Urban Agriculture in Dar es Salaam, T anzania By: Stephan Schmidt

CASE STUDY #7-12 OF THE PROGRAM: "FOOD POLICY FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN THE GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM" 2011

Edited by: Per Pinstrup-Andersen (globalfoodsystemc^cornell.edu) Cornell University

In collaboration with: Soren E. Frandsen, Pro-Rector, Aarhus University, Denmark Arie Kuyvenhoven, Wageningen University Joachim von Braun, International Food Policy Research Institute Executive Summary Rapid urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa has led to in particular, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food serious concerns about household food security in Security and the Ministry of Livestock and Fish­ urban areas. Urban agriculture, which includes both eries, in order to be successful and to address the crop production and livestock raising, has been myriad problems facing it, and to better facilitate, recognized as serving an important role in the eco­ promote, and coordinate urban agricultural activi­ nomic, social, and dietary life of many cities in Sub- ties. Second, because land use planning is primarily Saharan Africa. In addition to being an important a function of local government, the municipal source of fresh produce, meat, and dairy products councils could better incorporate urban agriculture for consumers, it plays a vital economic role as a activities into the planning process to ensure that source of income for producers and distributors agriculture is recognized as a major activity in ur­ and also serves a socializing function for farmers, ban and peri-urban areas. Third, both national and communities, and neighborhoods. In addition, ur­ local governments could accept that urban agricul­ ban agriculture has a number of secondary impacts, ture is an established component of the informal including reducing food transportation costs and economy. To this end, the role of both the national providing environmental benefits. Whether prac­ and local governments is primarily that of an ticed at the subsistence level or undertaken as a enabler of agricultural operations and to ensure way to supplement income by a professional, urban that adequate legal protection is provided to pro­ agriculture is a widely practiced, integral com­ ducers and sufficient health information is made ponent of the urban environment. available to the public. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, one of the fastest-growing cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, faces a number of Background problems associated with such growth, including food insecurity, poor access to clean water, inade­ Like much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania is quate housing, unemployment and lack of educa­ rapidly urbanizing. In 1970 the share of urban resi­ tion, and difficulties providing basic services and dents in the total population was 7.9 percent; cur­ infrastructure. Agriculture addresses some of these rently their share is 26.4 percent. Much of this concerns by serving as an important source of growth occurred in Dar es Salaam, which contains locally available produce and employing a substan­ nearly 30 percent of the total urban population tial number of people. Because of the absence of [UN 2010], Moreover, Dar es Salaam is growing processing, storage, and distribution facilities in more quickly than the national average. Whereas much of Tanzania, urban agriculture will continue the estimated annual population growth of Tanzania to play a vital role in the social, economic, and nu­ was 3 percent between 2005 and 2010, the city of tritional life of the city of Dar es Salaam. However, Dar es Salaam, with an estimated 2010 population although urban agriculture clearly plays an impor­ of more than 3.3 million, had an estimated annual tant role in providing food and income in Dar es growth rate of almost 5 percent during the same Salaam, the practice is largely unregulated and un­ time period [UN 2010], Much of this growth has planned and faces a myriad of institutional, organi­ been along a number of major arterials, resulting in zational, economic, and environmental problems. a radial spatial development pattern. The provision of infrastructure, services, and facilities is uneven Your assignment is to advise national and city gov­ and has not kept pace with the rate of develop­ ernments on how best to facilitate the sustainable ment. Between the arterial roads, poorly serviced development of urban agriculture as an integral areas remain [Hoogland 2003], part of the urban environment and the social fabric of the city. The policy options are organized into Food security, particularly for the burgeoning the following broadly construed categories ac­ urban population, has been an issue since the food cording to the appropriate role and level of gov­ crises of the 1970s and 1980s. A Tanzania Food and ernment in enhancing and protecting urban agricul­ Nutrition Centre report [TFNC 2006] on food tural activities. First, promoting urban agriculture security status estimated that approximately 20 requires