The contribution of urban agriculture in boosting food security and income generation

Thèse de Bachelor , 2018 , 66 Pages , Note: 5.0

Sciences de la Terre / Géographie - Géographie physique, Géomorphologie, Ecologie

This study highlights the extent to which urban agriculture (UA) enhances food security and income generation in Ward 21 of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe against the challenges faced by the local residents where very little researches have been conducted and the data is still scarce. The expectation of this research is to benefit every stakeholder concerned about reducing food insecurity through the implementation of various urban agricultural activities. This is due to the fact that the study sought to give detailed information about the several agricultural activities in urban areas and how they help in improving the food security status and income generation to urban dwellers. Therefore all the stakeholders initiating programs mainly to reduce vulnerability of urban residence for instance NGO’s require the information in determining the types of projects to execute in those areas.

UA has increasingly become a popular practice and is widely perceived to be the panacea to urban livelihood challenges. Urban households have been affected by high costs of basic food staffs and high levels of unemployment in Zimbabwe. The closure of industries and the economic meltdown from year 2000 to date has left many people jobless and with less disposable incomes in most parts of Zimbabwe. The residents of Ward 21 in Bulawayo have not been spared from these challenges of unemployment and food insecurity. According to World Bank (2015), most of the workers in Zimbabwe have salaries which fall below the poverty datum line and this has severe impacts to the workers in achieving food security.

Poverty has impoverished most households in ward 21 which has left some households only having one meal a days. More so, the situation is further exacerbated by the retrenchment of workers by major companies in Bulawayo such as, Delta Beverages, Monarch and NRZ. These challenges have been further aggravated by the massive exodus of people from rural areas into urban areas .Hence given the above, achieving food security has become a problematic issue for the people residing in Ward 21.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of figures
List of tables
List of plates

ACRONYMS
1.1 Background of the study
1.2 Statement of the problem
1.3 Objectives of the study
1.3.1 General objective
1.3.2 Specific objectives
1.4 Justification
1.5 Study area

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Food Security
2.2 Overview of Food Security in Zimbabwe
2.4 Overview of Urban Agriculture
2.6 How UA influence household food security using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS)
2.6.1 Methods of measuring household food security
2.6.2 Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS)
2.7 Legislation governing the practice of UA in Zimbabwe
2.7.1 The Urban Councils Act, Chapter 29:15
2.7.2 Regional Town and Country Planning Act, Chapter 29:12
2.7.3 Environmental Management, Act Chapter 20:27
2.7.4 The Forest Act Chapter, 19:05
2.8 Challenges faced in UA
2.9 Knowledge gap

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1. Introduction
3.2 Research Design
3.3 Target Population
3.4 Sample Size Determination
3.5 Methods of Data Collection
3.5.1 Questionnaires
3.5.2 Interviews
3.5.3 Field Observations
3.5.4 Secondary Data
3.7 Data analysis and presentation
3.6 Ethical considerations

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the households
4.2.1 Response rate
4.2.2Gener of respondents
4.2.3 Age of respondents
4.2.4 Marital status and household heads
4.2.5 Household size
4.2.6 Occupation status
4.3 Determining the contribution of UA to household food security and income (specific objective 1)
4.3.1 Respondents engaging in urban agriculture
4.3.2 Types of crops grown
4.3.3 Average yield per crop
4.3.4 Livestock kept and their estimated yields
4.3.7: Quantity of food consumed
4.4 Examining Challenges faced by urban farmers (specific objective 2)
4.5 Influence of urban agriculture on household food security as determined by the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) 4.5.1. Households’ anxiety and uncertainty about food supply
4.5.2 Households consuming poor quality food
4.5.3 Households with insufficient quantities of food
4.5.4 Household Food Insecurity Access Score (HFIAS) and household food insecurity Prevalence (Coates et al 2006)

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
5.2 Recommendations

Reference list

Appendices
Appendix 1: Questionnaire for local residents
Appendix 2: Interview guideline directed to the HOD of BCC community service department
Appendix 3: Interview guideline directed to the Bulawayo Urban ARITEX officer
Appendix 4: Interview guideline directed to the Ward councillor
Appendix 5: Observation checklist

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to all the Mutshakambi family members for their guidance and words of encouragement without your support this work would have been impossible.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Almighty God for in him all things were made possible. More so l would like to extend my gratitude to my supervisor Dr L Chikukura for his unwavering support, guidance, patience and professional advice he offered during my study. Special thanks to the residents of Ward 21 for their patience and assistance during my research. I would also want to thank my parents, family and dearest friends for their moral support during the work of my research.

