Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home Africana Periodical Literature Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Urban Microfarming in Central Southern Africa: A Case Study of Lusaka, Zambia
Author:Drescher, A.W.ISNI
Year:1996
Periodical:African Urban Quarterly (ISSN 0747-6108)
Volume:11
Issue:2-3
Period:May-August
Pages:229-248
Language:English
Notes:biblio. refs., ills., maps
Geographic terms:Zambia
Central Africa
Subjects:urban agriculture
Urbanization and Migration
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
Development and Technology
Agriculture, Agronomy, Forestry
food production
food security
Income generation
Lusaka (Zambia)
Abstract:The term 'urban microfarming' encompasses urban crop production, home gardening, horticulture (both vegetables and fruit), and livestock keeping. In 1992-1993 a survey on urban microfarming, with special emphasis on home gardens, was carried out in Zambia. Components of the research programme were a home garden survey, a wet season cropping survey, a compound survey on agricultural activities, and a market survey. The present article focuses on vegetable production in small urban houseplots in Lusaka and staple food production in the fields. Production of staple foods prevails in the wet season; vegetable production prevails in the dry season. Both activities depend largely on access to resources such as water and land. Access to these is lowest in the high-density, low-income compounds of Lusaka. Within the high and medium-density squatter quarters, vulnerability in terms of food security differs. Dry season cultivation is not practised by the most vulnerable households. The walking distance to sources of water is much further in the high-density areas, making microfarming there more difficult. Garden size decreases with increasing population density. Women are the major actors in urban microfarming but face many obstacles with respect to income generation and access to resources and markets. There is an urgent need for appropriate support for urban agriculture in the future. Bibliogr., sum. in English and French.
Views