Project title: Urban Poor’s Access to Resources for (Peri)Urban Agriculture in Eastern & Southern Africa: a Political Economy

Research area: Urban Agriculture Policy and Processes

Research institution: Municipal Development Programme (MDP), Zimbabwe

Total cost: 444 000 CAD

IDRC contribution: CFP (399 900 CAD) Local contribution: 28 125 USD (~ 44 000 CAD)

Centre file no.: 100519 Duration: 2002-2005

Abstract

In Sub-Saharan Africa, urban and peri-urban agriculture has been adopted in the last 10 years as a way of coping with deteriorating economic conditions. Studies have shown that urban agriculture has effectively improved the nutritional status of producer households, while affording savings on food costs. On a city-wide scale, it has regularized the year-round supply of food and reduced the seasonality of perishables. It has even allowed market-oriented producers to earn incomes equal to or higher than those of civil servants. However, there are signs that increased competition from middle-class (and male) producers may be edging the urban poor (mainly female) producers out of the sector. Moreover, a market in land for urban agriculture has begun to develop in several cities. This project, which developed out of a workshop held in Harare in early 2001 (100750), will contribute to a better understanding of the political economy of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Harare (Zimbabwe), Kampala (Uganda), and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). The idea is to identify public interventions to improve access of the urban poor to resources for urban and peri-urban agriculture.

General objective

To contribute to a better understanding of the political economy of (peri)urban agriculture, as well as of public policy and technology innovations which improve access to and use of resources by the urban resource-poor.

Specific objectives

Project outputs

Gender Among this projects objectives is to contribute to filling gaps on gender aspects of (peri)urban agriculture.At the September 2002 regional methodology workshop, Dr Grace Bantebya Kyomuhendo, Head of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at Makerere University, made a presentation on participatory action research as a methodological guide. This included an emphasis on in-depth involvement and understanding of the research milieu and provoked many questions and considerable support and interest.A study of urban agriculture in Kampala, also presented at the methodological workshop, included inputs from a gender specialist, along with an economist, a planner and a social scientist.The research teams in each city are encouraged to specify the socially differentiated groups (e.g. by gender, ethnicity, tenancy status, lodgers, migrants, etc.) as relevant to the city.

Project literature A workshop was held in early 2001 in Harare (CFP research support project 100750), which led to the development of this project. The proceedings have been published in a document entitled, “The Political Economy of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa: Proceedings of the MDP/IDRC Workshop,” by the Municipal Development Programme (MDP). This is available by contacting Cities Feeding People.

Contacts

Shingirayi Mushamba, Project Leader

Urban Agriculture Program Coordinator Municipal Development Programme7th Floor Hurudza House14-16 Nelson Mandela Ave.Harare, Zimbabwe

George Matovu, Regional Director Municipal Development Programme7th Floor Hurudza House14-16 Nelson Mandela Ave.Harare, Zimbabwe Urban Agriculture Program of the

Municipal Development Programme:www.mdpesa.org/Thematic_Areas/urban_agriculture.html