ABSTRACT

This study examined the contribution of urban agriculture on household food security and income generation in Ward 21 of Bulawayo. The researcher adopted a case study research design using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Questionnaires were randomly distributed to 378 households in Ward 21, key informant interviews were carried out with AGRITEX Extension Officer, Ward 21 Councillor and Head of Department of the Community Service Department at the Bulawayo City Council. More data was also gathered from relevant secondary data sources as well as from field observations. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse data and specifically using the Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient. The results indicated that 92% of the surveyed households were engaged in agricultural activities with vegetables and maize being the main crops grown though a variety of crops were grown. Broilers, layers and rabbits were the livestock kept in the ward. Crops grown and livestock kept were used for both household consumption and for selling to generate income. The average household food insecurity score was 3.7 and 71% of the surveyed households were mildly food insecure and 11% of the surveyed households were food secure. The research also noted some problems constraining urban farmers such shortage of land and recommendations were drafted so as to improve urban agriculture and enhance food security. Overally, the research concluded that urban agriculture greatly contribute to household food security and income generation.

List of figures

Fig 1.1 Study area map

Fig 2.1 Areas vulnerable to food insecurities

Fig 4.1 Respondents engaged in UA

Fig 4.2 Crops grown

Fig 4.3 Reason for engaging in UA

Fig 4.4 Quantity of food produced from UA

Fig 4.5 Food insecurity status

List of tables

Table 3.1 Key informants

Table 4.1 Demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the respondents

Table 4.2 Average crop yield

Table 4.3 Livestock kept

Table 4.4 Average livestock yield per 3 months

Table 4.5 Income generated from urban agriculture

Table 4.6 Challenges faced by urban farmers

Table 4.7 Households’ anxiety and uncertainty about food supply

Table 4.8 Household consuming poor quality food

Table 4.9 Household with insufficient quantities of food

List of plates

Plate 4.1: Vegetables drying up. Source: Field observation

ACRONYMS

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Urban agriculture (UA) encompasses the growing of plants and raising of animals for various purposes within or close to urban areas Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2007: Van Veenhuizen, 2006). According to reports by FAO (2017) it is estimated that in 2016 around 815 million people were undernourished globally and around 233 million people were said to be in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Food insecurity in SSA has been regularly linked to poverty0and an estimation of around 47% in 2016 of the region’s total population were living below the poverty datum line of $1.90 a day (UN, 2017). World Food Program (WFP, 2013) indicated that more than 26 million people were being fed by food aid agencies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

In 2017 it was estimated that more that 1 million people in Zimbabwe faced severe food shortages as a result of liquidity challenges, climate change limited employment opportunities and economic instability as revealed by (WFP, 2018). Researchers conducted by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAS 2015) indicated that nearly 34, 5% of urban workers have incomes that fall below the poverty datum line and those formally employed spent the majority of their income on food. The city of Bulawayo did not escape from such national problems of high unemployment rates and liquidity challenges which then contributed to food insecurities amongst its residence. UA has been a major cooping strategy in improving food security in major towns and cities globally (Chaminuka and Dube, 2017). Das and Das (2017) assert that the lack of employment industry has contributed to the exploitation of natural resources by many people as they tried to improve their livelihoods. This move has resulted in the growth of the traditional form of urban agriculture, which took a different approach as urban dwellers diversified into other avenues, encompassing growing of different crop varieties and breeding of animals.

UA was started in South East Asia and Europe back in the 18th century and it was in the form of community and household gardens which were meant mainly to supply cities with fresh and nutrient rich foods around the world (Lawson, 2004). UA is very crucial in sustaining livelihoods as it create employment opportunities of around 2 million people globally as indicated by (FAO, 2012). The practice of UA was very essential in times of crisis like wars and recession as it was the main source of food to the people residing in cities (Armstrong, 2000). Urban farming was very fundamental during the First World War in ensuring food security across Europe and even in some Asian and American countries.