leadership from the national government, percent of the total population of Tanzania [35 mil­ In recent years wealthier households have in­ lion] faces chronic food insecurity, and a further creasingly undertaken urban agriculture, and the 40 percent have experienced periodic food focus has shifted from household consumption to insecurity. Urban agriculture, including both plant commercial sale. Government employees engage in and animal husbandry, is an integral part of the farming, in particular the keeping of livestock, to local food system in Dar es Salaam, providing fresh augment their incomes, which have not kept up vegetables, including Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, with inflation. Instead of merely a means for sur­ spinach, amaranth and a variety of other greens, vival, urban agriculture has become an area of sweet potato, cassava, maize, pulses, and fruits such potential investment for some, particularly if they as cashew, coconut, banana, pineapple, and papaya. can afford to purchase and maintain livestock. Of­ In addition, eggs, poultry, milk, and meat are also ten in such cases, the reason for keeping livestock supplied locally. Moreover, farming is an integral may not necessarily be to subsidize existing income, component of economic life in the city. Incomes but rather a form of cultural status and a nod to are sustainable and can rival those of government their particular region or ethnicity of origin. As a employees. The city of Dar es Salaam is composed result, urban agriculture has become increasingly of three municipal districts: Ilala, Kinondoni, and fragmented according to socioeconomic status. Temeke. Ilala has 12,000 farmers, Kinondoni has MIozi [1997] finds that wealthier farmers tend to 15,000, and Temeke has 7,700 [Hoogland 2003], have larger lots, keep more livestock, and be more A significant proportion of these farmers work in knowledgeable, whereas the less well-off tend to farming full time and are able to adequately sup­ keep gardens for vegetable production. port themselves and their families. In Ilala, about 13 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture Moreover, it is no longer necessarily recently ar­ and more than 10,000 hectares are devoted to rived rural migrants who are engaging in the prac­ urban agriculture. In Temeke, about 60 percent of tice. Stevenson, Kinabo, and Nyange [1994] show the available arable land is under cultivation and that urban farmers are rarely recent migrants and approximately 20-30 percent of the milk con­ have generally lived in town for 10-15 years, sug­ sumed is produced locally. In Kinondoni, approxi­ gesting that access to resources necessary for mately 60 percent of the available arable land is farming can be obtained only if a resident is well under cultivation. Locally grown urban agriculture embedded in the social system. In addition to being provides approximately 7 percent of total food fragmented by class, urban agricultural practices requirements, but 34 percent of livestock needs. are also spatially fragmented and are dispersed across the city. Vegetables are produced in fenced- Because the practice of urban agriculture has tradi­ in backyards, on vacant lots, and in open spaces tionally been associated with recent rural migrants, under generally insecure tenure arrangements scat­ it has been interpreted as a mechanism for survival tered across the city. Moreover, spatial patterns of and a means to reduce household vulnerability to production change over time as landowners economic fluctuations brought on by fiscal con­ develop or sell their property and farmers are straints, structural adjustment, and governmental forced to relocate. policy [Briggs and Mwamfupe 1998], As such, urban agriculture was actively discouraged by the national Policies affecting urban agricultural practice are government, which perceived it as economically formulated through the various national-level inefficient and marginal in relationship to the over­ ministries and agencies affecting agricultural pro­ all economy. Over the years, however, government duction, through the investments and activities of policies and attitudes toward urban agriculture have nongovernmental organizations [NGOs] and donor changed. Financial constraints during the 1970s and agencies, and through land-use decision making at 1980s, an era marked by declining minimum wages the local level. The Dar es Salaam City Council and food price inflation (Binns and Lynch 1998], [DCC] is responsible for administering the city, and and Julius Nyerere's call for self-sufficiency raised urban agriculture has been included in city the profile of urban agriculture in the eyes of ordinances and by-laws. In 2000 the administration policy makers, although translating this apprecia­ of Dar es Salaam was decentralized through the tion into policy has been more difficult. establishment of the three municipalities [referred to as districts in rural areas]—Ilala, Kinondoni, and Temeke—with the DCC responsible for those interests that affect all three municipalities. The the urban environment by livestock, local authori­ three municipalities are independent administrative ties reenacted the moribund by-laws of 1949 for units, each with a district commissioner, a munici­ controlling livestock [Animal By-laws of 1982 of the pal council, an independent revenue source, and an Local Government Act [no. 8, section 80 of CAP administrative staff. All three include a department 378]]. These by-laws, geared primarily toward the of agriculture [headed by a municipal agriculture keeping of livestock, state in part as follows [from and livestock district officer] and extension services Sawio 1998]: designed to promote urban agriculture by provid­ ing funds and training. The municipal councils are 1. no person shall keep any animal within the responsible for land-use decision making. City Area unless he/she shall obtain a permit from the City Director, Nonetheless, although urban agriculture has been recognized as serving an important role in provid­ 2. no person shall keep more than four cattle ing food and generating income in Dar es Salaam, in any City Area, the practice is largely unregulated and unplanned. 3. no person shall graze any animal within the Problems include [I] a general lack of awareness of City Area, only zero-grazing is advocated, the role urban agriculture plays in the dietary, eco­ and nomic, and social life of urban residents and conse­ quent marginalization of agriculture by government 4. subject to any permit issued under these officials and city planners; [2] an ambiguous and by-laws allowing animals to be moved, all poorly enforced legal environment for urban far­ animals within the City Area shall be kept mers; [3] insecure tenure arrangements and fear of in a building, structure, or enclosure. expropriation of farmers; [4] rapid urbanization and competition for space, particularly in the peri-urban With regard to vegetable production, the by-laws areas, coupled with a lack of protected lands state that fruits and vegetables should not obstruct reserved for agriculture; [5] a national and local the sight of roadways. Furthermore, growing crops institutional environment generally biased against is not permitted within 14 meters of roads, and in the practice of urban agriculture and a consequent river valleys crop cultivation is not allowed within lack of support for the specific needs of urban 15 meters of the riverbank [although farming is farming; and [6] public health concerns over the permissible, and even encouraged, within river relative safety of urban agricultural products, valleys in general] [Mlozi 2003], particularly because irrigation is often intermittent and waters sources are often dependent on These by-laws, which have never been amended or polluted sources. updated to reflect current conditions or issues, such as water pollution, present a number of issues. First, they are ambiguous. It is unclear, for exam­ Policy Issues ple, which animals are permissible. It is also unclear whether the by-laws refer only to the urbanized There are a number of policy-related issues con­ areas of the city or to peri-urban areas as well. In cerning urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam. addition, the procedure for obtaining permits is not explained. Second, some of the by-laws fail to Legal Environment account for the specific needs of farming in urban Currently, Tanzania has no national policy for ur­ areas. For example, the livestock limitation of four ban agriculture. As a result, the various ministries animals does not necessarily make sense, and it has that deal in some way with agriculture do not have been suggested that these regulations should vary a common reference point from which to craft according to species type and population density. policies and regulations related to or affecting Other issues simply go unmentioned by the by­ urban agriculture. The legal environment at the laws [for example, the use of polluted river water local level for urban agriculture is also somewhat for irrigation]. ambiguous [Sawio 1998], partly because of inade­ quate knowledge and understanding among resi­ In addition to the legal ambiguity, there is a serious dents and decision makers of the role of urban issue with the implementation and enforcement of agriculture. In 1982, responding to degradation of the by-laws. For example, although prohibited, open grazing continues unchecked, and the DCC land-use planning, the ministries generally serve a has been lax in its enforcement. Although riparian supportive role. Thus the burden of initiating corridors are meant to be reserved for agricultural efforts to protect or promote agriculture lies with production, encroachment by development [and the local government, which tends to prioritize subsequent erosion] remains a problem. In Temeke, development over agriculture. Moreover, the minis­ sand mining has become lucrative, and mining tries, even if asked to act in a supporting role, do companies are encroaching on publicly protected not have a central policy upon which to base their riparian corridors, competing with other uses decisions. including agriculture. In addition to limited resources, political corruption