FACULTY OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Being a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in History and International Studies Women and urban agriculture from 1980-2017. A Case study of Gweru urban. By OLGA KAHONDE [R142747V] SUPERVISOR DR I. MAZAMBANI NOV 2017, ZVISHAVANE 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents APPROVAL FORM .................................................................................................................. 1 RELEASE FORM ...................................................................................................................... 2 DECLARATION ....................................................................................................................... 3 DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... 5 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................. 7 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 9 Aims and Objectives ............................................................................................................ 12 Literature review .................................................................................................................. 12 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 16 End Notes ............................................................................................................................. 20 CHAPTER 1: URBAN AGRICULTURE IN ZIMBABWE ................................................... 22 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 22 1.1Overview of urban agriculture in Zimbabwe .................................................................. 22 1.2 Historical background of urban agriculture in Zimbabwe ............................................. 24 1.3 Scholarship and promotion of urban agriculture ........................................................... 26 1.3.1 International organisations and urban agriculture ....................................................... 28 1.3.2 NGOs and urban agriculture ....................................................................................... 30 1.4 Scholarship and condemnation of urban agriculture ..................................................... 31 1.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 32 End Notes ............................................................................................................................. 34 CHAPTER 2: WOMEN AND URBAN AGRICULTURE IN GWERU ................................ 37 2.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 37 2.1 Overview of the city of Gweru ...................................................................................... 37 2.2 Reasons why women engage in urban agriculture ......................................................... 38 2.2.1 Drought and urban agriculture .................................................................................... 38 i 2.2.2 ESAP and urban agriculture........................................................................................ 39 2.2.3 Effects of the Land reform and urban agriculture. ...................................................... 40 2.2.4 Poverty and urban agriculture ..................................................................................... 40 2.2.5 Urbanization and urban agriculture ........................................................................... 41 2.2.6 Religion and urban agriculture................................................................................... 42 2.2.7 Culture and urban agriculture ..................................................................................... 42 2.2.8 Illiteracy and urban agriculture .................................................................................. 43 2.2.9 Gender and urban agriculture...................................................................................... 44 2.2.10 Income enhancement and urban agriculture ............................................................. 44 2.3 Forms of urban agriculture............................................................................................. 45 2.3.1 Crop production .......................................................................................................... 45 2.3.2 Livestock production .................................................................................................. 47 2.4 Benefits of urban agriculture ......................................................................................... 48 2.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 49 End Notes ............................................................................................................................. 51 CHAPTER 3: PROBLEMS FACED BY WOMEN IN URBAN AGRICULTURE IN GWERU ................................................................................................................................... 55 3.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 55 3.1 Lack of land ................................................................................................................... 55 3.2 Shortage of labour .......................................................................................................... 58 3.1 Unfavourable working conditions.................................................................................. 59 3.4 Unreliable rainfall and bad weather ............................................................................... 59 3.5 Lack of farm inputs ........................................................................................................ 60 3.6 Lack of agricultural extension services.......................................................................... 61 3.7 Lack of land tenure ........................................................................................................ 62 3.8 Vandalism and theft of agricultural produce ................................................................. 63 3.9 Political interference and urban agriculture ................................................................... 64 3.10 Uncontrolled pests and diseases................................................................................... 65 3.11 Lack of availability of farming land in Gweru ............................................................ 65 ii 3.12 Lack of water for irrigation .......................................................................................... 66 3.13 Lack of storage facilities and unavailability of markets .............................................. 66 3.2 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 67 End Notes ............................................................................................................................. 68 CHAPTER 4: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERVENTION STRATEGIES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED TO PROMOTE URBAN AGRICULTURE ................................... 70 4.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 70 4.1 The international community and urban agriculture ...................................................... 71 4.2 Government initiatives in promoting urban agriculture................................................. 72 4.2.1 The Nyanga Declaration of 2002 and Urban Agriculture ........................................... 72 4.2.2 Harare Declaration of Urban and Peri- Urban agriculture of 2003 ............................ 73 4.2.3 Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation and urban agriculture ............................................................................................................................ 75 4.3 Urban agriculture and the Gweru City Council ............................................................. 77 4.3.1 Offering access to land ................................................................................................ 77 4.4 Non- governmental organizations and Urban Agriculture in Gweru ............................. 79 4.4.1 Urban agriculture and agricultural extension services ................................................ 79 4.4.2 Urban Agriculture and community gardens ................................................................ 80 4.4.3 Urban Agriculture and Availability of water .............................................................. 81 4.5 The business community and urban agriculture ............................................................ 81 4.6 Gweru residents