Food security in Tanzania: the challenge of rapid urbanisation

FOOD FOR THE CITIES: URBAN AGRICULTURE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This policy review aimed (i) to investigate how urgencies such as urbanisation and climate change are recognised in the current policies of a low-income country, and (ii) to investigate how food security, and urban food security in particular, interacts with these policies. Ghana is used as an example. The policy review revealed that the agricultural, nutrition and health, spatial development and climate policies dealt with one or more aspects of food security within the food system framework. The overall conclusion is that the aspects of food security are still covered by the traditional policies: agriculture mainly deals with production, distribution and exchange of food. Nutritional value and food safety, for instance, are main concerns of the health and nutrition policy. However, Ghana is developing the Long-Term National Development Plan (LTNDP) which combines several policies. Food safety is also increasingly considered for the exchange of food from an export perspective: export requires particular food quality standards. The results of our policy review confirm that the integration of food security elements is still in an early process of development. In addition, the urban aspect of food security was hardly considered in the policies relating to food security in Ghana. This review was explored for (urban) food security in Ghana. It is likely that results for other African countries or other low-income countries in other continents would have yielded similar results.

Zimbabwe is becoming increasingly urbanized, and with this accelerating process comes a host of socio-economic challenges. Rapid urbanization process has resulted in increase urban food insecurity and malnutrition, especially on the side of tandem increase in urban poverty. Urban poverty and food shortage are taking root in Zimbabwe, as a result increased food production and access becomes critical to achieving major nutritional improvement and addressing food insecurity. In the face of urban food shortages, the present paradigm of rural food production cannot meet the challenges of the new millennium. It is hardly surprising that increasing umbers of urbanites are looking to grow their own food, if only to supplement their family food needs. Food is one of the basic needs and urban agriculture, both legal and illegal, has grown as a consequence of the difficult economic climate. Many urban households lack adequate amounts of foods that are rich in the nutrients needed for health and a productive life. It is against this background of increasing urban poverty that this discussion puts forward some suggestions for promoting urban agriculture. Urban agriculture has diverse economic, social and ecological functions and can be valued as one of the agricultural sectors having enormous potential to contribute to food security in Zimbabwe. In this discussion the role of urban agriculture in improving nutrition and food security is highlighted. Urban areas are becoming more 'modern' in their patterns of consumption than in their patterns of production, and there is a danger that the urban poor will become more and more marginalized while, at the other extreme, a small increasingly wealthy elite develops. The demand for food due to increased urbanization is predicted to grow faster than production resulting in a growing food deficit and insecurity in urban areas. Strategies which foster gender equality in urban food production will impact positively on food production, which may translate into expanded food production base to meet the needs of the growing urban dwellers, who are failing to make ends meet. This means participation of women in urban agriculture on the understanding that they are custodians of food production in many urban communities is recommended. However, challenges associated with urban agriculture need to be addressed to avoid land degradation and pollution in urban areas. Therefore, urban agriculture should be considered as a normal component of agriculture system and urban development, which has the capacity to improve nutrition and food security, as it lends itself to the majority of the urban poor. Greater and more sustained food production from urban agriculture will increase the potential access of the urban household to an adequate diet. It is envisaged that urban agriculture will be the new approach to satisfying urban food demands, however best provided incentives to urban farmers are credited by formulating policy fair to urban food producers. In the face of this bleak situation, major efforts are required to promote urban agriculture in addressing the nutritional needs and the perpetual food insecurity challenges in urban areas of Zimbabwe. On the other hand, given the economic, social and ecological advantages of urban farming it is arguably deserves even greater attention than before.

It is expected that by 2030 more than 60 percent of the world population will live in cities. Consequently with the increase in population and infrastructure development, city limits would expand outward and engulf the surrounding smaller cities to form mega cities. Over the last few decades there has been a tremendous pressure on natural resources to sustain the burgeoning world population in terms of energy, water and particularly food, On the other hand natural resources are getting scarce and these are getting polluted rendering many of them non beneficial to human population. As cities expand, so do the food needs of urban families. Thus with the ever increasing demand to feed the world, there is urge to increase the productivity 542with limited resources. With the rapid urbanization the food production systems are evolving into highly precise, technology based and mechanized factory mode. This has become a necessity to meet the demands of the urban population which demand supply of all varieties of food consistently throughout the year. Urban food security requires a reliable yearround supply of nutritious and safe food. Many urban poor have long practised urban and pen-urban agriculture as a livelihood and also their survival strategy. Urban households involved in Urban and Peri-urban Aquaculture (UPA) are generally more food secure. Urban and Pen-urban food production helps increase the availability of fresh, healthy and affordable food in the vicinity. Food production along with other subsidiary activities like processing and marketing also contribute to income and employment generation for many poor urban households. The sector specifically provides an opportunity for social and economic integration of women and other groups of migrants. As water becomes increasingly scarce, UPA provides an ideal opportunity to productively use urban organic wastes and wastewater as well as collected rainwater. Wastewater fed aquaculture has been one of the oldest food production systems in urban and peri-urban areas using wastewater generated from the cities as one of the major inputs. Recirculatory aquaculture systems andaquaponicsare also gaining momentum. In peri-urban areas, fish is cultured in ponds, reservoirs, pen and cages and there is also a trend of integration of farming practices. Ornamental fish breeding and culture is another area which is also emerging as a lucrative business. In addition, aquaculture in urban settings also offers opportunities to fulfill our nostalgic desire to recormect with our food production sources, a new awareness emerging out of growing environmental concerns. However, the future of UPA will depend on appropriate techniques and practices as well as health risk reduction measures to ensure production of fish as health food while keeping the environment healthy.