has been a factor in the inconsistent enforcement of by-laws; elites are Health Hazards often the ones violating the by-laws. A number of health and environmental issues are associated with urban agriculture (MIozi 1997). A Institutional Priorities recent study by researchers at Ardhi University [entitled "Characterisation and assessment of heavy The practice of urban agriculture has also been metals by accumulation in water, soil, and vegetable hampered by an institutional and governmental grown in the Msimbazi River") exposed some of structure that prioritizes rurally based agricultural the health risks posed by the consumption of practices. These priorities exist at the national, dis­ urban agricultural products [in particular spinach, trict, and local levels and even extend to the com­ pumpkin leaves, and Chinese cabbage amaranth, mercial sector. For example, fertilizer and seeds are which are very desirable because they requires only packaged in large quantities intended for rural three weeks to harvest], due to the reliance on application, but such quantities may be inappro­ polluted water sources for irrigation, in particular priate for smaller urban plots. At the national level, the Msimbazi River. The discharging of chemical neither the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Se­ by-products into the city's creeks and valley curity nor the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries streams [Andrew 2008; Kalokola 2010) has resulted has a division or section devoted to promoting and in levels of heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium, regulating urban agriculture. This institutional gap copper, and chromium, that exceed World Health affects investment and funding priorities. Much of Organization standards. Long-term effects include the available funding for agriculture is intended for liver malfunction and damage to the heart, kidneys, distribution to villages and districts. Urbanized liver, and nervous system. Children are particularly areas, however, are organized according to munici­ at risk. palities (instead of districts) and m itaas (neighbor­ hoods). Likewise, the Ministry of Land, Housing, In addition to direct effects, there are a number of and Urban Development (MLHUD), which works secondary health impacts stemming from the with the municipal councils on land planning, does proximity of agriculture and high-density residen­ not clearly recognize urban agriculture activities. tial development. These impacts include the trans­ mission of animal diseases from the removal of At the local level, there is a general lack of public livestock waste (animal dung can be a source of awareness and overall antipathy toward the role and tetanus), improper disposal of animal corpses, and needs of urban agriculture. Municipal officials often chemical contamination from the overuse of anti­ fail to see the value in agriculture and believe that biotics and pesticides. Vegetables and field crops residential or industrial development would gener­ can harbor mosquitoes that carry malaria. Specific ate more revenue. They therefore have little inter­ crops such as tomatoes require moist environments est in protecting agricultural land. Municipal offi­ that can serve as mosquito breeding grounds. cials and urban planners have continually failed to incorporate agriculture into the planning process, and agricultural extension workers have not been Urbanization Pressure consulted about urban agricultural needs. The insti­ Rapid growth and the constant development pres­ tutional arrangements and division of governmental sure on land in peri-urban areas has forced agricul­ powers have only exacerbated this problem. While ture to compete for land with other urban land local governments are responsible for implementing uses. Dreschel and Dongus (2010) have documented projects and making other local decisions, including the changing spatial patterns of urban agriculture throughout the Dar es Salaam metropolitan area. water, and these gardens tended to be located in They found that while the overall percentage of informal settlements. The Dar es Salaam Water and land devoted to urban agriculture remained ap­ Sewage Authority [DAWASA] has exacerbated this proximately the same between 1992 and 2005, the situation by charging high rates for water usage. spatial distribution of urban agriculture changed DAWASA has threatened and even discontinued dramatically, as areas formerly devoted to agricul­ water pipes for urban farmers [Sawio 1998], ture were converted to residential or industrial uses, and new areas [particularly along rail lines and riparian corridors] were opened up. Urban agricul­ Ambiguous and Insecure Tenure ture has therefore increasingly been forced onto Arrangements marginalized lands and hazardous areas. Agriculture Tenure insecurity in rapidly urbanizing peri-urban has also encroached on open spaces and other areas is a persistent characteristic of cities in Sub- public lands [such as cemeteries, playgrounds, and Saharan Africa. A lack of secure land rights has road and utility rights-of-way] because laws to pro­ resulted