Research & reports

Abraham Tessema Handalo · Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development · Ethiopia

A study using cross-sectional data from a sample of 176 households in Hossana Town, southern Ethiopia, analysing households' participation in urban agriculture and its effect on household welfare, using descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression, and propensity score matching. Results show that participation in urban agriculture was higher among older and female-headed households and was associated with higher nonfarm earnings compared with non-participation, a difference significant at the 5% level; participating households had significantly fewer family members and significantly lower access to credit, extension services, and improved inputs than non-participants, and participation was also associated with smaller land ownership and lower access to water, both significant at 5%. The binary logistic regression indicated that access to credit, extension services, improved inputs, household size, and access to water (aside from income from other sources) significantly enhanced participation in urban agriculture, while the propensity score matching model showed a significant positive impact of urban agriculture on poverty reduction, measured via consumption expenditure per adult equivalent and per capita asset building. The study concludes that urban agriculture is constrained mainly by access to credit, extension services, improved inputs, household size, and non-farm income.

Naudé Malan · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · South Africa

A reflective essay revisits iZindaba Zokudla (IZ), a multistakeholder engagement project in Johannesburg, South Africa, aiming to create opportunities for urban agriculture within a sustainable food system. IZ runs the Farmers' Lab, a social lab used as a transitional mechanism toward sustainability, and the essay argues that significant stakeholder integration is needed to move South Africa's urban food system toward ecological soundness, economic productivity and social equity. It details the project's history from 2013 to the present, its creation of a social-lab-based ecosystem, the applied research opportunities it has generated at universities, and the resulting changes to agroecological practice in Johannesburg.

Mahteme Feleke Debela · Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development · Ethiopia

A descriptive survey with qualitative data examined the role of urban agriculture (bio-intensive gardening, backyard poultry keeping, and sheep rearing/fattening) in the livelihoods of the urban poor in Hawassa City, Ethiopia. 76% of respondents gained additional income, 51.4% used it as a food source, and 29% found employment through it. Reported challenges included lack of credit services, absence of supporting technology, shortages of feed/treatment/inputs, and poor market access and storage facilities.

Dorothée Boccanfuso, Marie-Ève Yergeau · Cahiers de recherche · Africa

This study presents a diagnostic assessment of the urban and peri-urban agriculture (AUP) sector in Mali, based on a literature review and individual interviews with stakeholders in Bamako, forming the first stage of a research project intended to measure AUP's impact on poverty and food security. The literature review found that few studies measure AUP's impact, that existing results are mixed and inconsistent, and that there is a lack of solid evidence on the topic. The Bamako interviews surfaced the sector's economic, social, and environmental issues in the Malian context and confirmed, from key stakeholders, the relevance and necessity of the planned research project.

Nolwazi Z. Khumalo, Melusi Sibanda · Sustainability · South Africa

This paper assessed the food security status of 208 households (109 urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) practicing, 99 non-UPA practicing) in Tongaat, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa. While a greater proportion (54%) of UPA practicing households consumed more than six food groups compared to non-UPA households (40%), a Mann-Whitney U test (U = 5292, p = 0.808) found no significant difference in dietary diversity between the two groups. Employment status, access to arable land, land tenure, and household monthly income were significantly associated with food security status.

Thulasizwe Mkhabela · · Southern Africa

This chapter examines trends in large and urban agricultural markets in Africa, focusing on Southern Africa and using South Africa as an example. It notes the increasing importance of urban agriculture markets due to growing urban populations, purchasing power, and changing consumer preferences. The chapter analyzes the evolution of these markets, including the rise of alternative marketing channels like farmers' markets, and discusses the linkages between rural and urban areas in food marketing, suggesting policy interventions to enhance urban agricultural markets.

Hendrick J. Bruins · · Africa

This paper discusses drought mitigation in urban and peri-urban Africa, where severe droughts threaten food production under rainfed agriculture. It argues that while urban and peri-urban farming's informal private sector should not be government-controlled, the treatment and use of urban wastewater in agriculture requires government planning, investment, and extension services. Participatory development is suggested to integrate central wastewater planning with private farmer use.

Valerio Bini, Maria Bottiglieri, Egidio Dansero, Andrea Magarini, Yota Nicolarea, Roberto Sensi · · Africa

This paper explores urban food policies from a Global South perspective, focusing on African cities and their unique urbanization processes and city-food linkages. It describes an overview of initiatives in African cities, aligning with the New Urban Agenda and Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, to promote new forms of cooperation among cities, universities, research bodies, and civil society organizations. The paper aims to identify cross-cutting issues like land tenure, climate change, and urban agriculture to compare cases across different African perspectives.

