Research & reports

B. Pound, Adrienne Martin, Mark Thomas, B. J. Njokwe · · South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal)

This publication integrates theory and practical work from Farming Systems and Farmer Participatory Research courses held at the Institute of Natural Resources and associated institutions in KwaZulu-Natal during 1996 and 1997. Its objectives are to provide reference material for FSR/FPR, demonstrate how its principles and methods can be applied to real situations, and record the situation, suggestions, and priorities of rural and peri-urban families in Vulindlela District. It also presents the Urban Agriculture workshop in Sobantu Village as a case study of participatory workshop methods.

ASM Karaan, Nabilaa Mohamed · Development Southern Africa · South Africa

This article presents recommendations and policy directives for urban agricultural initiatives, based on an evaluation of Abalimi Bezekhaya's gardening promotion activities in Cape Metropolitan Area townships. Field research used participatory methodologies with gardeners to understand their motivations, constraints, and opinions on Abalimi Bezekhaya's services. The evaluation suggested improvements for the organization's services and highlighted urban agriculture's potential as an entrepreneurial activity, provided policy, agricultural development, land reform, and livelihood creation issues are addressed.

Dick Foeken, A. Mboganie-Mwangi · Leiden Repository (Leiden University) · Africa

Using survey data collected in 1994 in Korogocho, one of Nairobi's slum areas in Kenya, this study examined whether access to farmland influences a household's food situation. Access to land had a positive impact on urban households' overall welfare, but not necessarily on their food situation. Households with access to a rural plot appeared better off in terms of self-reported food situation than households without any land access, and access to rural land appeared more favorable for food situation than access to urban land alone. Among the very poor households in Korogocho who claimed access to rural land, half did not actually use that land themselves.

A. Mboganie-Mwangi, Dick Foeken · Leiden Repository (Leiden University) · Kenya (Nairobi)

A 1996 study in Nairobi, Kenya, compared the food security and nutritional status of low-income households engaged in urban agriculture with those not farming. It found that urban farmers primarily produced for home consumption and faced theft as a major problem. While the Undugu Society Urban Agriculture Project (USUAP) group showed better food situations and higher energy and protein intakes than other groups, all three groups had inadequate energy intake on average. The long-term beneficial effect of urban agriculture on nutritional status was negligible.

Adeolu B. Ayanwale · Ife Journal of Agriculture · Nigeria

Data from 100 urban-based and 100 rural-based farms in Ogun State, Nigeria, were analyzed to identify determinants of farm size. Farming expenditure was the main determinant common to both urban and rural farming areas. Mode of land acquisition (allocation from family land) was an additional determinant in urban farming areas, while years of farming experience and mode of acquisition (customary tenancy) were additional determinants in rural farming areas.

P. Anyang’ Nyong’o, Donald B. Freeman · Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines · Kenya

This study by Donald Freeman examined informal urban agriculture in Nairobi, Kenya, through on-site surveys of 618 small-scale cultivators in ten different areas. It describes urban farmers, their land use practices, and crops, and discusses the development and significance of urban agriculture within Kenya's social and economic development. The findings suggest a need to redefine urban productive activities in the Third World to include basic food production in cities.

Chris Lovell, M. Murata, M. W. Brown, C.H. Batchelor, Douglas Thompson, Timothy Dube, A. J. Semple, P.J. Chilton · NERC Open Research Archive (Natural Environment Research Council) · Sub-Saharan Africa

This is the fourth progress report (April-September 1994) on an ODA technical-cooperation pilot project for small-scale irrigation using collector wells in Zimbabwe, begun in October 1992. Six project schemes are now complete, with 1,319 families obtaining domestic water from ODA-funded schemes and about 577 families holding allotments on the community gardens; water shortage was the principal problem reported at all sites, while the Chivi District scheme, completed in 1991, recorded an average gross margin of Z$19,900 per hectare per year over three years, with Muzondidya (Z$18,204) and Gokota (Z$25,444, based on less than a full year) also showing high gross margins.

Lee M · PubMed · Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, urban agriculture faces significant challenges due to government disapproval of public land use for farming and difficulty in obtaining credit. A 1983 survey in Addis Ababa found that 17% of 1352 households produced their own food on less than 25 sq. meters, with 90% of non-farmers citing lack of land. Despite urban agricultural cooperatives demonstrating 70% higher member income, their lack of government legalization prevents access to loans for productivity improvement.

Axumite G. Egziabher · Digital Library Of The Commons Repository (Indiana University) · Ethiopia

This paper summarized the character and role of urban agriculture in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the organization of producers for whom urban agriculture is the sole means of survival. While urban agriculture contributes to food provision, employment, and income for producers, cooperatives face the challenge that concerned authorities cannot grant them legal status for credit access due to their urban location.

Donald B. Freeman · African Studies Review · Africa

The record consists only of the bibliographic citation for a 1993 article by Donald B. Freeman on the significance of urban agriculture for women's advancement in African cities, published in African Studies Review. No abstract text, study subject, method, or findings are provided.

Richard Gosnell Richard Gosnell · Waterlines · South Africa

This study assesses the performance of a photovoltaic (PV) pump installed at Sondela Community Garden in South Africa. The garden is a vegetable garden managed by 46 Zulu women in a semi-rural area. The research investigates whether solar-electric water pumping can provide water supplies in a region with abundant sunshine but limited water resources.

· Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes · Kenya (Nairobi)

This record contains reviews of two books: "The Geomorphology of Canada: An Introduction" by Alan S. Trenhaile and "A City of Farmers: Informal Urban Agriculture in the Open Spaces of Nairobi, Kenya" by Donald B. Freeman. The latter focuses on informal urban agriculture in Nairobi, Kenya.

François Villien · Cahiers d Outre-Mer · Central African Republic (Bangui)

Bangui, Central African Republic, exhibits significant inter-urban agricultural activity, reflecting population poverty. This agriculture is categorized as "inter-domain," practiced within concessions near houses, or "extra-domain," conducted outside family domains. Inter-domain agriculture includes small "jardin de case" (hut gardens) for diverse foodstuffs and larger "champ de case" (hut fields) for single crops like manioc, now also serving as income sources. Extra-domain agriculture utilizes empty land in peripheral districts for food, income, or temporary pioneer front crops, sometimes becoming permanent and hindering urban expansion. Urban agriculture is considered essential for the survival of many family units and for integrating the city into its food supply space.

C J van Vuuren · Development Southern Africa · South Africa

This article discusses the nature and functioning of community gardens in Ciskei, KwaZulu, and KwaNdebele, South Africa. It found that these community gardens are indigenous, acceptable to the local people, and are actively producing food, also demonstrating significant local expertise that should be recognized and developed by agencies. The article argues that these units have often been neglected by agricultural officers.

Pauline Raphaely · Birkhäuser Basel eBooks · South Africa

Food Gardens Unlimited is an educational project in South Africa that teaches disadvantaged urban populations to grow food in small areas using limited resources. The project provides five-day training courses, step-by-step directions, and subsidized seeds through existing institutions. It aims to deliver physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits to participants.

Abalimi Bezekhaya · Abalimi Bezekhaya · South Africa

The official site of Abalimi Bezekhaya, a non-profit founded in 1982 that provides urban agriculture training, affordable resources, irrigation and soil-building support, and market access in Khayelitsha and Nyanga, Cape Town. It states its Harvest of Hope programme generated R16 million in sales between 2008 and 2019, of which R10 million went directly to about 245 farmers (supporting 1,225 dependants) across roughly 70 gardens.