in land grabs [some by foreigners], tect these open areas are not strongly enforced. property disputes, uncontrolled urbanization, and disinvestments. In addition, legal disputes over Despite the recognition of urban agriculture's eco­ property are common, increasing the costs of own­ nomic and nutritional contributions to the city, ership and delaying potential improvements in the little attention has been given to allocating or re­ property. By some estimates, up to 70 percent of taining lands for urban agricultural uses as the city development in Tanzania occurs under informal expands, despite relentless pressure and land spec­ tenure conditions. ulation. The local government does not regulate open spaces and allocates no land specifically for Because of the many problems posed by insecure agricultural uses. For example, the municipality of land tenure arrangements, the government has Kinondoni has only 15 hectares devoted to agri­ taken some measures to "formalize" customary land culture, primarily for demonstration plots. Land-use tenure. The Land Act of 1999 and the Village Land conflicts between farmers and residents of newly Act of May 2001 integrated customary law into developed residential areas are on the rise, and the legal system. Accordingly, ail land in Tanzania there are no regulations or guidelines to govern was classified as village land [roughly 70 percent of such conflicts. Political corruption, administrative the country], reserve land [for example, national bureaucracy, and a lack of transparency in land parks], and general land, which includes most of the transactions hamper the efficient and orderly urban areas [Mithoefer 2008]. The Property and development of peri-urban areas. The local gov­ Business Formalization Program, based on the ideas ernment has also been slow in providing available of Peruvian economist Hernando De Soto, seeks to plots for development. For example, annual demand formalize informal tenure arrangements through for building plots is more than 20,000 units in Dar surveying and assignment of renewable ownership es Salaam, whereas the annual supply of plots has titles. However, such attempts at "formalizing" cus­ been less than 700, leaving nearly 97 percent of tomary land tenure are often problematic. The the recorded demand unallocated. The shortage of formal land tenure systems can be in direct conflict formalized plots has led households to acquire with existing local practices, and the formalization lands from the informal sector [Hoogland 2003]. A process itself ends up fueling conflicts between recent study found that approximately 500,000 peoples by emphasizing differences [Benjaminsen housing units were constructed under informal and Lund 2002]. In addition, administrative and tenure conditions in 2005-2006, up from 50,000 institutional obstacles exist. Most formal processes in 1972-1973 [Lugoe 2008], involve expensive and complicated processes of arranging title deeds that are beyond the reach of The competition over land has also spilled over into the poor. Attempts at formalizing customary or competition for other resources, especially water. insecure land tenure are often held up by red tape A study by Dongus et al. [2009] of three wards and fall short of meeting demand for such services within the city found that only 30 percent of the because of the time and bureaucracy involved in surveyed gardens were irrigated with tap water. preparing and approving plans and registering land. Slightly more than half the surveyed gardens were In fact, as formalization usurps customary arrange­ not irrigated or relied on rainfall or open wells for ments, many people are likely to lose their land. Technological and institutional constraints exist as well. In Tanzania, the land registry is not com­ Stakeholders puterized and relies on outdated procedures for gathering information and registering rights. Land A number of stakeholder groups are involved in and title records are kept in paper files maintained urban agricultural issues. by six independent regional divisions [Mithoefer 2008], Because of these obstacles, only 11 percent of the possible properties have been registered in Farmer/Producer Cooperatives Tanzania, and the existing cadastral map is sporadic Local organizations are essential in mobilizing far­ and haphazard [de Soto 2006], mers, providing assistance, securing resources, pro­ viding inputs and local knowledge, and even As such, urban farmers are largely dependent on participating in urban agriculture campaigns. Gen­ holders of open space—schools, institutions, and erally urban farmer groups and cooperatives are private actors—for land. Much urban agriculture is organized to secure common resources [such as produced in open spaces without secure land power tillers], serve as savings and loan organiza­ rights, increasing the perception of urban agricul­ tions, or assist in food processing. Forming and ture as a marginal or transitional activity. Farming maintaining such groups in urbanized areas is diffi­ occurs either without agreement through illegal cult, however, because the nature of urban agricul­ encroachment on public lands including parks, na­ ture presents special challenges. First, urban far­ ture reserves, and cemeteries or through informal mers tend to be spatially fragmented because they tenure arrangements with private actors, which work smaller, more isolated plots than their rural operate under unwritten norms and informal counterparts. Second, they tend not to own their agreements [Magigi 2008], For example, the Tazara plots, and their tenure is often temporary and farmers in Ilala have had a verbal agreement with dependent on the landowner. Third, the stratifica­ the Tazara Railroad Company since the 1980s and tion of urban farmers according to income and cultivate plots adjacent to the rail lines. In this case, socioeconomic status implies that needs vary the relationship is symbiotic: the farmers cleared an greatly, making it difficult to organize around a area of brush about which the railway had security common purpose. The difficulty in organizing ur­ concerns. ban farmers is exemplified by the legacy of the Urban Vegetable Promotion Project [UVPP], an Tenants believe they will probably have to move initiative of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Tech- within a couple of years when the owner decides to nische Zusammenarbeit [GTZ] in the 1990s to sup­ develop or sell the land and consequently do not port urban agriculture by using existing institu­ pay rent. Producers are prohibited from making tions. Local extension officers were trained in tech­ investments in the land [for example, trees] to pre­ nical and organizational skills, and farmers were vent them from staying permanently. Unless a far­ organized into groups. Once the project ended in mer owns the land, he or she is unlikely to dig new 2001, however, many of the groups that had been wells or make other improvements, such as irriga­ started found it difficult to sustain themselves, and tion, and this situation exacerbates some of the the local district councils were hard pressed to public health issues discussed earlier. Open spaces support ongoing extension activities. are not registered, and producers have no rights in case of expropriation. Although producers have The Business Sector formed cooperatives to help assert their rights and Private companies, especially hotels, are potential to organize, assisted to a certain extent by aid large-scale institutional consumers of urban agricul­ organizations and NGOs, these efforts have been tural products and could increase the viability of only partially effective. The eviction of farmers is urban agriculture. Marketing urban agriculture relatively common and often occurs without products to such institutions remains difficult, protest or mention in the press. however, because of limited and variable supply, pricing difficulties, and ongoing public concerns over quality [Sawio 1998], The National Government traditionally focused on rural concerns and issues The national government is ultimately responsible and have not yet fully incorporated urban issues in for ensuring adequate food security for urban their agendas. households. The government is able to influence and facilitate urban agriculture through the coordi­ Donor Organizations nation of a number of ministries, including the Donor organizations, NGOs, and aid agencies offer Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock [recently assistance with urban agriculture research and in­ reorganized as the Ministry of Agriculture and formation generation, help mobilize financial and Food Security and the Ministry of Livestock and technical resources, and advise on issues ranging Fisheries]. The national government sets policies to from technical matters and water use to marketing be followed at the local level, manages and super­ and land rights. A number of international NGOs vises local authorities, and through the donor- and organizations have been involved in promoting funded Agriculture Sectoral Development Program urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam since the 1990s, [ASDP], makes funding available through the locally including the UVPP of the GTZ, which initiated organized District Agriculture Development Project pilot projects, demonstration plots, and organized [DADP], DADP monies are the primary funding cooperatives, and the World Bank-funded National sources at the local level for supporting urban agri­ Agricultural Extension Programme [NAEP], cultural practices as well as for financing and staff­ focused primarily on extension training. The long­ ing district offices. DADP funding consists of [1] term sustainability and viability of such efforts are funds for investment and project implementation in doubt, however, because of resource and [including pumps, irrigation pipes, and heavy organizational constraints on the part of the local machinery]; [2] capacity-building funds to train staff governments. Efforts to introduce food processing and assist extension officers; and [3] extension failed because of the limited surplus of products funds to facilitate group trainings and workshops. available. City and Municipal Councils Policy