Generally UA in SSA is practiced by people from different socio-economic classes and is done for various reasons that included addressing problems related to food supplies and employment opportunities (Nugent, 2010). It is estimated that around 300 000 households in the city of Nairobi in Kenya are heavily reliant on agricultural activities for food and income (Tefere, 2010). Prain (2011) further states that more than 50% of the vegetables consumed in the region of SSA are grown in city farms and gardens thereby highlighting the importance of UA in the region. Reports by FAO (2017) indicated that UA is helping more than 55% of people living in urban areas in the region of SSA as the majority of countries in the region have poor economies with high unemployment rates.

Mashoko (2010) indicated that many people in Zimbabwe practice urban agriculture to enhance food security and incomes. Therefore as a surviving strategy most of the urban dwellers especially the urban poor have resorted to urban agriculture so that they could meet their household food requirements.

The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) drafted a policy document in the year 2000 with the aim of promoting UA in an effort to improve the food security status of the vulnerable people within the urban communities. Residents in the various suburbs OF Bulawayo are permitted to cultivate crops within their yards but as for animal husbandry there are certain number required per yard depending on the sizes of the yards. For poultry projects each household is only permitted to keep a maximum of 20 birds in ward 21 although the number of birds can be increased through an application to the local authority.

Various stakeholders have been offering support to the urban farmers through provision of inputs as well as provision of basic training so as to improve productivity and this was the case to the residents who have allotments in the Sizinda communal garden. On August 4 2017, the Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust (ZDDT), officially launched the commercialisation component of the Sizinda Community Garden in Bulawayo. This was a development mainly targeting at increasing income for the beneficiaries through selling of the produce from the garden. During the rain season crops such as maize are grown on all open spaces around ward 21 whilst for vegetables almost each and every household have a small garden on the backyard.

Despite the fact that UA has existed for a long time in Zimbabwe, its practices has been surrounded with much controversy. There have been several clashes between City Council officials and farmers and at times their crops were burnt or slashed by the Local authorities. This have however posed a very big food security threat to most of the urban dwellers especially the low and middle income earners. Various researches have been conducted in Zimbabwe about urban agriculture but most of them were of a qualitative nature. This study therefore seeks to assess the contribution of urban agriculture in boosting food security and income generation through the provision of quantitative data.

1.2 Statement of the problem

UA has increasingly become a popular practice and is widely perceived to be the panacea to urban livelihood challenges. Urban households have been affected by high costs of basic food staffs and high levels of unemployment in Zimbabwe. The closure of industries and the economic meltdown from year 2000 to date has left many people jobless and with less disposable incomes in most parts of Zimbabwe. The residents of Ward 21 in Bulawayo have not been spared from these challenges of unemployment and food insecurity. According to World Bank (2015), most of the workers in Zimbabwe have salaries which fall below the poverty datum line and this has severe impacts to the workers in achieving food security. Poverty has impoverished most households in ward 21 which has left some households only having one meal a days. More so, the situation is further exacerbated by the retrenchment of workers by major companies in Bulawayo such as, Delta Beverages, Monarch and NRZ. These challenges have been further aggravated by the massive exodus of people from rural areas into urban areas .Hence given the above, achieving food security has become a problematic issue for the people residing in Ward 21.This research therefore sought to assess the extent to which urban agriculture improves food security and income generation in Ward 21 as well as the challenges encountered by urban farmers in order to propose strategies for improved urban agriculture.

1.3 Objectives of the study

1.3.1 General objective

To assess the role played by urban agriculture in household food security and income generation.

1.3.2 Specific objectives

a) To determine the contribution of UA to household food security and income.
b) To examine the challenges faced by urban farmers in boosting food security.
c) To assess how UA influence household food security using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS).

1.4 Justification

This study highlights the extent to which UA enhances food security and income generation in Ward 21 of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe against the challenges faced by the local residents where very little researches have been conducted and the data is still scarce. The expectation of this research is to benefit every stakeholder concerned about reducing food insecurity through the implementation of various urban agricultural activities. This is due to the fact that the study sought to give detailed information about the several agricultural activities in urban areas and how they help in improving the food security status and income generation to urban dwellers. Therefore all the stakeholders initiating programs mainly to reduce vulnerability of urban residence for instance NGO’s require the information in determining the types of projects to execute in those areas.

