Research & reports

Essi Lamberg · The Journal of Architecture · Africa

A case study of the Tanga, Mbeya and Moshi master plans (1973-1975) in Tanzania, developed with Finnish technical assistance, challenges the conventional narrative that Nordic countries acted as neutral, benevolent foreign aid agents. The analysis shows Finnish planners operating in an ambivalent environment combining colonial heritage, decolonial policy and neo-colonial practice, developing a planning approach that translated travelling concepts of suburbanization, neighborhood models and urban gardening into the language of Tanzanian decolonial policy. The three master plans used garden city planning ideas to extend planning principles formerly reserved for the white European elite to the entire urban population, in service of the socialist ujamaa project.

Charlie M. Shackleton, Peta Brom, Nanamhla Gwedla, Abraham R. Matamanda, Mallika Sardeshpande, Sopna Kumar-Nair · Cities · South Africa

Using South Africa as a case example, the study scored six types of urban green infrastructure (UGI) — amenity spaces, blue infrastructure, natural/semi-natural lands, urban parks, urban agriculture and verges — against five dimensions of poverty alleviation: cash or non-cash income, skills development and learning, physical and mental health, reduced vulnerability and risk, and participation in decision-making, rating current and future potential alongside the degree of change required. Urban agriculture was scored as having the highest current potential to contribute to poverty alleviation and verges the lowest, while parks and amenity spaces offered the greatest returns per effort and verges were identified as key sites for pro-poor intervention due to their wide distribution. Overall, the study concluded that greater investment and changes in the attitudes of authorities would have a bigger impact on poverty alleviation across all UGI types than changes to policy and procedure.

City of Johannesburg, Department of Social Development · City of Johannesburg · South Africa

A 2024 policy document adopted by the City of Johannesburg's Department of Social Development, stating that approximately 9.6% of households in the city are indigent households constantly threatened by food insecurity (StatsSA, 2018), and citing a 2021 estimate that 30.9% of people are threatened by food insecurity (Rudolph et al.). It outlines interventions including regional agricultural resource centres, farming hubs, and food parcel distribution.

Namenge Philip Tendet, George Alliwa Makalliwa, Daniel Nyamongo Sagwe · The Pan African Medical Journal · Kenya (Nairobi)

A survey of 328 urban farmers in Kasarani sub-county, Nairobi County, Kenya (85.42% response rate) plus five agricultural extension officers and five chiefs. The strongest constraints on urban farming were flooding (mean 3.66), lack of rain (3.52) and pests and diseases (3.49), followed by poor yields and soil erosion. Institutional barriers were also reported: harassment by city authorities, insecure land rights and restricted access to plots. Respondents were 65.55% male, 63.41% married and 41.46% casual labourers, with 63.11% earning USD 40–80 a month — indicating that urban farming here is concentrated among low-income households facing both climate stress and weak institutional support. Limitations: not all urban farmers could be interviewed, and comparison outside the study sub-county was restricted.

Reyes Tejada N., Kooy M., Zwarteveen M. · Water International · Mozambique (Maputo)

A study grounded in the Infulene Valley, Maputo's main green belt, showing that irrigated urban agriculture drawing on various water sources has been consistently present throughout the Mozambican capital's history. The authors trace how urban planning evolved from 1960 onwards and what those policies meant for urban farming and the livelihoods depending on it. Documenting the city's imaginaries across four eras of Maputo's development, they find that agriculture occupied a prominent place in the post-colonial city and remains significant despite its vague recognition within urban planning after the shift to neoliberalism, and argue for acknowledging urban irrigated agriculture as an intrinsic feature of the city.

Tinashe P. Kanosvamhira · Urban Forum · South Africa

This narrative literature review analyzed 62 peer-reviewed articles on urban agriculture in South Africa from 1993 to 2022. The findings indicate several knowledge gaps, including an under-representation of secondary cities and a general productivist focus in most studies, which limit understanding of urban agriculture for sustainable cities.

Adeline Ngie, Nobukhosi Sithole · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · South Africa (Johannesburg)

A study in Johannesburg, South Africa, assessed urban transformational strategies, including rooftop gardening and hydroponic farming, aimed at improving food security and regenerating infrastructure. Using open-ended interviews with stakeholders, findings indicated improved household food security and income generation, but challenges such as soil and water flow for rooftop gardens persist. Hydroponics faced hurdles like energy supply and input costs, though it showed more promise for land and water resource efficiency.

