African Urban Harvest This page intentionally left blank Gordon Prain · Nancy Karanja · Diana Lee-Smith Editors African Urban Harvest Agriculture in the Cities of Cameroon, Kenya and Uganda 123 International Development Research Centre Ottawa • Cairo • Dakar • Montevideo • Nairobi • New Delhi • Singapore Editors Gordon Prain Nancy Karanja Urban Harvest, CIP Urban Harvest, CIP Av. La Molina 1895 Nairobi La Molina, Lima ILRI Campus Peru Kenya [email protected] [email protected] Diana Lee-Smith Mazingira Institute Box 14550 00800 Nairobi Kenya [email protected] A copublication with the International Development Research Centre P.O. Box 8500 Ottawa, ON, Canada K1G 3H9 [email protected] / www.idrc.ca e-ISBN 978-1-55250-492-5 and International Potato Center (CIP) Avenida La Molina, 1895 P.O. Box 1558 La Molina, Lima, Peru ISBN 978-1-4419-6249-2 (hardcover) e-ISBN 978-1-4419-6250-8 ISBN 978-1-4419-6571-4 (soft cover) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-6250-8 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2010932400 © International Potato Center (CIP), 2010 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Cover illustration: Urban Harvest Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Jac Smit – In Memoriam This book is dedicated to the memory of Jac Smit (1929–2009), who devoted his life and energy to the subject discussed in these pages (www.jacsmit.com). Jac helped bring the crucial role that urban agriculture plays in African cities to world attention in the early 1990s through his writings and tireless advocacy work. This page intentionally left blank Foreword Within less than a generation a majority of Africans will live in urban areas. As the pace of urban growth outstrips job creation and the capacity of most governments to provide essential infrastructure, the face of African poverty is being transformed from what was once considered a primarily rural phenomenon to one including tens of millions of unemployed and underemployed living at the margins of the for- mal urban economy. Indeed, research has shown that the depths of income poverty, health risks and food insecurity in the informal settlements of some African cities are often worse than in stressed rural communities. Urban agriculture is uniquely well positioned to respond to these challenges. Ironically, despite increasingly integrated global food systems, local production in urban and peri-urban areas remains essential to feeding African cities, due in part to systemic failures in markets linking rural and urban areas. This fact was dramati- cally demonstrated in the urban food riots provoked by the global food price spikes of 2007 and 2008. Historically discouraged and often prohibited by municipal gov- ernments, urban agriculture has attracted growing interest – and legitimacy – during the past decade and a half, largely due to a growing body of hard evidence showing that it can provide a sustainable motor for both human development and economic growth. The current volume represents a seminal contribution to that paradigm shift. Drawing on the results of rigorous research conducted in Cameroon, Kenya and Uganda, the authors carefully explore the dynamics of urban and peri-urban agriculture through three complementary lenses – livelihoods, health and poli- cies/institutions. From these scholarly studies, stronger typologies and analytical tools are emerging. The country case studies reveal the rich diversity of food and non-food agricultural systems that have emerged in different urban settings, and underline powerfully the importance of understanding agro-ecological, political, institutional and historical context before designing interventions. The case stud- ies also reveal the complex and dynamic two-way demographic and economic interactions between rural and urban areas. And contrary to much conventional thinking, the case studies show that urban agriculture is not simply a coping strategy for the poor, but is often a highly lucrative economic strategy pursued by the rich as well. Illuminated by insightful political economy analyses, power relations are exposed as critical factors in defining urban vii viii Foreword land tenure and land-use systems, water rights, the structure and operation of food markets, and the design and enforcement of health and food safety measures. The complex and multi-level nature of power relations challenge simplistic sil- ver bullet approaches to rationalizing urban and peri-urban systems, and to making them more efficient, equitable and safe. Careful, deliberate and inclusive political processes are key processes that include a wide range of actors and that are driven by hard evidence. In-depth case studies of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency plat- forms in Kampala and Nairobi presented in the final chapters point to ways forward, demonstrating how action research can contribute to policy reform by providing the right evidence, to the right audience and at the right time, and by catalyzing and framing negotiations between key stakeholders. Urban Harvest, a system-wide initiative of the Consultative Group on Agricultural Research, must be congratulated for producing this marvelous volume. Similar congratulations are due to the International Development Research Centre, which supported, since 2000, the research process that produced the underlying evi- dence. Indeed, IDRC has been a pioneer in the field, having funded some of the earliest work in the 1980s that helped define the scope, scale and importance of urban agricultural systems globally. Since that time, IDRC helped create linkages with and between many regional and international organizations – including Urban Harvest, the RUAF Foundation, The Urban Agriculture Network (TUAN), UN- Habitat, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a host of local research and development organizations. The synergies created through these multi- dimensional partnerships created benefits that were out of reach for each working in isolation. The lessons of the IDRC experience for development programming more broadly are clear – persistence, continuity, and adaptation based on hard evidence can achieve transformational changes in thinking and approach. Rather than chasing fads, IDRC stayed with a problem for more than two decades, created and nurtured partnerships, and built local capacity that has now taken the lead. It is hoped that going forward the CGIAR has the same wisdom to retain a meaningful focus on urban agriculture and to build on the partnerships fostered by Urban Harvest. It is fitting in many ways that this book is dedicated to Jac Smit, himself a pio- neer and passionate advocate of urban agriculture. Often referred to as the “father of urban agriculture”, starting in the 1960s Jac worked in more than 30 countries helping planners to understand and support urban agriculture in ways that directly improved lives and livelihoods of urban populations. Jac founded TUAN, and as the lead author of the classic reference book, Urban Agriculture: Food, Jobs and Sustainable Cities, published in 1996 by UNDP, Jac helped construct the intellec- tual framework within which urban agriculture is now perceived. A great teacher, Jac not only informed but inspired those of us privileged enough to have worked with him. Jac Smit died in November 2009. He would have loved this book, a book that in many ways reaffirms his vibrant legacy. Adjunct Professor Peter J. Matlon Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA Acknowledgments An enormous number of people and institutions worldwide were involved in the production of this book, contributing to both the research and the ensuing produc- tion of the final manuscript. It is the work of Urban Harvest’s Global Coordinator, Gordon Prain, Africa Regional Coordinator 2005 to present, Nancy Karanja, and Africa Regional Coordinator 2002–2005, Diana Lee-Smith. The period dealt with is mostly 2002–2006 but the text also refers to many research-related events that took place more recently. Thanks are due to all the many institutions and individ- uals whose collective effort went into the research-to-policy stakeholder meetings and processes that took place before, during and after the research itself and are described in Chapter 15. Most are not mentioned here but their contributions to the book’s message are significant. The Urban Harvest program is convened by the International Potato Center (CIP), one of the fifteen international agricultural research centres supported by the CGIAR – the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. The CGIAR is a global partnership of governments, multilateral organizations and pri- vate foundations that works to promote food security, poverty eradication and the sound management of natural resources in the developing world. We would like to acknowledge the vision and initiative of Dr. Wanda Collins, former Deputy Director General for Research at CIP, who led the development of the original proposal to the CGIAR on urban and peri-urban agriculture. We also gratefully acknowledge CIP’s logistical and financial support, in particular to the lead editor, which made the publication of the book possible. The support of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, is also recognized, with special thanks to Donald Cole. Without a grant from the Ford Foundation (East and Southern Africa Office) most of the detailed editorial work could not have been done.