More Than Urban Agriculture: A Case for Planning for Urban Food Security in Harare, Zimbabwe

PurposeThe study attempted to assess the food security status of urban agriculture households in Ghana and India. Also, the extent of urban agriculture participation and its effect on food security in Ghana and India were examined.Design/methodology/approachA total of 650 urban agriculture farmers were interviewed for this study in Ghana and India. Food security status of urban households was assessed by the use of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, whereas the determinants of the extent of urban agriculture and its effect on food security were analysed by the use of the heteroskedastic linear regression and the Seemingly Unrelated Regression models, respectively.FindingsFrom the study on average, households in Ghana were mildly food insecure, but that of India was moderately food insecure. The results further revealed that various demographic, economic, institutional and health and nutrition factors differently influenced urban food security and urban agriculture. Also, the extent of urban agriculture participation positively influenced food security.Originality/valueSeveral studies in Asia (India) and Africa (Ghana) on urban food security have been geographically limited to New Delhi, Mumbai and Greater Accra, with few studies in the Middle Belt of Ghana, and Bihar in India. Besides, there is a limited, rigorous, empirical study on the effect of the extent of UA on food security in Asia (India) and Africa (Ghana) individually and together. Moreover, we extend the frontiers of the methodological approach by applying the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) model to understand if the factors that affect food-security accessibility based on two food security accessibility tools are correlated.

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Urban Food Security and Urban Agriculture in Asia:

The Politics of Food Security ◽

10.2307/j.ctt1df4hv5.11 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 159-178

Author(s):

M. Escaler ◽

P.S. Teng

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Urban Food Security

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Urban Food Security and Strategic Planning: Involving Millennials in Urban Agriculture

New Metropolitan Perspectives - Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-48279-4_9 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 91-100

Author(s):

Matteo Carzedda ◽

Federico Nassivera ◽

Francesco Marangon ◽

Stefania Troiano ◽

Luca Iseppi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Strategic Planning ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Urban Food Security

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Urban Food Security through Urban Agriculture and Waste Recycling: Some Lessons for India

Vikalpa The Journal for Decision Makers ◽

10.1177/0256090920130302 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 13-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Rahul Gupta ◽

Sumita Gupta Gangopadhyay

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Waste Recycling ◽

Urban Food Security

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Food for Thought: Addressing Urban Food Security Risks through Urban Agriculture

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13031267 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 1267

Author(s):

Jorinda Steenkamp ◽

Elizelle Juanee Cilliers ◽

Sarel Stephanus Cilliers ◽

Louis Lategan

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Supply Chains ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Food Supply ◽

Best Practice ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Potential Method ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Urban Food Security ◽

Food Supply Chains

Food and nutrition security has been neglected in the planning field for reasons of a lack of connection between food and planning and the perception that agricultural activities have no place in the modernizing world. However, considering increasing climate change impacts and implications on industrialized agriculture, there is a clear need to establish shorter, more sustainable agricultural production practices and food supply chains. Urban agriculture is proposed as a potential method of intervention for planners to support sustainable food production and supply chains. The paper utilized a multiple-case study design to analyze four best practice examples of urban agriculture in the Global South to uncover its potential to address food security associated risks and contribute to sustainable development objectives. The results delivered evidence of the potential to harness the multifunctionality of urban agriculture to not only improve the food security of the most at-risk populations, but to also address other urban risks such as unemployment, community decline and food deserts. The recommendations for this paper relate to establishing a food security department, mapping and encouraging more sustainable food supply chains, creating land uses and zonings specific to urban agriculture and to utilize its multifunctionality to address other urban risks.

