Research & reports

Bryceson, D.F., Potts, D. (eds.) · Palgrave Macmillan (ISBN 9780230523012) · Africa

Theorizes rural-urban linkages and livelihood diversification in African urban economies, showing how urban dwellers of rural origin maintain rural farmland as 'agricultural insurance' that builds resilience to poverty.

Halidou Koanda · Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) · Sub-Saharan Africa

In Sub-Saharan Africa, faecal sludge management practices are often financially unviable due to widespread lack of municipal involvement, paucity of legal provisions, and absence of stakeholder coordination. This leads to indiscriminate dumping of faecal sludge in urban areas or its untreated use in urban agriculture. These practices pose permanent and serious health risks and contaminate scarce ground and surface water. This research aims to develop an innovative strategic planning approach for sustainable urban faecal sludge management to minimize public health and environmental risks.

FN Nnadi, CD Akwiwu · International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences · Nigeria

A study in Imo State, Nigeria, investigated the utilization of improved cassava production technologies by 240 randomly sampled urban cassava farmers. The results showed high utilization of herbicide/manual weeding (87%), improved cassava varieties (58.3%), and fertilizer (50%). Farmer age, education, farming experience, household size, information sources, and farmland ownership status determined the utilization of these technologies.

Carol Posthumus · SA Irrigation = SA Besproeiing · South Africa

An Agricultural Research Council (ARC) project focuses on bringing lower cost and water-saving alternative irrigation technologies to smallholder farmers and community gardens. The initiative aims to establish and describe best management and operation practices for these technologies to reduce costs and conserve water. This research targets areas with water scarcity but existing irrigation access.

Caryn Abrahams · ERA · South Africa

This paper reviews existing literature on Alternative Food Networks (AFN), discussing their multifaceted foci. AFNs have been presented as a response to conventional agribusiness or a transition towards an alternative era, encompassing short food supply chains, local food supply systems, direct farm retail, and community-supported agriculture. Defining characteristics of AFNs include "fresh," "diverse," "organic," "small-scale," "local," and "sustainable," which contrast with the "processed," "mass production," and "long food supply chains" of conventional systems.

Pay Drechsel, Sophie Graefe, M. Sonou, Olufunke Cofie, Drechsel, Pay, Graefe, Sophie, Sonou, Moise, Cofie, Olufunke O. · Digital Library Of The Commons Repository (Indiana University) · Africa

This report provides a state-of-the-art overview of irrigated urban agriculture in the West African sub-region. The overview is based on a comprehensive literature review supported by the results of three IWMI FAO projects.

Carol Posthumus · SA Irrigation = SA Besproeiing · South Africa

An extracted text describing an Agricultural Research Council (ARC) project in South Africa that brings lower-cost alternative irrigation technologies, including drip irrigation, to smallholder farmers and community gardens. The project targets areas where water is scarce but irrigation access exists, aiming to establish best management and operation practices that lower costs and save water, with drip irrigation also framed as a way of ensuring food security.

B. T. Omonona, Edet J. Udoh, Roseline J. Akinlade · Journal of Agricultural & Food Information · Nigeria

This study analyzed the level and determinants of technical efficiency among urban crop farmers in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. A random sample of 85 farmers was selected from three areas where urban food crop production is prominent — Ajibode, Ijokodo, and Eleyele — with data collected via structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a stochastic production frontier based on the Cobb-Douglas production function. Results showed that farmland, family labor, and plantlings were statistical determinants of urban food crop production, while fertilizer and hired labor were not statistically significant. In the technical efficiency model, full-time engagement in urban farming and a sole-cropping pattern were positively related to technical efficiency, and increases in age, experience, and years of formal education raised the level of technical efficiency. The study concludes there remains room to raise the current level of technical efficiency in the study area, and that educating farmers to be more receptive to modern technologies from the agricultural research system can raise output per unit of input.

Sukaina Bharwani, Mike Bithell, Thomas E. Downing, Mark New, Richard Washington, Gina Ziervogel · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · South Africa (Limpopo)

The 'Climate Outlooks and Agent-Based Simulation of Adaptation in South Africa' project investigated how seasonal climate outlooks influence agricultural strategies and food security among smallholder farmers in Vhembe district, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Empirical field data, collected through surveys and participatory approaches, informed an agent-based social simulation. This simulation modeled household agents with varying adaptation options, examining the impacts on crop yields and food security based on whether seasonal outlooks were used or ignored.

