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Africa's Quest for Food Security: What Is the Role of Urban Agriculture

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"The history of urban agriculture in Africa dates to the colonial era when farming flourished in urban areas, largely to meet consumption needs of bureaucrats, settlers, and other elites. Today, urban agriculture is becoming increasingly significant as a source of household food, a trend that is closely linked to declining incomes of vulnerable urban households in the wake of neoliberal economic restructuring, high rates of urbanization, and the need to serve an emerging niche market in African cities. Urban agriculture is generally viewed as a potentially viable policy response to the complex challenge of feeding a burgeoning mass of urban residents amidst decline in food production in rural
areas. Also, recent concern regarding climate change and the need to reduce the environmental footprint that comes from transporting food over long distances has given impetus to the need for urban agriculture. The aforementioned notwithstanding, the balance of evidence from existing literature on urban agriculture indicates that the practice faces varying degrees of opposition from urban authorities and policy-makers, who generally underestimate its actual value and contribution to urban poverty and food insecurity."

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: African Capacity Building Foundation.,
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Language
English
ISSN
978-1-77937-037-2
Subject(s)
Agriculture
African Capacity Building Foundation
knowledge
Learning
Food
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Article
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