The research will be of paramount importance to the Zimbabwean government as it will highlight the importance of urban agriculture in sustaining livelihoods of the urban dwellers, therefore legal frameworks can then be developed basing on the facts of the study. This will help in attaining the National Agenda of reducing poverty as one of the main issue on the Millennium Development Goals. Also the research will contribute to achieve to the attaining of the Sustainable Development Goals by the Zimbabwean Government especially ending poverty in all its forms everywhere and to achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

The Bulawayo municipality `and other local authorities in Zimbabwe will also make reference to the study on how best they can sustain UA with continuous increase of the urban population. With the current economic status of the county which is in shambles, people have turned to various activities amongst them is urban agriculture. Therefore local authorities can further improve their services towards agricultural activities for example provision of more land for crop cultivation as well as initiating other programs that improves animal husbandry in cities. This study is very instrumental to the various town councils in land use allocation where some land is also to be set aside for urban agriculture.

1.5 Study area

The research was conducted in Ward 21 of Bulawayo which consists of three suburbs namely Sizinda, Tshabalala and Tshabalala extension. The ward is found along latitude 20°10’ and longitude 28°32', at an altitude of 1400m above sea level (Nygren et al. 2016). The area is located on the southern party of the city of Bulawayo and the majority of people in the area are low income earners. The mean annual rainfall of the area is approximately 594 mm which is unevenly distributed though most of it is received between November and February (Chuma et al., 2013). The Maximum and minimum mean annual temperatures for the area are 25.8 °c and 12.7 °c, respectively with a mean annual temperature of around 19.16°c (Chuma et al., 2013). The area is also characterised by the vertisols type of soil which have a high content of clay minerals and usually common in seasonal climates. The total area in the ward is around 3.77 km[2] with the population density at around 7.487/km[2]. The area has an estimated population of about 28 248 and the proportion of male to female population is 47% and 53% respectively (ZimStats, 2012). Figure 1.1 below shows the area in which the study was undertaken by the researcher.

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Fig 1.1 study area map

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Food Security

Food security is defined as a situation whereby all people at times have both physical and economic access to the basic food that they need (FAO, 1993). This definition does not consider whether the type of food consumed have positive impacts on their health as it only focuses on physical and economic access leaving out the social access. House hold food security exist when individuals or families are able to acquire and ensure safe and nutritious foods to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (FAO, 1996). World Food Program (2002) reported that food security is when all people at individual, household, national level and global level all times have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary and food preferences for an active and healthy life. This definition by WFP defined food security at all scales that is household, regional and global but however ignored the social aspect of accessing sufficient food.

FAO (2002) reported that food security is a situation that exist when all people at all times, have physical, social and economic access to safe and nutritious food that meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life at individual, national, regional and levels. Food security is usually centred on the three pillars which consist of availability, accessibility and utilization. Availability is when a households or individuals have sufficient quantities of food of appropriate quality, supplied through domestic production or imports. Utilization of food through adequate diet, clean water, sanitation and health care to reach a state of nutritional well-being where all physiological needs are met is referred to as food utilization. Access is defined as the ability by individuals to have adequate resources for acquiring appropriate foods for a nutritious diets. This research will use the definition by FAO (2002) because it incorporates all the three pillars of food security.

2.2 Overview of Food Security in Zimbabwe

Household food security in Zimbabwe has declined since the year 2000 due to a drastic reduction in agricultural production resulting from erratic rainfall and a decline in the industrial economy (FAO, 2008) It also important to note that issues to do with food security vary from place to place and from time to time. The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZIMVAC, 2013) proclaims that the 2013/2014 year was projected to see 2.2 million people (25% of rural households) food insecure by the peak of the hunger period in March 2014. The WFP (2016) estimated that 4.1 million people in Zimbabwe were said to be food insecure because of the El Nino drought (42% of the rural population) during the period of January to march 2017.The country’s food security situation have been further worsened by issues such as wide spread poverty, HIV/AIDS, limited employment opportunities, recurrent climate induced shock and economic liquidity challenges. Low productivity agricultural practices and lack of access to markets are also affecting food security of the vast majority of rural areas who depend on agriculture. Figure 2 below highlight the areas which are more vulnerable and less vulnerable to food insecurities across the country in the year 2016.