O. A. Oke, C. O. Adejuyigbe, O.A. Ajede · · Nigeria

A survey of soil micro-arthropods was conducted at selected farm locations in Ogun State, Nigeria, including a university farm, a school garden, a farmland, and a rubber plantation. The study identified micro-arthropods from Class Arachnida (orders Acarina, suborders Oribatida, Actinedida, Gamasida) and Class Insecta (order Collembola). The rubber plantation had the highest population (x = 24.75), while the university farm had the least (x = 1.75, Oribatida only). Physico-chemical soil analysis indicated that soil properties and farm practices influenced micro-arthropod distribution.

S. F. Adedoyin, M.A. Oladoja · African Journal of Livestock Extension · Nigeria

This study investigated snail rearing as an urban agricultural practice in Lagos State, Nigeria, by surveying 60 systematically selected respondents from three divisions. It found that respondents used intensive rearing systems with concrete and wire mesh cages, selling snails for N60-N140 after N10-N40 costs, and using proceeds to feed their families. Most respondents were single females aged 30-40 with a B.Sc/HND education.

Oumar Cissé, Ndèye Fatou Diop Gueye, Moussa Sy · Environment and Urbanization · Africa

This paper reports on research and city consultations in seven West African cities, examining the institutional aspects and constraints of urban agriculture. Despite growing interest from public authorities, this has not led to effective consideration in institutional and legal provisions in most countries. Decentralization processes have also not resulted in city government commitment to support urban agriculture, and its legal status remains uncertain.

E. Omomoh, C. O. Adeofun · · Nigeria

This study assessed urban agricultural land use changes in Jos-Bukuru, Nigeria, between 1961 and 2002 using a geospatial information system. It found that agricultural land use substantially increased from 1961 to 1986. However, between 1986 and 2002, approximately 63% of agricultural land was lost, with about 68% of this loss attributed to urban development. The study concludes that while urban spatial expansion is increasing, agricultural land use is decreasing.

Yali E. Woyessa, Etheresia Pretorius, Pieter S. van Heerden, M. Hensley, L. van Rensburg · WIT transactions on ecology and the environment · South Africa

This field survey in the Modder River basin, South Africa, investigated the potential expansion and implications of a rainwater harvesting technique introduced to small-scale farmers. While a rapid spread within home yard sizes was expected, no significant spread to community gardens or beyond was anticipated in the short term. This limitation was attributed to socio-economic constraints, including poverty and a lack of appropriate tools and basic farming skills.

NAA Etim, EJ Udoh, TT Awoyemi · Global Journal of Agricultural Sciences · Nigeria

As no abstract is provided, there is no information regarding the study's objectives, methods, results, or conclusions. Keywords indicate urban farming, technical efficiency, stochastic frontier, and population pressure.

Alice J. Hovorka · Annals of the Association of American Geographers · Africa

This study empirically examines the effects of gender on commercial urban agriculture in Greater Gaborone, Botswana, using a conceptual framework bridging sociospatial and human-environment geography. It found that gender clearly shapes both the quantity and type of foodstuffs produced for the urban market, with men and women farmers entering production and participating in this economic sector on unequal terms defined by socioeconomic status, location, and environmental interaction. The study argues that gender relations of power, as produced through sociospatial and human-environment relations, remain an unequal structuring force in the sector that must be accounted for if urban agriculture is to support food security and economic growth.

PS van Heerden, Yali E. Woyessa, Etheresia Pretorius · Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir landbouvoorligting/South African journal of agricultural extension · South Africa

A study in the communal farming areas of the upper and middle Modder River Basin, South Africa, assessed the potential for adopting an infield rainwater harvesting (IRWH) technique developed by the Agricultural Research Council's Institute for Soil, Climate and Water. The technique significantly increased crop yield over conventional practice, and homestead-level adoption grew from six to more than 950 households. An estimated 80,667 hectares in the study area were suitable for IRWH, of which about 14,500 hectares lay in communal farming areas. A participatory field survey of 21 randomly selected villages found strong positive motivators, such as increased crop yield and household food availability, but also strong demotivators — high levels of poverty, limited family labor, lack of tools, and lack of fences around community gardens leading to theft and animal damage. These demotivators were judged strong enough to prevent significant expansion of IRWH beyond the homestead scale, and the expected impact on downstream water availability was therefore judged minimal.

