of urban cultivation to households. It also looks at issues of access to land, contrasting the situation of owners with that of tenants or lodgers. Chapter eight looks at the way in which interpretative differences about the value of urban agriculture can result in conflict. A series of photos encourages the reader to “participate in the process of image building and decision making about urban agriculture” (page 9). Chapter nine draws parallels between urban agriculture in Zimbabwe and the allotment system in Sheffield, UK, and asks whether any lessons can be learned from the UK experience. Although the author admits that this chapter is “an experiment”, it contains some interesting insights. Chapter ten looks at urban agriculture from the perspective of lost opportunities for urban housing provision, and challenges those who view urban agriculture as unproblematically “good”. Few other studies have examined the opportunity costs of this land use. Having questioned its viability as a measure to reverse urban economic decay, chapter eleven looks at possibilities for commercializing urban agriculture, with particular attention to sewage effluent based cultivation in