Bismark Osei, Mark Edem Kunawotor, Paul Appiah-Konadu · International Journal of Social Economics · Africa

This study examined measures for achieving a sustainable environment to mitigate climate change in 54 African countries from 2000 to 2020, using panel data and a Cox proportional hazard model. Findings indicate that carbon farming, rooftop gardens, and renewable energy positively contribute to a sustainable environment. However, governance adversely affects the objective of achieving a sustainable environment.

Abrham Kassa Ejigu, Kumelachew Yeshitela · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Ethiopia (Arba Minch City)

A study assessed Arba Minch City's governance capacity to integrate resource-oriented sanitation technology with urban agriculture. The findings indicated that the city's capacity is hindered by a lack of systematic monitoring, fragmented policy tools, and inadequate public sector participation. There is no single government body responsible for integration, and a behavioral gap exists among users in adapting to new technologies and recovered organic fertilizer.

Tinashe P. Kanosvamhira, Alexander Follmann, Daniel Tevera · Geographical Journal · South Africa

This mixed-methods study examined 34 urban community gardens in Cape Town, South Africa, to assess their capacity to function as urban commons across six areas: infrastructure, inputs, land, produce, labour, and immaterial components. Findings demonstrated that while these gardens counter neoliberal privatization and individualization, their capacity to function as urban commons is significantly curtailed by their entrenchment within the neoliberal context.

Abigail Benson, NICHOLAS O EHISIENMHEN, EUNICE T ADEWALE, R ANIMASAHUN-OLADIMEJI, TOBA R ARIBILOLA, RAZAQ A AFIZ, Augustine Okeke, Oliver P. John, Idris Ahmad Isa, BADRAT O IMRAN, KELVIN D DIRISU, OMOTOYE O OMISORE · Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences · Nigeria (Ondo State)

This study assessed the impact of urbanization on agricultural land in Akure South Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria, using populated figures and land use data from satellite images for 2002, 2012, and 2022. GIS analysis revealed an increase in settlement and a decrease in agricultural land from 2002 to 2022. Urbanization significantly decreased agricultural land, farming activities, and farm size, driven by increasing settlement and built-up areas.

Cynthia Nneka Olumba, Eberechukwu Johnpaul Ihemezie, Chukwudi Charles Olumba · Climate and Development · Nigeria

This study aimed to understand urban farmers’ perceptions of climate change and the adaptation constraints they encounter in Anambra Metropolis, Nigeria. Household survey data using structured questionnaires showed that most urban farmers perceived climate change through effects such as increased weed infestation, drying up of streams/rivers, and decreased soil moisture. Principal adaptation constraints were diverse, falling within broader institutional, information, and financial categories. The study revealed that the socioeconomic conditions of urban farmers in developing countries pose a threat to urban agriculture's potential to mitigate climate change.

Mulugeta Chane Wube, Heena Atwal · Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship · Ethiopia

This study, conducted in the Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia, examined the integrated effect of the entrepreneurial ecosystem's political-legal subsystem on the performance of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) and the mediating role of entrepreneurial competence. A sample of 499 MSE operators engaged in manufacturing, construction, and urban agriculture was selected. While the political-legal aspects significantly impacted both entrepreneurial competency and MSE performance, the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and MSE performance was found to be insignificant. The mediating role of entrepreneurial competency in the relationships between policy and business performance and other business environments and business performance was also shown to be insignificant.

Yosef Abebe, Mulugeta Gashaw, Asenake Kefale, Tim Brewer · Water Reuse · Ethiopia

A study on wastewater governance in the upstream catchment of the Awash Basin, Ethiopia, found that untreated wastewater discharged from industries is polluting rivers and the surrounding environment. Regulatory bodies have done little to enforce rules and directives for wastewater regulation, and due to poor implementation of laws, urban agriculture is expanding without concern for its negative health and socioeconomic impacts.

Gareth Haysom, Jane Battersby · Palgrave studies in agricultural economics and food policy · Africa

Based on findings from cities in five African countries, this study argues for a re-framing of urban food system resilience. It contends that the urban system, specifically infrastructure, shapes the functioning of the food system and consumers' ability to use it, and that the agency of urban food system users needs inclusion in understandings of, and efforts to increase, food systems resilience.

