Enhancing Food Security and Economic Welfare through Urban Agriculture in Zimbabwe

Ezra Pedzisai^1, , Pedzisai Kowe², Caxton H. Matarira¹, Anyway Katanha³ and Ronald Rutsvara¹

¹Geography Department, Bindura University of Science Education, Bindura, Zimbabwe

²Geo-information and Remote Sensing Institute, Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe

³Mashonaland Central Region, Zimbabwe Open University, Bindura, Zimbabwe

Cite this paper

Ezra Pedzisai, Pedzisai Kowe, Caxton H. Matarira, Anyway Katanha and Ronald Rutsvara. Enhancing Food Security and Economic Welfare through Urban Agriculture in Zimbabwe. Journal of Food Security. 2014; 2(3):79-86. doi: 10.12691/JFS-2-3-2

Abstract

Despite the perceived white-collar and industry-based formal employment gravity of urban areas of developing countries, poverty and food insecurity persists. Therefore, urban agriculture, a predominantly rural economic activity, emerges as a lucrative livelihood strategy used to curb urban food insecurity. We assessed the contributions of urban agriculture to household food security and income in Cold Stream, a low income residential area in Chinhoyi town in Zimbabwe. Weadministered 20 questionnaires to a convenient sample of urban farmers, interviewed five purposively sampled informants from key institutions and carried out three temporally spaced fieldworks. The results clearly show that urban agriculture is a prominent livelihood of the poor unemployed majority (53%) who dominate the economic category. Key informants interviews indicated that although local non-governmental organisations boost urban agriculture by providing farm inputs and technical advice free of charge, there is no government support this activity. Furthermore, results from questionnaires show that yields as well as income from their sales is used primarily for acquiring basic necessities rather than for luxury thereby confirming that the farmers are poor. All urban farmers (100%) consume their farm produce indicating that urban agriculture enhances food security. Moreover, a majority (80%) overwhelmingly concurred that urban farming makes food cheaper hence improves food accessibility, which is an important pillar of food security. Additionally, a majority (60%) earn significant income from selling farm produce, of which 84% sale to informal markets while remaining minority 16% to the formal markets. Notably, about half the sample (48%) also concurred that urban agriculture reduce food insecurity even in their rural homes where they also remit some of their farm produce. However, there are challenges negatively affecting urban agriculture. Some of the challenges include lack of credit lines for inputs and unfavourable policy arrangements that classifies urban agriculture as illegal activity.

Keywords

Chinhoyi, food security, income, urban agriculture, Zimbabwe

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References

[1]	Hasan M., Ahmed, S. and Chowdhury, AH “Food Insecurity and Child Undernutrition: Evidence from BDHS 2011”. Journal of Food Security 1(2): 52-57, December 2013..
[2]	Beach, M. Urban Agriculture Increases Food Security for Poor People in Africa, 2013. [Online]. Available: http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2013/urban-agriculture-poor-africa.aspx. [Accessed Mar, 14, 2014].
[3]	Capone, R, Bilali, HE., Debs, P., Cardone, G., and Driouech, N. “Food Economic Accessibility and Affordability in the Mediterranean Region: an Exploratory Assessment at Micro and Macro Levels” Journal of Food Security, 2(1):1-12, December 2013.
[4]	Zezza, A and Tasciotti, L.“Urban Agriculture, poverty, and food security: empirical evidence from a sample of developing countries,” FoodPolicy 35: 265-273, 2010.
[5]	Rauf Foundation Cities, Poverty and Food-Multi-Stakeholder Policy and Planning in Urban Agriculture DRC, Ottawa, 2010.
[6]	Foeken, D. and Mwangi, M. Increasing Food Security Through Urban Farming in Nairobi In: Bakker, N. et al., eds., Growing cities, growing food. Urban agriculture on the policy agenda, DeutscheStiftungfür internationale Entwicklung (DSE), Feldafing: 303-328, 2000.
[7]	UN-Habitat International Tripartite Conference on Urban Challenges and Poverty Reduction in African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries, 8-10 June 2009, Nairobi.
[8]	Anderman, TL., Remans, R., Wood, SA., DeRosa, K. and DeFries, RS. “Synergies and tradeoffs between cash crop production and food security: a case study in rural Ghana,” Food Sec. 1-14, July 2014.
[9]	Nisar, R., Anwar, S and Nisar, S. “Food Security as Determinant of Anemia at Household Level in Nepal.” Journal of Food Security 1(2): 27-29, 2013.
[10]	World Bank World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty,World Bank, Washington D.C, 2000.
[11]	Foeken D and Owuor SO “To subsidise my income”. Urban farming in an East-African town. 2006, Brill pp241.
[12]	FAO Chapter 2. Food security: concepts and measurement, FAO, 2002. [Online].Available:http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y4671e/y4671e06.htm[Accessed Apr, 19, 2012].
[13]	Makungwa, SD., Epulani, F. and Woodhouse, IH. “Fuelwood Supply: A Missed Essential Component in a Food Security Equation,” Journal of Food Security 1 (2): 49-51. November 2013.
[14]	Addo, A. K. “Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Developing Countries Studied Using Remote Sensing and in Situ Methods,” RemoteSensing 2010 (2): 497-513, 2010.
[15]	Mougeot, L. J. A. Editor AGROPOLIC. The Social, Political and Environmental Dimensions of Urban Agriculture, Earthscan, London, 2005.
[16]	Mbiba, B. ‘Urban Agriculture in Zimbabwe: Implications for Urban Management and Poverty’. London: Ashgate Publishing, 1995.
[17]	Cabannes, Y. “Financing and investment for urban agriculture”, in R. Van Veenhuizen (ed.) Cities Farming for the Future- Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities, 87-123, Rauf Foundation, IDRC and 11RR, 2006.
[18]	Kisner, C. Urban Agriculture Case Study: Harare, Zimbabwe.Harare, 2008.[Online].Available: http://www.climate.org/topics/international-action/urban-agriculture/harare.htm. [Accessed Jul, 02, 2014].
[19]	Mazambani, R. Aspects of Peri-urban Cultivation and Deforestation around Harare 1955-1980; Harare: University of Zimbabwe, 1982.
[20]	Levenston, M. ‘Urban Agriculture and Land Conflicts” 2008. [Online]. Available:http://www.cityfarmer.info/2008/01/14_urban-agriculture-and-land_conflicts-in-zimbabwe.[Accessed Jul, 02, 2014].
[21]	Zimstat Census 2012. Mashonal and West Report, Harare: Zimstat. 2013, pp191.