Nicole Paganini, Stefanie Lemke, Inês Raimundo · ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE · Sub-Saharan Africa

This research explored the potential of urban agriculture in Cape Town, South Africa, and Maputo, Mozambique, through two baseline surveys among urban farmers and home gardeners, as well as qualitative in-depth interviews. Findings indicated that urban farmers and home gardeners add nutrients and diversity to their diets and can partly contribute to their income. However, in Cape Town, main challenges included access to local and external markets, fair pricing, and sovereignty in production.

Nicolette Tamara Jonkman, Boris Jansen · Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability · Sub-Saharan Africa

This literature review on urban agriculture (UA) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) identifies a significant constraint: conflicting stakeholder perceptions of UA, which hinders its development into a sustainable business. Some view UA as illegal and unsustainable, while others see it as a means to food security and employment. The review highlights a knowledge gap regarding land-use history and its effect on UA soil composition and nutrient status, proposing that UA sustainability requires understanding this historical context to build inclusive business models.

Kouassi Joseph Kouakou, Ahoua Edmond Sika, Seu Jonathan Gogbeu, Koffi Bertin Yao, M. Bounakhla, Denézon Odette Dogbo, Yves‐Alain Bekro · · Africa

This study compared the accumulation potential of five trace metals (cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, and nickel) in lettuce, spinach, and amaranth grown at market gardening sites in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Using principal components analysis, it was found that lettuce had a greater capacity for accumulating these metals compared to spinach and amaranth. Amaranth and spinach from the three sites showed nearly identical metal accumulation capacities.

Iwona Bisaga, Priti Parikh, Claudia Loggia · Sustainability · South Africa (Durban)

This study explores challenges and opportunities for sustainable urban farming as an integrated environmental management strategy for upgrading informal settlements in three case studies in Durban, South Africa. It demonstrates the need for municipalities to support community-driven processes for urban agriculture initiatives and sustained investment for maintenance. Policymakers are urged to create an enabling environment for academics, NGOs, and the private sector to co-develop water-efficient solutions and leverage local community structures.

Sejabaledi Agnes Rankoana · Journal of Water and Climate Change · South Africa

A study in the Sagole community of Limpopo Province, South Africa, assessed the use of geothermal hot spring water as an adaptation practice to improve subsistence crop production. Focus group discussions with 45 subsistence farmers who grow and maintain crops in a community garden irrigated by the hot spring found that farmers were aware rainfall in the Sagole community is becoming scarce, and that this rainfall scarcity is negatively impacting subsistence crop production, characterized by poor productivity. In response, farmers had developed their own irrigation system downstream of the geothermal hot spring, furrowing the water to the garden to irrigate vegetables and fruits year-round.

Richard B. Ford · · Africa

Field research in three rural Kenyan communities—Katheka, Mbusyani and Gilgil, each within a 90-minute drive of Nairobi—revisited earlier analyses and action plans meant to strengthen community institutions' capacity for natural resource management and production. The methodology combined questionnaires with group discussions and interactive data analysis drawing on Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques. The findings suggest that explicit attention to commercial crops suited to rainfed, dryland conditions would be more appropriate than Katheka's existing agricultural practices. The chapter concludes that a major new effort working with small, commercial, income-generating farmers in the drylands is needed to assist poor, small farmers such as those in Katheka, who are quickly running out of options.

Alice A. Oluoko-Odingo · Journal of Climate Change and Sustainability · Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines gender mainstreaming in adaptation to weather and climate extremes, centered on peri-urban farming in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although women provide most agricultural labour, they remain poor and among the most vulnerable to weather and climate extremes because of inequalities in ownership of and decision-making over land, assets and cash; even in well-planned African cities, developmental and environmental challenges continue to perpetuate inequality, discrimination and underdevelopment, with low-income communities living in risky areas without access to key services and facing heightened vulnerability. Combining literature review with fieldwork in peri-urban Nairobi (Machakos and Kajiado Counties), Kenya, the paper discusses how gender mainstreaming in peri-urban farming could support Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 13, while noting the research gap on gender mainstreaming in peri-urban farming as itself a problem the field has yet to address.

Fabrice Dossa · Agricultural Research & Technology Open Access Journal · Benin

A study in southern Benin surveyed 60 onion farmers across three municipalities (Grand-Popo, Cotonou, Sm-Kpodji) using quantitative and qualitative methods. It found onion production to be financially profitable, with performance enhanced by age, experience, and producer group membership, and improving socio-economic and food situations. However, significant constraints include financial, institutional, organizational, property, and production-related issues.