Endris Assen Ebrahim, Ahmet Toy, Yissa Hassen Kassim · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Ethiopia

A survey of 218 randomly sampled micro and small-scale enterprise (MSSE) managers/owners across manufacturing, trade, construction, service, and urban agriculture sectors in Dessie Town, Ethiopia, used self-administered questionnaires and stratified random sampling to identify determinants of enterprise growth. Of nine candidate factors, statistically significant associations with MSSE growth and performance (at the 5% level) were found for political/legal factors, management, market conditions, technology, infrastructure, entrepreneur-related factors, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Habtamu Serbessa, Teferee Mekonnen, Meskerem Abi · Journal of Developing Country Studies · Ethiopia

A questionnaire survey and focus group discussions with small-scale vegetable producers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia used probability sampling, descriptive statistics, correlation and multinomial logistic regression, plus SWOT and force field analysis. Producers held positive perceptions of vegetable production and most intended to continue, but limited access to land, pests and diseases, and water shortages were identified as the main challenges. Regression results showed land size, gender, age and housing type as the most significant factors determining vegetable production.

Ambroise Dalecky, Madougou Garba, Abdoulaziz Ibrahim Danzabarma, Jonas Etougbétché, Sylvestre Badou, Henri‐Joël Dossou, Ibrahima Sow, Cheikh Tidiane Niang, Ousmane Diene, Idrissa Diallo, Mohamed Seyidna Ali Saghiri, Mohamed El Hady Sidatt, Frank van Steenbergen, Amadou Bocar Bal, Luwieke Bosma, Gualbert Houémènou, Solimane Ag Atteynine, Karmadine Hima, Gauthier Dobigny, Yonas Meheretu · Environnement Risques Santé · Sub-Saharan Africa

The abstract text provided consists only of acknowledgments—thanking Valérie Golaz (INED-LPED), Marc Egrot (IRD-LPED), and the organizers of the international conference "Implementation of public policies and pesticides in the Souths" (PoPPesCI project, on public policies and pesticides in urban agriculture), held in October 2021 in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, for prompting the article's writing. It contains no actual findings or content about rodent proliferation or synthetic chemical rodenticides despite what the title suggests.

Ayşegül YARIŞ, Emel Karakaya Ayalp · · Africa

This article reviews the City-Region Food System (CRFS) approach and toolkit developed by FAO and RUAF, translated into Turkish, and examines its roadmap through the West African cities of Ouagadougou and Tamale to assess applicability for building sustainable urban food systems. The review concludes that the CRFS Toolkit offers a limited set of tools and does not incorporate the relationship with spatial disciplines.

Nada El Habibi, Hesham El-Barmelgy · Journal of Urban Research /Journal of Urban Research · Africa

This paper addresses urbanization pressures and food security challenges in Egypt, along with the negative impact of a shortage of green space on public health and productivity, by examining the concept of urban agriculture and how to activate it. Using an analytical review of literature and international experiences, the study identifies the main patterns and types of urban agriculture, analyzes global cases to understand the potential contributions and challenges facing different urban agriculture types, and, through a deductive approach, proposes a framework for activating the urban agriculture concept as a pathway toward sustainable urban development in Egypt; the paper presents no empirical survey data.

Hussein L., Uren C., Rekik F., Hammami Z. · Waste Management & Research · Middle East, North Africa

Comprehensive review of waste management and composting strategies in MENA region, with implications for circular urban agriculture in water-scarce contexts.

· GeoJournal · Cape Town, South Africa

Based on 34 community food gardens, the study finds insecure land tenure is a major threat to garden sustainability in Global South cities. It concludes that past efforts to formalize tenure failed due to poor coordination among government departments and unclear land-acquisition processes.

Ayobami Abayomi Popoola, Bolanle Wahab, Hangwelani Hope Magidimisha, Lovemore Chipungu · CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development · Nigeria (Ibadan)

This mixed-methods study in Ibadan, Nigeria, surveyed 236 urban farmers across five local government areas to determine patterns of integrating urban farming into city infrastructure development. Findings indicated that old age limited farmers' travel distance and farm produce theft was detected, highlighting challenges in current urban farming practices and infrastructure.

Umar Usman Jimoh, Kolade Victor Otokiti · South African Journal of Geomatics · Nigeria

This study in Ibadan, Nigeria, examined the effect of poorly controlled physical development on urban food production using a longitudinal survey and geographical/remote sensing methods. It revealed that Ibadan's urban area expanded significantly from 70.3584 ha in 1986 to 411.8877 ha in 2019, leading to the loss of agricultural land, depletion of water bodies, and agricultural land conversion. This expansion negatively impacted urban food production.

Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu · Environmental & Socio-economic Studies · Africa

This literature review explored the effects of urbanization on food security in Africa by reviewing eleven empirical journal articles. Findings indicate that rapid, unplanned urbanization has led to increased food insecurity, environmental degradation, and unsustainable food security, exacerbated by ill-prepared and incompetent governments. Key issues identified include poor government interventions, inadequate land-use planning, and high incompetency among urban planners.