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Fig 2.1: areas vulnerable to food insecurities

2.3 Historical development of Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture was initiated back in the 18th century where it was considered vital towards improving the livelihood of urban households’ worldwide (Bairwa et al., 2014). Countries such as Cuba and Germany effectively used urban agriculture as a key strategy to curb food shortages and income generation during their early stages of development (Murphy, 2004). The rise in basic food stuffs globally in the late 18th and the early 19th centuries resulted in the intensification of urban agriculture mainly by the urban poor so that they will be able to meet their household food entitlements (Moyo, 2013). Rural urban migration in North America and Europe during the industrial revolution also played a big role in the development of urban agriculture (Veenhuizen, 2006). According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2002) the rapid increase of population in urban areas changed the perception that agriculture is only practiced in rural areas. Therefore urban agriculture is not a recent practice but rather it came from a long way with the ultimate goal of improving food security.

In Africa, urban agriculture is understood to have a long history that starts from the establishment of the first colonial cities which was in the early 1900 (Chaminuka and Dube, 2017). The main objective of urban agriculture was to improve food security in the continent throughout the year. However during the early stages of the development of urban agriculture in Africa it was largely confined to the growing of crops particularly vegetables as supported by (Bailkey & Nasr, 2000). In most countries which were under the colonial control such as Kenya, the local people were prohibited to practice agriculture it was mainly done by the white minority but after independence there was a rapid growth in agricultural activities around cities and towns (Mireri, 2007).

In Zimbabwe urban farming commenced back from 1960s during the colonial regime, when Zimbabwe began to develop into towns and cities, Grigg (2005). During that time, the concept of urban agriculture was largely confined to the growing of vegetables for household uses, and then after some time people began to grow rain fed crops such as maize during summer season. In the post-independence period, urban agriculture become more popular mainly due to deterioration of the industrial sector after the 2000 (Moyo, 2013). The majority of the populace living in urban areas in Zimbabwe turned into agriculture for their food since there were job losses and for those who employed their incomes were not sufficient.

2.4 Overview of Urban Agriculture

According to Ruwanza (2007) UA is practised for varied reasons and it is also practised by people of different levels of income The practice of UA recently gained popularity globally because of its role in alleviating poverty and reducing food shortages in urban areas (Chadyiwanembwa, 2012). According to researchers conducted by FAO (2012) estimates that 15-20% of the world’s food is grown in urban areas. At global level, it is estimated that approximately 200 million urban residents provide food for the market and 800 million urban dwellers are actively engaged in urban agriculture in one way or another as revealed by (Salome et al., 2015). In Asian countries the percentages of families engaged in urban agriculture is estimated to be as high as 80 %. Lee (2011) further estimates that in Singapore 10,000 urban farmers produce 80% of poultry and vegetables consumed in the city and in London 14% of urban residents grow vegetables and produce up to 232,000 tonnes of fruits.

In African countries UA is a common practice in almost every city. FAO (2012) states that 35 million of urban residents in the continent are expected to practice urban agriculture by 2020. In Lusaka, Zambia over half of residents practise UA whereas in other regions such as Kampala in Uganda and Yaoundé in Cameroon many urban residents raise livestock such as poultry, dairy cattle and pigs (Tefere, 2010).This is mainly meant to achieve food security. Another factor to drive the rise of UA is the increasing demand for perishable goods, together with the comparative advantages of producing in the proximity of markets and the access to soil fertility improving matter such as organic waste and waste, and access to unoccupied public land.

In Zimbabwe urban off plot agriculture is more pronounced during the rainy season when maize the main crop grown. Mashoko (2010) states that cultivation takes place in almost every vacant place and maize fields become part of the cities‟ landscape. UA is on the increase since many individuals in urban areas are trying to coup up with food shortages and looking for means of survival through the engaging themselves into agricultural activities (Basure and Taru., 2010).

2.5 How UA enhances food security and income generation

UA has gained popularity because it contributes to better livelihoods of urban residence through the provision of food, incomes and jobs. Tefere (2010) indicates that it is the main source of supply of fresh products such as vegetables; fruits and fresh vegetables. Studies have shown that in Mexico City, the production of swine brings 10-40% of household earnings, urban based milk can supply up to 100% of household income and maize production provides 10-30% of income (George, 2013). The number of jobs created by urban agriculture in Cuba is estimated to be at 100,000 and more than half of the vegetables consumed in Havana are grown in city’s farms and gardens (Prain, 2011; Koont, 2011).