Options The DCC and the municipal councils are responsi­ ble for preparing by-laws to guide urban agricul­ The three policy approaches outlined below suggest ture. They also enforce urban development plans separate ways of addressing the myriad issues fac­ and laws that affect urban agriculture as well as ing urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam. The first issue licenses and permits. Both the city and the acknowledges a leading role for the central gov­ municipal councils are in a position to make deci­ ernment, the second places urban agriculture pri­ sions [particularly those involving land] that would marily under the responsibility of the local gov­ directly affect urban agriculture. Unfortunately, ernments, and the third examines the place of civil many local officials and city planners have tended society in urban agricultural promotion. to focus on development and have not prioritized the needs of agriculture. Central Government Leadership In addition, agricultural extension is organized at Urban agriculture needs to be recognized as an the municipal level [and further organized at the integral part of the social, economic, and dietary division, ward, and m itaa [neighborhood] level]. In life of urban residents. Leadership from the national 2001 the three municipalities of Dar es Salaam government is required to address the myriad counted about 200 extension workers, about half problems facing urban agriculture and help make it of them in urban wards. Extension agents address a successful. This approach will require not only number of aspects of agricultural practice including investment in infrastructure, but also institutional training and outreach [either on-site training or reforms to better facilitate, promote, and coordi­ group workshops], organizing farmer/producer nate urban agricultural activities. Such an approach cooperatives, managing and distributing investment could include a number of policy options: funds [for the purchase of tractors, fertilizer, seeds, animal breeds, roads], and organizing demonstra­ • A national policy concerning urban tion plots and model farms. However, both agricul­ agriculture could be formulated to help tural education and research in Tanzania have the various ministries involved—land, agriculture, livestock—better coordinate councils could better incorporate urban agriculture their activities and to give them a common activities into the planning process. They could take reference point as they design relevant advantage of the opportunity presented by the policies. These policies could then be planning process for the new master plan for the translated into regulations and guidelines city of Dar es Salaam to ensure that agriculture is for both ministerial and local action. recognized as a major activity in urban and peri­ urban areas. This approach could involve a number • Institutional reform is necessary to pro­ of policy options: mote and advocate for urban agriculture. Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture is primarily concerned with rural agriculture • Addressing the needs of farmers requires needs and is unable (or unwilling] to focus an understanding of the role of agriculture on the special needs and circumstances of in the functioning of the city. As such, urban agriculture. The Ministry of Agri­ city planners and municipal officials (for culture could be reorganized to include a example, water utilities] could be sensitized department solely concerned with urban to both the importance and needs of agricultural issues. urban agriculture. • Given that urban agriculture is likely to • Existing by-laws regulating agricultural remain an integral component of urban life activities must be reformed to better in Dar es Salaam, greater coordination is reflect actual farming practices. Those that required among all agencies and ministries allow or prohibit any urban agricul­ whose decisions affect urban agricultural ture activity must be clearly written and production. These agencies could include explained. Changes to the by-laws could the ministries of health, lands, housing, include limits on livestock based on den­ and urban planning, the DCC, and the sity and species type as well elaboration of National Environmental Management by-laws addressing public health concerns. Council. This coordination would allow the Furthermore, by-laws must be uniformly central government to better assess short- enforced if they are to be effective and and long-term effects of urban agriculture should be adequately explained to farmers. on the environment and public health and • Urban agriculture should be fully incor­ to make this information publicly available. porated into the planning process, and it • Improvements in the production of urban should be integrated with other urban agriculture will require investments by the activities and processes—in particular, solid central government and other stake­ waste and wastewater management. holders, including NGOs, donor organiza­ tions, and local governments, into infra­ • As the city expands, public lands could be structure and inputs to support