Perspectives of Urban Agriculture in Maputo and Cape Town

With its multiple dimensions and functions, urban agriculture has the potential to contribute to a sustainable urban development process, depending on how it is executed and who is included. In this study, we promoted multi-stakeholder dialogue about the outlook of urban agriculture in Maputo and Cape Town in form of interviews, meetings, field visits, farmers’ meetings and scenario-building workshops. The goal was to create a common vision with the different actors – farmers and gardeners, non-governmental organizations, social movements, enterprises, scientists and policy makers – and to develop strategic measures for positive change that served as the basis for formulating recommendations. In Maputo, thousands of small-holder farmers are well-organized and there are many actors who have the will to promote agriculture within the city. However, the political institutions that deal with urban agriculture lack commitment to address urban agricultural issues. Therefore, we propose a set of strategies that range from the creation of multidisciplinary working groups to the mapping of available arable land in the city. On the other hand, although the level of political institutionalization is much higher in Cape Town – a city with a big variety of different urban gardens and fields, we found that the focus of most stakeholders on resilient urban food systems is not well approached. The recommendations build on a range of strategies from the conduction of workshops about logistics for small-holder farmers to the creation of awareness on ecological issues, fair food production and conscious consumption. Problem statement and study objectives A growing human population and rapid urbanization make sustainable planning of urban areas one of the most challenging issues of the 21st century. Cities must meet many different needs of citizens, including housing, infrastructure, income generation, health, social justice and the enormous demand on the urban food system. We assume that urban agriculture can play a role as part of a sustainable development towards resilient cities and urban food systems. Short transportation routes that bring food to the consumer, income generation for the producer, an increase of biodiversity and air quality due to more green spaces in the city and the possibility for citizens to get involved in community projects in their neighborhoods are only some of the examples of possible positive impacts of urban agriculture on its environment. However, urban planners and political decixviii Executive summary sion makers are often not prepared to integrate urban agriculture into cities’ plans for the future. Because land in and around cities is limited and manifold alternative uses are possible, urban agriculture is often threatened by competition for land and has to take place under semi-legal and precarious conditions. The potential lies in overcoming those constraints by mediating these different interests. Hence, we created a participatory stakeholder dialogue with the goal of creating a common vision among the key actors and analyzed the necessary conditions for the sustainable future of urban agriculture in Maputo and Cape Town. We always tried to build upon pre-existing research, institutional structures and processes. We gathered key actors, from farmers to policy makers, to discuss the future role of urban agriculture within and beyond the urban food system. Conceptual framework and local context Urban agriculture is an umbrella term for different types of agriculture and horticulture within (intra-urban) or on the fringe (peri-urban) of a city which grows or raises, processes, and distributes a diversity of food and non-food products. It (re-)uses largely human resources and products to provide services for the local environment with multifunctional ecological, socio-cultural, sanitary and economic impacts (Halder, 2018, p. 113; Mougeot 2000). Studies estimate that over 800 million people practice urban agriculture worldwide (Hoornweg & Munro-Faure, 2008, p. 22). Due to disparities of the local context in Cape Town and Maputo and their urban agriculture practices, the particularities of each city are described below, as the project strongly focuses on the specific needs of local actors and considered existing local structures. Urban agriculture plays an important role in the city of Maputo, especially regarding the economic dimension. The agricultural sector employs about 66,200 people directly and is responsible for 8 percent of the city’s gross income. Moreover, urban agriculture in Maputo provides food for 22% of households (White & Hamm, 2017). Farmers in Maputo are small-holders peasant. They produce mainly fast growing vegetables like lettuce and kale, which are usually purchased directly by intermediaries in or near the fields and sold on local markets, leaving small profit margin for the farmers. One particularity of the capital city are the zonas verdes, extensive green belts in the urban and peri-urban area. Most producers are affiliated with associations and cooperatives. Some of the challenges they face are inappropriate and extensive use of agro-chemicals and salinization of soil. With respect to the political framework, there is little governmental protection for Executive summary xix land used for agricultural purposes and no differentiation between rural and urban agricultural activities. Cape Town has a diverse urban agriculture scene that includes different farmers, gardeners, NGOs, social movements, private enterprises, governmental actors, research institutions and other stakeholders. Likewise, the types of farming practiced is also diverse. In the Cape Flats, the predominant forms of agricultural practice are home and community gardens. Approximately 4,000 home gardens (with a size of Ø 6-12 m) and approximately 100 community gardens (with a size of Ø 600 m) produce a variety of horticultural products which are either consumed by the producers themselves or, to a small degree, marketed with the support of NGOs in the form of vegetable boxes sold to households, as well as to “lifestyle markets” and trendy restaurants in the city center. In the Philippi Horticulture Area and in the peri-urban areas, bigger commercial farms prevail. The urban farmland of the Philippi Horticulture Area produces 100,000 tons of fresh produce annually on 3,000 hectares. Urban agriculture in Cape Town plays an important multifunctional role, ranging from providing food to building communities creating spaces for environmental education. But the challenges urban farmers face, threaten the continuity and sustainability of this practices. For instance, little legal protection or land rights for the agricultural land in the city, the urban food insecurity in general, the situation of climate change, water scarcity and restrictions, as well as a lack of training and experience. Research framework and methodology Our project is part of the interdisciplinary research project Urban Agriculture for Food Security and Income Generation in South Africa and Mozambique (UFISAMO), implemented by a consortium of German, Mozambican, and South African universities, state departments and civil society organizations. The main goals of the UFISAMO project are to contribute to improved food and nutrition security of the poor urban population and to increase income generation by optimizing production, processing and marketing of agricultural and livestock products. This is done through the different working packages (WP) such as value chains analysis (WP1), risks and benefits of crop production and livestock production (WP2), a research and education network (WP3), as well as the transfer of research results into practice and policies (WP4). Our work lies between the WP3 and WP4, thus one of the main objectives of this study was to strengthen the dialogue between different key actors in Maputo and Cape Town (i.e. producers, NGOs, research organizations, government and policy agencies, and the private sector) to foster cooperation between these xx Executive summary stakeholders and create a common understanding of different aims and interests, as well as a joint vision for urban agriculture. Another essential objective of this study was developing recommendations for strategic interventions that support integrating urban agriculture into a sustainable development process for the cities of Cape Town and Maputo. The most important basis for the specific recommendations made was the input of participants in the participatory workshops we organized, one farmers’ meeting and one scenario building workshop in each city. This was complemented by literature review, the analysis of the political framework, interests of the different key actors, good practices from other cities and expert interviews. This combination allowed us to give suitable recommendations tailored to the local context, while also leveraging existing local structures and knowledge. Results and recommendations The potential of Maputo’s urban agriculture lies in the existence of extensive green zones dedicated to agriculture in the city and the organizational structure of farmers in associations. Indeed, this potential can be leveraged through strategic measures, ranging from the creation of transversal working groups to deal with the multi-dimensional aspects of urban agriculture to concrete technical solutions like the mapping of available arable land in the city. According to the workshop participants, the following challenges and recommendations are those considered the most important to resolve and initiate: Financial services Small-holder farmers lack access to credit, partly due to insufficient offers of services and products suitable for their needs (e.g. high interest and monthly payments, despite the seasonal nature of agriculture). This is also due to farmers’ inability to meet the requirements of finance institutions. Hence, the main recommendation