In Sub Saharan Africa where food security is a critical issue, UA has greatly enhanced food security to the majority of the city dwellers particularly the urban poor. Cofie (2003) states that UA in Kenya, Nairobi produces 20-30% of food requirements whereas in Harare and Kampala up to 60% of food consumed by low income groups is self-produced. In Tanzania it is estimated that about 28% of urban households get their incomes from agricultural production. Tefere (2010) states that in Kenya, Nairobi almost three hundred thousand households translating to 1, 8 million people depend partly on urban agriculture for food and income. Mashoko (2010) states that in Zimbabwe urban agriculture provides families with up to four months of staple maize.

2.6 How UA influence household food security using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS)

2.6.1 Methods of measuring household food security

There are various ways of assessing household food insecurity and some of the methods are Coping Strategies Index (CSI), Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) and the Household Food Insecurity Access scale (HFIAS). The CSI was developed to capture the vulnerability, resilience and sustainability behaviours of the food insecure household. The questions are based on food status of the previous four days. This method believe that the food insecure household adjust their behaviour in the face or perceived lack of food to ensure food security now and in the perceivable future, based on their best judgment of the situation (Maxwell et al., 2003). However this method only measure relative of food insecurity and not absolute measure that can provide an indication of the food gaps.

The DDS was developed by Food Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) to focus on nutritional aspect of food security. The information derived from DDS can be used to measuring nutritional state of the food as diversity of food has been found to collate well with nutritional status (FAO, 2010). However this method has its own weaknesses such as household level consumption patterns and changes have to be recorded, which can be time consuming (yet, less complicated than food consumption /expenditure surveys). DDS approach does not shed light on causes such as incomes, prices, own production of a consumption deterioration information on casual factors is necessary to determine on the robustness of the conclusions from focused group based. Therefore, in relation to the weaknesses of other methods, the researcher chose the HFIAS to assess the contribution of UA to household food security.

2.6.2 Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS)

HFIAS is a brief survey instrument developed by Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA), to assess whether or not households have experienced problems with accessing food during the past 30 days (Noble, 2011). FANTA (2004) explained that the HFIAS is the most developed tool for measuring household food insecurity. It consists of a set of nine generic questions (Coates et al., 2006). Question 1 addresses anxiety and uncertainty of household food supply, Q2–Q4 addresses food quality (variety and preference) and Q5–Q9 addresses insufficient food intake and its physical consequences. Q2–Q4 and Q5–Q9 are organised in order of increasing severity of the food insecurity condition (Coates et al., 2006). Based on the response to the nine questions and frequency of occurrence over the past 30 days, households are assigned a score that ranges from 0 to 27 (FAO, 2008). HFIAS is useful baseline surveys as an early warning for assessing trends in food consumption related to food access, in measuring the impact of policies and interventions and for innovative uses such as community self-monitoring food security projects (FANTA, 2007). In India HFIAS was used to assess food insecurity level and 72.7 were found food insecure and the South African National Department of Agriculture used the HFIAS to evaluate food security in Sekhukhune, Limpopo and found that 58, 4% were food insecure (Shisanya and Hendricks 2011). More so Shisanya and Hendricks (2011) used the HFIAS in assessing the contribution of community gardens on household food security and 47 out of 53 households were found food insecure. HFIAS has been used in many countries such as America, India, Iran, Tanzania and South Africa and it has proven to be the best method in assessing household food insecurity. Therefore for the purpose of this research the researcher will use the HFIAS to assess the contribution of UA on household food security.

2.7 Legislation governing the practice of UA in Zimbabwe

Despite the fact that urban agriculture has become a common practice in Zimbabwe, its legal framework has remained a controversial issue. Indeed there are many statutes impacting on UA in Zimbabwe, affecting the practice at the national and municipal some of the legislation governing UA are discussed below.

2.7.1 The Urban Councils Act, Chapter 29:15

This piece of legislation deals with urban settlements and is also important to issues related to the practice of urban farming. This legislation govern how settlements are designated or classified as an urban area (Government of Zimbabwe, 2002). However, it is not specific about the manner in which agricultural activities should be carried out in urban areas. As such, this is the main reason against which farming was viewed as an activity not in line with urban life. The question of urban agriculture is therefore, mainly dealt with through regulations and by laws crafted under the Act.