urban set aside for use in urban agriculture. This agricultural activities. Such investments process will allow for public ownership of could include warehouses, storage facilities, land dedicated to agriculture and offer the abattoirs, and fixed markets, as well as the opportunity to more easily address public inputs required for farming, such as seeds health concerns and quality control of and pesticides, in quantities conducive to production—for example, through the urban needs. In particular, to reduce post­ establishment of a secure water source. harvest loss of perishable foods like toma­ • Land tenure is a primary detriment to a toes, facilities are needed for processing, better-functioning urban agricultural mar­ storing, distributing, and marketing the ket. As such, municipal governments could products of urban agriculture. coordinate efforts to ensure adequate property rights and ownership of land by Local Government Leadership formalizing informal tenure arrangements Given that land-use decision making is primarily a and reducing the bureaucracy to create function of local government, the municipal land titles. • Short of this, local government should ac­ • The government could emphasize and knowledge that much urban agriculture develop extension knowledge and training occurs under transitional conditions (be­ specific to the needs of urban agriculture. fore urban development] through informal For example, certain breeds and species are arrangements. These arrangements could more effective given the limited space be supported through incentives provided available in urban environments. Additional by local governments (for example, by de­ areas of research to be considered include creasing taxes on owners who allow farm­ a market analysis of urban agricultural ing], Furthermore, the rights of producers products, as well as the extent, scale, nutri­ and protection from expropriation could tional, economic, and environmental im­ be integrated into the system of by-laws pacts of urban agriculture. that regulate agricultural activity. • The government could support research • To better integrate, manage, and formalize on health issues involved with urban agricultural activities into the normal eco­ agriculture and make this information nomic life of the city, agricultural activities publicly available. The government could could be taxed to legitimize the activity also advocate the use of appropriate and raise its profile (and overcome biases] technology in dealing with these issues, by city managers and public officials. whether water distribution systems or better seed varieties. Civil Society Leadership The government could accept that urban agricul­ Assignment ture is an established component of the informal economy and is primarily dependent on bottom-up Your assignment is to advise national and city gov­ participant organization and civil society. The gov­ ernments on how best to facilitate the sustainable ernment would primarily enable agricultural opera­ development of urban agriculture as an integral tions and ensure that adequate information was part of the urban environment and the social fabric made available to the public. This approach could of the city. Your policy approach should involve involve a number of policy options: some of the main stakeholder groups and address some of the issues raised. • The national government, in conjunction with agricultural extension officers, could raise the awareness of ministries and gov­ Additional Readings ernment officials about the benefits and importance of urban agriculture through Binns, T., and K. Lynch. 1998. Feeding Africa's workshops and seminars. Special attention growing cities into the 21st century: The poten­ could be focused on urban agriculture's tial of urban agriculture. Journal of Interna­ impact on income generation and urban tional Developm ents (6]: 777-93. household food security and nutrition. Jacobi, P., J. Amend, and S. Kiango. 2005. U rb an • Local governments could encourage and agriculture in Dar Es Salaam: Providing an support the formation of farmers' groups indispensable part of the diet. Resource and cooperatives organized around com­ Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food mon needs. Local governments could pro­ Security (RUAF] Foundation. vide legal assistance and protection; train­ Mlozi, M. 1997. Impacts of urban agriculture in Dar ing on specific topics of interest (such as es Salaam, Tanzania. The Environmentalist 17 pesticide application]; meeting spaces and (2]: 115-24. supplies; and low-interest loans to cooper­ ative groups for purchasing the necessary ------. 2003. Legal and policy aspects of urban equipment. agriculture in Tanzania. Urban Agriculture M agazine (RUAF Foundation] II: 40-41. References Andrew, F. 2008. Vegetables in city gardens Magigi, W. 2008. Improving urban land gover­ declared as silent killers. The Guardian, July 4. nance with emphasis on integrating agriculture- based livelihoods in spatial land use planning Benjaminsen, T. A., and C. Lund. 2002. Formalisa­ practice in Tanzania. 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