Cultivating Kaunda's plan for self-sufficiency: Is urban agriculture finally beginning to receive support in Zambia?

Abstract

Urban agriculture has become one of the key survival strategies for the urban poor in the developing world. Yet most cities do not have policy to support it and many actively discourage it. This paper reviews the situation in Zambia's four largest cities. During the 1960s–1970s, the Kaunda government attempted to create a supportive policy environment for urban agriculture, which included support for peri-urban cooperatives. However, the current situation reveals that a near absence of institutional support for urban agriculture constrains farmers' activities. The authors' survey of 400 farmers established both the value of such agriculture as a survival strategy and the need for support measures. The paper concludes with an overview of institutions that need to be implemented to enhance the relevance and scope of urban agriculture in Zambia and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.