Wilfred Subbo · University of Nairobi Research Archive (University of Nairobi) · Kenya (Nairobi)

This paper discusses strategies for sustainable food production in Nairobi, Kenya, aiming to supplement rural food supplies and improve urban health through fresh, accessible food. It argues for discarding the attitude that food can only be produced in rural areas and explores the linkage between sanitation and urban food security. Additionally, the paper offers suggestions for mechanisms to increase food production in Nairobi.

Olufunke Cofie, R. van Veenhuizen, Pay Drechsel · · Sub-Saharan Africa

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) significantly contributes to food supply, employment, livelihoods, and poverty alleviation in many Sub-Saharan African cities, providing diverse foods including perishable items. However, UPA production often carries health risks from polluted urban water and faces challenges due to limited semi-official recognition and support from city authorities, sometimes conflicting with planners regarding land tenure and water use. More data is needed for appropriate recognition of this sector.

Tony Binns, Roy Maconachie, Adamu Idris Tanko · Land Degradation and Development · Nigeria (Kano)

This paper examines health and environmental concerns associated with urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Kano, Nigeria. Empirical evidence indicates that industrial and domestic toxins are reaching dangerously high levels, leading to significant pollution of soils and water channels. This raises serious questions about the sustainability of UPA and the long-term health implications of toxin exposure.

Derek Eaton, Thea Hilhorst · Environment and Urbanization · Africa

A 2003 paper examined the links between urban solid waste management and peri-urban agriculture in Bamako and Ouagadougou. Farmers near both cities value urban waste as an organic matter source and are willing to pay for it, but uncertain land tenure provides little incentive for safe disposal of dangerous elements in solid waste. Current plans to eliminate this recycling practice and promote large-scale composting are noted to be too costly for farmers, creating an incentive for illicit waste acquisition.

Ogunyemi Awodoyin, Taliat Opadeji · Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture · Nigeria (Ibadan)

A 2003 study in Ibadan, Nigeria, investigated heavy metal contamination of Amaranthus cruentus L. grown on domestic refuse landfill soils. Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) concentrations in soils from four landfill sites and a control site ranged from 110.5 to 678.5ppm for Pb and 2.01 to 3.20ppm for Cd. Metal accumulation in Amaranthus cruentus L. tissues was proportionate to soil Pb concentrations, while Cd levels in crop tissues exceeded soil levels. Crop growth and yield were significantly reduced due to Pb and Cd contamination, leading to the conclusion that Ibadan landfills are unsafe for Amaranthus cruentus cultivation, with heavy metal concentrations in the vegetable tissues much higher than FAO/WHO dietary allowances.

Christian M. Rogerson · Acta Academica Critical views on society culture and politics · South Africa

This article examines international and South African research on urban agriculture's role in poverty reduction, arguing for the need for policy guidelines to support local initiatives in South Africa. It suggests that best practices from international urban agriculture policy interventions could form the basis for such guidelines.

Mulu Tesfay Gebru · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Ethiopia (Addis Ababa)

This research in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, investigated community gardens as urban food security initiatives, collecting data through surveys and market analysis. Seasonal fluctuations showed vegetable production peaked during the rainy season, contributing up to 30% of total annual harvests. Economic models indicated a positive correlation between garden size and local income generation, highlighting the potential of community gardens for food security and economic stability.

Bright Agyeman, Kofi Owusu Afriyie · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Africa

Among primary school students in Ghana, who have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables, a mixed-methods study combining pre- and post-intervention surveys with focus group discussions (n = 300) assessed changes in nutritional knowledge and behavior following a school garden program. After the program, the proportion of students eating at least one fruit daily rose statistically significantly (p < .05) from a baseline of 20% to 45% post-intervention. The findings indicate school garden programs effectively improve nutrition-related behaviors among Ghanaian primary school students, suggesting a need for replication and expansion.