In the near future, urban agriculture will not be
the same as it was in the past or as it is at present. The different forms and
context at which agricultural activities take place can have different effects
on the value of urban agriculture. Information about the actual ideal place
where urban agriculture has to be done and about the exact of value of urban
agriculture is implicit. This study examines the factors that characterise the
change of the nature and value of urban agriculture in Arusha as one of the
rapidly urbanizing cities in Tanzania. It uses two case study areas that were
purposefully selected from Arusha City, namely the wards of Daraja Mbili and
Lemala. A total of 60 respondents participated in depth interviews. The study
reveals that limited access to ideal areas for doing urban agriculture has made
some farmers to acquire small portions of land in unlawful areas for that
purpose. Hence, the livestock kept are limited
in numbers and crops grown are those that take a short time to grow but
with less ability to suffice the food needs of the farmers and urban residents.
It also reveals that the majority farmers whose land is somehow secured to meet
their food and income needs through agriculture. However, uncontrolled
agricultural practices have on the one hand accelerated environmental degradation and pollution, its roles on
supporting livelihoods of needy farmers cannot be underrated. The study
argues that urban agriculture cannot take
place in the absence of adequate access to agricultural land by the farmers. It cannot also take place in the weak
institutional framework that can guide its operations without
jeopardising other urban land uses.
References
[1]
Arusha City Master Plan Draft Report (ACCMPDR) (2015). http://www.arushacc.go.tz
[2]
Aubry, C., Ramamonjisoa, J., Dabat, M. H., Rakotoarisoa, J., Rakotondraibe, J., & Rabeharisoa, L. (2012). Urban Agriculture and Land Use in Cities: An Approach with the Multi-Functionality and Sustainability Concepts in the Case of Antananarivo (Madagascar). Land Use Policy, 29, 429-439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.08.009
[3]
Badami, M. G., & Ramankutty, N. (2015). Urban Agriculture and Food Security: A Critique Based on an Assessment of Urban Land Constraints. Global Food Security, 4, 8-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2014.10.003
[4]
Barofsky, J., Siba, E., & Grabinsky, J. (2016). Can Rapid Urbanization in Africa Reduce Poverty? Causes, Opportunities, and Policy Recommendations. Brookings Institute. Africa in Focus.
[5]
Crush, J. S., & Frayne, G. B. (2011). Urban Food Insecurity and the New International Food Security Agenda. Development Southern Africa, 28, 527-544. https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2011.605571
[6]
Dorward, C., Schutzbank, M., & Mullinix, K. (2013). The Economics of Urban Farming. In The Urban Farming Guidebook: Planning for the Business of Growing Food in BC’s Towns and Cities (pp. 37-44). EcoDesign Resource Society. http://www.kora.kpu.ca
[7]
Game, I., & Primus, R. (2015). GSDR 2015 Brief Urban Agriculture. State University of New York College of Forestry and Environmental Science.
[8]
Hallett, S., Hoagland, L., Toner, E., Gradziel, T. M., Mitchell, C. A., & Whipkey, A. L. (2016). Urban Agriculture: Environmental, Economic, and Social Perspectives. In J. Janick (Ed.), Horticultural Reviews (Vol. 44, pp. 65-120). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119281269.ch2
[9]
Hamisi, R. (2012). Contribution of Urban Agriculture to Food Security: A Case Study of Sombetini, Daraja Mbili, and Sokoni One Wards, in Arusha City. University of Dar es Salaam School of Law.
[10]
Kiduanga, J., & Shomari, A. (2017). Urban Agriculture: Critical Issues of Land Administration for Expansion of the Farming of Vegetables in Dar es Salaam. Journal of the Geographical Association of Tanzania, 36, 115-134.
[11]
Kombe, W. J. (2005). Land Use Dynamics in Peri-Urban Areas and Their Implications on the Urban Growth and Form: The Case of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Habitat International, 29, 113-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0197-3975(03)00076-6
[12]
Kutiwa, S., Boon, E., & Devuyst, D. (2010). Urban Agriculture in Low-Income Households of Harare: An Adaptive Response to Economic Crisis. Journal of Human Ecology, 32, 85-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/09709274.2010.11906325
[13]
Lau, H. L. (2013). Evolution of Urban Agriculture in Hong Kong: Stepping Towards Multifunctionality. Doctoral Dissertation, Chinese University of Hong Kong. http://www.academia.edu
[14]
McLees, L. (2011). Access to Land for Urban Farming in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Histories, Benefits and Insecure Tenure. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 49, 601-624. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X11000498
[15]
Mireri, P. C. (2013). Assessment of the Contribution of Urban Agriculture to Employment, Income and Food security in Kenya: A Case of Kisumu Municipality. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 8, 2884-2896.
