Cultivating Kaunda's plan for self-sufficiency: Is urban agriculture finally beginning to receive support in Zambia?

Abstract

Urban agriculture has become one of the key survival strategies for the urban poor in the developing world. Yet most cities do not have policy to support it and many actively discourage it. This paper reviews the situation in Zambia's four largest cities. During the 1960s-1970s, the Kaunda government attempted to create a supportive policy environment for urban agriculture, which included support for peri-urban cooperatives. However, the current situation reveals that a near absence of institutional support for urban agriculture constrains farmers' activities. The authors' survey of 400 farmers established both the value of such agriculture as a survival strategy and the need for support measures. The paper concludes with an overview of institutions that need to be implemented to enhance the relevance and scope of urban agriculture in Zambia and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.urban agriculture, urban and peri-urban agriculture, cooperatives, survival strategies, malaria, Zambia,

Urban Agriculture and Public Administration: Institutional Context and Local Response in Gauteng

“…Considerable policy controversy continues to surround urban agriculture in the global South (Foeken 2006;Mubvani and Mushamba 2006;Thornton et al 2010). Some African observers view urban agriculture as "one of the most exciting concepts of sustainable development since it addresses almost all areas of sustainability" (Adedeji and Ademiluyi 2009, p. 45).…”

“…As a whole, it is acknowledged that urban agriculture can be one part of a livelihood strategy for the urban poor, especially in the growing urban centres of Africa (Tevera 1996;Lourenco-Lindell 1997;Mtani 1997;Smith and Tevera 1997;Brock and Foeken 2006;Hampwaye et al 2007;Simatele and Binns 2008;Thornton et al 2010).Women are potentially core beneficiaries of support programmes for urban agriculture, especially in Africa. Lee-Smith (2006) shows that the predominance of women farmers in sub-Saharan Africa is attributed to the fact that women often bear the main responsibility for household subsistence and well-being as well as their lower educational levels than men and thus reduced prospects for other employment opportunities.…”

“…Over the last two decades, an accumulating record of research and policy experience confirms that institutional support for urban agriculture can represent a vital basis for poverty alleviation in cities of the developing world, including many examples from urban sub-Saharan Africa (Smit and Nasr 1992;Mougeot 1994a, b;United Nations Development Programme 1996;Bowyer-Bower 1997;LourencoLindell 1997;Mougeot 1998Mougeot , 2005Ashebir et al 2007;Graefe et al 2008;Adedeji and Ademiluyi 2009;Redwood 2009b;Schumacher et al 2009;Shackleton et al 2009;Prain et al 2010;Thornton et al 2010). Illustratively, from research in Guinea-Bissau it was maintained that supporting urban agriculture 'would contribute to improving the nutritional status of many poor households, and would reduce poverty through the creation of food surplus' as well as 'promote self-reliance and networks of mutual assistance within poor urban communities which cannot afford the costs of international integration' (Lourenco-Lindell 1997, pp.…”

“…It is suggested that of these four mechanisms the most promising in terms of pro-poor impacts are those related to marketed output and agricultural wages both of which 'have clear potential to reduce poverty by increasing farmer incomes' (Mitchell and Leturque 2010, p. 23). In several African countries the positive role that urban agriculture might play in livelihoods and development strategies is being acknowledged with signs of a more positive pro-poor policy climate in terms of official attitudes and responses toward urban agriculture, including South Africa (Rogerson 1993(Rogerson , 2003Thornton et al 2010).…”

Extent of Small Scale Fish Farming in Three Districts of Lusaka Province

“…Simataa and Musuka (2013) also reported that O. niloticus was the fastest growing bream in Zambia, harder and more resistant than O. andersonii and because 70% of its diet was plankton it was easier and cheaper to feed, as such the fish grew faster, especially the males, which gave the farmers good returns. According to Thornton et al (2010), Oreochromis niloticus has been particularly prevalent; however it reigns more prominently outside of Africa. Within Africa O. niloticus is more of a delicacy, although many rural villagers use it as a protein supplement for their meager diets.…”