2.7.2 Regional Town and Country Planning Act, Chapter 29:12

This authorize the local planning authority, following available procedures to determine the nature of activity to be carried out on any piece of land under its jurisdiction (Government of, Zimbabwe 1998). This can be done either through issuing of development permits or through master plans.

2.7.3 Environmental Management, Act Chapter 20:27

The legislation sets environmental principles, standards and practices that might arise from UA. Literature further revealed that this Act emphasizes the sustainable management of the environment and deals with standards of environmental quality (Government of Zimbabwe, 2002b). As such, the Act regulates to ensure that there is sustainable development.

2.7.4 The Forest Act Chapter, 19:05

The Act was promulgated amongst other things, to control, administer and manage state forests, to provide for the setting aside of state forests, trees and forest produce, to provide for the conservation of timber and to control the burning of vegetation (Government of Zimbabwe, 2002; Mudekwe, 2007). As far as urban agriculture is concerned, this Act is important as it relates to the protection of private forests and management of private land in urban areas. This means that the Act can regulate urban farmers’ conduct to avoid unnecessary cutting down of trees.

2.8 Challenges faced in UA

Although UA has the potential to alleviate poverty, it however faces a lot of challenges. One of the constraints to urban agriculture is the land tenure insecurity for off plot agriculture. Urban farmers do not own the land they cultivate on thus they risk losing it for other purposes. Land in urban areas is owned by city council authorities and there are by laws that restrict free use of land. Moyo (2013) states that due to land tenure insecurity, farmers do not invest on farms hence there is low production. Off plot urban agriculture is also considered illegal in most countries and by-laws have been put in place to restrict its practice. In Zimbabwe off plot agriculture is considered illegal and council authorities have used legislation such as the protection of lands and natural resources to slash maize before harvest (Basure and Taru, 2010). According to Tefere (2010) the illegal status of urban agriculture makes it difficult for urban farmers to access support services such as extension officers and credit facilities. Another problem affecting urban agriculture farmers is shortage of land. There is competition for land as more households practice urban agriculture to enhance food security. This leads to farmers cultivating on small pieces of land and as a result they get low yields (Moyo, 2013). Off plot is also affected by theft as produce is stolen before harvest. Urban farmers also face challenges of lack of inputs hence they use basic subsistence tools such as hoes, shovels, spades, forks and harrows which leads to low agricultural production (Moyo, 2013).

2.9 Knowledge gap

Despite all the benefits of UA as reviewed in the literature very little empirical evidence of the contribution of UA to household food security and income generation is available. There are so many researches conducted in Zimbabwe concerning UA but however very little have been done regarding household food security and income generation in relation to UA. Furthermore quantitative data in relation to UA is also very scarce. Literature available includes the contribution of UA on health of communal households. The researches that have been done in Zimbabwe also include a significant relationship between UA and household nutrition. However this research aims at assessing the contribution of UA to household food security using the HFIAS and to fill up gaps that were not addressed by other scholars. This study will also help with the provision of quantitative data in relation to the practice of UA.

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. Introduction

This section outlines the research methodologies used to collect and analyze the data collected in relation to the contribution of UA in household food security and income generation in ward 21 of Bulawayo. The discussion comprises of research design; methods of collecting data, sample selection and how the data was analyzed.

3.2 Research Design

A research design describe the format and theoretical structure employed by the researcher in carrying out a certain study (Walker et al., 2014; Mutambara et al., 2010). A case study research design was used in this study. A case study is an in-depth study of a particular research problem and is usually used to narrow down a broad field of research into one easily researchable topic (Durepos and Wiebe, 2010). The case study design allows the researcher to use multiple methodologies in a single research (Yin, 2009).Therefore the researcher used the qualitative and quantitative techniques in data collection and analysis. The qualitative research methodology helped in identifying the types of crops grown and the types of animals kept as wells as their various uses. The methodology also helped in unearthing the challenges being faced by the farmers in their pursuit to boost food security. On the other hand quantitative methodology helped in the capturing data with demographic characteristics such as the occupation and level of education of household head. It was used to answer how urban agriculture contributed to household food security using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale.

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• Université: Midlands State University
• Cours: Geography and Environmental Studies
• Note: 5.0
• Auteur: Charles Mutshakambi (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2018
• Pages: 66
• N° de catalogue: V498772
• ISBN (ebook): 9783346074362
• ISBN (Livre): 9783346074379
• Langue: anglais