Mining, welfare and urbanisation: the wavering urban character of Zambia's Copperbelt

Economic crisis and food security in Africa: Exploring the significance of urban agriculture in Zambia’s Copperbelt province

“…These figures are very significant and indicate practising rates far higher than those which have been established in other surveys in Africa (see Crush et al, 2010), suggesting that the level of economic stress in the Copperbelt has forced a very significant reliance on UA. This finding is in line with the conclusions of Mususa (2012) and Macmillan (2012), that the severity of the economic crisis, especially in Luanshya, has led to an increase in food self-provisioning and the resultant 'greening' of urban areas.…”

“…In Kitwe, the participation rate averaged 83% (low density 94%; high density 72%), whilst in Ndola the average participation rate was 78% (low density 81%; high density 76%). The remarkably high figures in Luanshya and Kitwe are probably directly attributable to the loss of mining jobs (Mususa, 2012;Key Informant (KI) interviews, KI 1, 2). The relatively lower figures in Ndola are probably because the city's economy has always been more diversified and less dependent on the vulnerable mining sector.…”

“…By 2002 in the Zambian Copperbelt unemployment had risen to 45% and poverty to 75% in the province (KCC, 2005a), whilst in the town of Luanshya nearly all jobs in mining had been lost by the early 2000s (Mususa, 2012). Whilst, as stated above, this has long been an important region for mining and industrial production in the national economy, the Copperbelt province has, in recent years, suffered from serious economic decline, and at the present time a large proportion of its population is engaged in urban agriculture in an effort to supplement household food supply, generate income and diversify household economies Nel et al, 2009).…”

Sustainable livelihoods and indicators for regional development in mining economies

“…For example, evidence from Zambia's Copperbelt region indicates that subsistence farmers displaced by mining activity become particularly economically vulnerable since their land -their only source of financial capital and income generation -is no longer accessible to them and they have no welfare safety net to draw on (Mwitwa et al, 2012;Mususa, 2012).…”

“…He determines the relationship between mining, urbanisation and poverty has a great deal to do with trade cycles, the life-span of mines, and social welfare provision, or its absence. Mususa (2012) focuses on the character of life and social welfare services in the mining towns of Zambia's Copperbelt, and follows the history of mining from the establishment of the industry in the 1920s. The author finds that the withdrawal of mines from welfare provision from the mid-1990s to the present has radically altered not only people's wellbeing, but also the character of urban areas, leading to the observation that towns have become more like 'villages'.…”