[16]
Mkwela, H. S. (2013). Urban Agriculture in Dar es Salaam: A Dream or Reality? WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 173, 161-172.
[17]
Mougeot, L. J. (2000). Urban Agriculture: Definition, Presence, Potentials and Risks. Growing Cities, Growing Food: Urban Agriculture on the Policy Agenda, 1, 42.
[18]
Mugisa, I. O., Fungo, B., Adur, S. O., Semalulu, O., Molly, A., Atim, J., & Akello, B. O. (2017). Urban and Peri-Urban Crop Farming in Central Uganda: Characteristics, Constraints and Opportunities for Household Food Security and Income. African Journal of Plant Science, 11, 264-275. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJPS2016.1477
[19]
Namwata, B. M., Kikula, I. S., & Kopoka, P. A. (2015). Access of Urban Farmers to Land, Water and Inputs for Urban Agriculture in Dodoma Municipality, Tanzania. Journal of African studies and Development, 7, 31-40.
[20]
Odudu, C. O., & Omirin, M. M. (2012). Evaluating the Constraints Affecting Land Access among Urban Crop Farmers in Metropolitan Lagos. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 2, 130-146. https://doi.org/10.1108/20440831211272599
[21]
Peters, K. A. (2010). Creating a Sustainable Urban Agriculture Revolution. Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation, 25, 203-247.
[22]
Quan, J. (2015). Family Farming and Land Governance: Towards a People-Centred Approach: Synthesis of Findings of a Research Project Supported by the International Land Coalition. Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, 1, 48.
[23]
Sabiiti, E. N., Katongole, C. B., Katuromunda, S., Sengendo, H., Basalirwa, C. P., Atukunda, G., & Nambuubi, S. K. (2014). Assessing Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Kampala, Uganda. In J. Padhgam, & J. Jabbour (Eds.), Building Urban Resilience. United Nations Environment Programme.
[24]
Sarker, A. H., Bornman, J. F., & Marinova, D. A. (2019). Framework for Integrating Agriculture in Urban Sustainability in Australia. Urban Science, 3, Article No. 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3020050
[25]
Schmidt, S. (2012). Getting the Policy Right: Urban Agriculture in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. International Development Planning Review, 34, 129-145. https://doi.org/10.3828/idpr.2012.9
[26]
Smit, W. (2016). Urban Governance and Urban Food Systems in Africa: Examining the Linkages. Cities, 58, 80-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.05.001
[27]
Tefft, J., Jonasova, M., Adjao, R., & Morgan, A. (2017). Food Systems for an Urbanizing World. World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/32502
[28]
Un-Habitat (2008). State of the World’s Cities 2008/9: Harmonious Cities. UN-Habitat.
[29]
United Republic of Tanzania (URT) (2000). National Human Settlements Development Policy. The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Tanzania.
[30]
United Republic of Tanzania (URT) (2007). Urban Planning Act, 2007. Government Printer.
[31]
Victor, K., Massawe, F. A., & Sikira, A. (2018). Contribution of Integrated Urban Agriculture to Household Income: A Case of Kinondoni Municipality, Tanzania. Journal of Agricultural Sciences—Sri Lanka, 13, 237-246. http://doi.org/10.4038/jas.v13i3.8397
[32]
Wahab, B., Popoola, A., & Magidimisha, H. (2018). Access to Urban Agricultural Land in Ibadan, Nigeria. Planning Malaysia, 16, 161-175.
[33]
Wakuru, M. (2008). Improving Urban Land Governance with Emphasize of Integration of Urban Agriculture Based Livelihoods in Spatial Land Use Planning Practices in Tanzania. Doctoral Thesis, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität.
[34]
World Bank (2013). Urban Agriculture: Findings from Four City Case Studies. https://www.worldbank.org/
[35]
Yang, Z., Hao, P., Liu, W., & Cai, J. (2016). Peri-Urban Agricultural Development in Beijing: Varied Forms, Innovative Practices and Policy Implications. Habitat International, 56, 222-234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.06.004