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Cities, Poverty and Food: The role of municipalities in enhancing food security

Urbana - Urban Affairs & Public Policy ◽

10.47785/urbana.3.2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol XXII (2021) ◽

pp. 27-44

Author(s):

Adrino Mazenda ◽

Tinashe Mushayanyama ◽

Tyanai Masiya ◽

Moreblessing Simawu

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Critical Issue ◽

Economic Factors ◽

Urban Food Security ◽

Design And Implementation ◽

Food Market ◽

Institutional Challenges ◽

The City

Food security is an critical issue in most African cities. Local government initiatives such as the City of Johannesburg Food Resilience Strategy are established to enhance food security in the city. The article draws insight from literature across multiple disciplines to examine the extent to which the Food Resilience Strategy relates food security to the economic challenges which citizens face. It discusses critical themes for sustainable urban food security namely, skills capacity and knowledge transference, access to land and water, institutional challenges, economic factors, urban agriculture production and environmental factors. Finally, the article recommends an integration of diverse stakeholders in the design and implementation of the Food Resilience Strategy, and thereby foster synergies between local producers and the local food market.

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The Extent of Participation in Urban Agriculture and Its Effect on Food Security in Africa and Asia: Evidence from Ghana and India

10.21203/rs.3.rs-52761/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Richard Kwasi Bannor ◽

Mohit Sharma ◽

Helena Oppong-Kyeremeh

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Free Food ◽

Seemingly Unrelated Regression ◽

Extension Education ◽

Urban Food Security ◽

Urban Households ◽

Food Security Status ◽

Unrelated Regression

Abstract This study examined the factors that influence the extent of urban agriculture participation and its effect on food security in Ghana and India. A total of six hundred and fifty urban agriculture farmers were interviewed for this study in Ghana and India. Food security status of urban households was assessed by the use of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale whereas the determinants of the extent of urban agriculture and its effect on food security were analysed by the use of the heteroskedastic linear regression and the Seemingly Unrelated Regression models, respectively. From the study on average, households in Ghana were mildly food insecure, but that of India was moderately food insecure. The results further revealed that, various demographic, economic, institutional and health and nutrition factors differently influenced urban food security and urban agriculture. Also, the extent of urban agriculture participation positively influenced food security. It is recommended that, Governments and NGOs interested in the reduction of urban food insecurity should aggressively advocate for urban agriculture in urban households through extension education. Interests could be stimulated by gleaning on health benefits of urban agriculture such as producing safe and nutritious food, the opportunity to consume chemical-free food and pursue urban agriculture as a business. The implication for research is that similar studies can be conducted in other emerging urban cities in Africa and Asia for the advocacy for specific urban food security policies and programmes.

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Mechanisms of Green Development of Urban Agricultural Production in a Large Industrial City

Economics and Management ◽

10.35854/1998-1627-2020-8-823-829 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (8) ◽

pp. 823-829

Author(s):

E. V. Malysh

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Food Supply ◽

Agricultural Production ◽

High Tech ◽

Agricultural Technologies ◽

Short Supply ◽

Industrial City ◽

Self Sufficiency ◽

Green Development

A city’s potential for food self-sufficiency is expected to increase through the distribution of innovative, high-tech, green agricultural practices of producing food in an urban environment, which can improve the city’s food security due to increased food accessibility in terms of quantity and quality. Aim. Based on the systematization of theoretical approaches and analysis of institutional aspects, the study aims to propose ways to strengthen the city’s food security by improving food supply in urban areas, increasing the socio-economic and environmental sustainability of urban food systems, and changing the diet of urban residents.Tasks. The authors propose methods for the development of urban agricultural production in a large industrial city based on the principles of green economy and outline the range of strategic urban activities aimed at implementing green agricultural production technologies associated with the formation and development of the culture of modern urban agricultural production.Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition to examine the specificity of objectives of strengthening a city’s food security by improving the quality of food supply to the population. Methods of comparison, systems analysis, systematization of information, and the monographic method are also applied.Results. A strategic project for the development of urban agricultural systems through the implementation and green development of advanced urban agricultural technologies is described. Green development mechanisms will create conditions for the city’s self-sufficiency in terms of organic and safe products, functioning of short supply chains, and green urban agriculture.Conclusions. Managing the growth of urban agriculture will promote the use of highly effective, easily controlled, resource-efficient, eco-friendly, weather- and season-independent, multi-format urban agricultural technologies. The study describes actions aimed at creating conditions for stabilizing a city’s high-quality food self-sufficiency with allowance for the growing differentiation of citizen needs.

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