Feeding Africa's growing cities into the 21st century: the potential of urban agriculture

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is urbanizing more rapidly than any other part of the world and there is an escalating demand for fresh foodstuffs from the urban population. The growing of crops in and around towns and cities is frequently a widespread and long-established activity, yet a greater understanding is needed of the patterns and processes involved. From a survey of literature and detailed empirical evidence from Kano and Dar es Salaam, this paper presents a framework for analyzing urban agriculture and proposes a number of policy recommendations which could possibly enhance its future sustainability. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.