Bolanle, Oluwafisayo Wahab, Abiodun Abiodun · Ghana Journal of Geography · Nigeria

This study examined peri-urban agriculture (PUA) in Ibadan, Nigeria, by surveying 230 randomly selected farmers across six local government areas. Findings showed farmers benefited from opportunities like abundant land (47.4%) and good soil (32.2%), but faced major challenges including inadequate finance (43%), farm encroachment (15.7%), and erosion/flooding (13.5%). The study concluded that PUA opportunities in Ibadan can strengthen food security, recommending government support for finance and development control.

David Tobi Olaleye, Abiodun Elijah Obayelu, Omotoso Oluseye Ogunmola · Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce · Nigeria

This cross-sectional survey examined the influence of urban farming on household food security in Oyo State, Nigeria, using data from 159 farm households. The study found that 90.6% of the farm households were food secure. Probit Regression Model results indicated that age, household size, and economic efficiency reduced food security probability, while access to consumption credit and allocative efficiency increased it. The study concluded that urban farming significantly influences household food security.

Solomon Tulu Tadesse, O. Oenema, Christy van Beek, Fikre Lemessa Ocho · Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems · Ethiopia

This study investigated the diversity and nutrient balances of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) systems in three Ethiopian cities, using data from 425 households (Addis Ababa: 175, Adama: 126, Jimma: 124). It identified six farm types, including commercial livestock (cLS) and subsistence field crop (sFC) systems. The study found that cLS systems accumulated significant nutrients (450 kg N, 85 kg P, 260 kg K ha−1 year−1) with low use efficiency (26% N and P, 15% K), while sFC systems depleted nutrients (−30 kg N, −17 kg K ha−1 year−1) with high use efficiency.

Jane Battersby, Vanessa Watson · Figshare · Africa

Recent research in African cities indicates that urban agriculture is not as important a food source for low-income households as often believed. Most African urbanites source their food from retail outlets, suggesting that solutions to urban food insecurity need to consider urban food marketing and distribution structures, rather than solely supporting food production through urban agriculture. This chapter reviews evidence supporting the argument that urban agriculture is not a primary food source for the poor.

Yolisa Wendy Sonti · · South Africa

A study of 152 stokvel members in South Africa's Nelson Mandela Bay Area investigated the possibility of using stokvels in urban agriculture. Findings revealed that stokvel members are aware of agricultural activities but do not use their stokvel funds for urban agriculture. However, there is interest among stokvel members in utilizing their funds for urban agriculture.

ADERINSOLA M. AREGBESOLA · · Nigeria (Ondo State)

A study in Ondo State, Nigeria, examined food security among peri-urban farming households using descriptive statistics, a food security index, logistic regression, and the coping strategy use index. It found that 54.4% of households were food insecure, with a 62% calorie deficit for these households, while 45.6% were food secure, exceeding calorie requirements by 48%. Household income positively affected food security, while household size had a negative effect.

Syeda R. Hussain · · Kenya (Nairobi)

This paper focuses on guerrilla gardening in Nairobi, Kenya, examining the use of the environment as both an aesthetic and a practical method to resist the politics of poverty in the city. It explores how this movement shapes the city's identity and analyzes the nexus between poverty and political ecology, with emphasis on the garden city movement and its influence on Nairobi’s 1948 Master Plan and Nairobi Vision 2030.

Jenny Smart, David Tschirley, Francis Smart, Smart, Jenny Cairns, Tschirley, David, Smart, Francis · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Mozambique

Food system transformation and changes in diet quality were assessed in Mozambique amidst rapid urbanization and income growth. Rising incomes and processed food consumption were found to be associated with a worsening of negative dietary factors. Furthermore, urbanization, controlling for income, was more strongly associated with a worsening of negative factors than an improvement in positive dietary factors. However, owning one's own farm had a positive and significant effect on nutrition for urban households, primarily driven by reduced purchases of unhealthy foods.

Joyce-Ann Syhre, Meike Brückner · · Kenya (Nairobi)

This chapter illustrates agricultural alternatives in Nairobi, Kenya, emerging through practiced urban agriculture. These alternatives enable socio-ecological spaces of food sovereignty, biodiversity, and agency. The chapter discusses the socio-cultural values of farming and food, the role of gender in Nairobi's urban agricultural landscape, and the diverse perceptions of human-nature relations among female farmers.