Abstract: The recent global food security crisis is garnering increasing attention and calls for innovative solutions to mitigate its negative impacts on people, especially the most economically vulnerable. In urban regions, this issue is aggravated by the fact that, on one hand, rapid urbanization and greater levels and diversity of food consumption associated with the growing affluence of urban inhabitants has led to rising urban food demand, while on the other hand, the rapid loss of farmland due to urban expansion or irrational sprawl and increasing extreme weather events for agricultural producers due to the impact of global climate change is sharply reducing the urban food production and local supply capacity. Therefore how to realize the urban food supply potential and optimize the utilization of the urban farmlands to enhance the local food supply rate and improve urban food security more generally is becoming a key issue. In this paper, we use the case of Beijing to examine the opportunities to e...

Urban food (In)security and the role of migrant informal food waste recyclers in Delhi

Access to food, rather than a shortage of food availability, is the central problem for urban household food security. Blantyre in Malawi presents a useful case study for demonstrating the importance of linking gender and urban food security. Rates of urban food insecurity are less severe than in other cities surveyed by AFSUN. Yet female-centred households were twice as likely to be severely food insecure as nuclear households. This paper offers some explanations for the survey findings by drawing on qualitative research to understand the gendered geographies of food access in Blantyre. The first point is that gender shapes mobility, which in turn shapes a household’s ability to increase its food security by procuring food from the most affordable sources, particularly peri-urban markets. The second point is that gender shapes a household’s ability to produce its own food, a popular livelihood strategy in Blantyre that often mitigates the effects of low incomes on household food security. The third point is that gender influences a person’s potential income, which shapes the household’s economic access to food. These three points demonstrate the multi-dimensional relationship between gender and urban food security.

Rapid urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa poses significant challenges to local food security through the conversion of productive agricultural lands to built-up areas. Kinondoni District in Dar es Salaam has experienced substantial urban growth over the past three decades, yet the implications for food security remain poorly understood.This study analyzed land use and land cover (LULC) changes in Kinondoni District between 1993 and 2023 to assess the impact of urbanization on agricultural land availability and its implications for local food security. Multi-temporal satellite imagery analysis was conducted using Landsat data from four epochs (1993, 2003, 2013, and 2023). Land use was classified into seven classes: water bodies, mangrove forests, bare areas, built-up areas, shrublands, and cultivated lands. Change detection analysis quantified the magnitude and direction of land use transitions over the 30-year period using supervised Maximum Likelihood Classification with overall accuracy ranging from 85-92% and Kappa coefficients of 0.82-0.89. The analysis revealed dramatic urbanization, with built-up areas expanding from 124.20 ha (2.23%) in 1993 to 1,905.14 ha (34.3%) in 2023 a 1,433% increase. Concurrently, cultivated land decreased by 96.6%, from 172.90 ha (3.11%) to 5.88 ha (0.1%), representing a loss of 167.02 ha. Mangrove forests declined by 40.1% (737.62 ha), shrublands decreased by 73.9% (546.41 ha), and bare areas reduced by 77.9% (402.11 ha). Water bodies remained relatively stable, increasing slightly by 3.3% (72.22 ha). The majority of agricultural land (85.2%) was directly converted to built-up areas. The near-complete elimination of cultivated land in Kinondoni District indicates a critical threat to local food production capacity and urban food security. The rapid conversion of agricultural and natural lands to urban infrastructure necessitates urgent policy interventions, including peri-urban agricultural planning, vertical farming initiatives, and regional food supply chain development to ensure food security for Kinondoni's growing population.

Access to food, rather than a shortage of food availability, is the central problem for urban household food security. Blantyre presents a useful case study for demonstrating the importance of linking gender and urban food security. Rates of urban food insecurity are less severe than in other cities surveyed by AFSUN. Yet, female-centred households were twice as likely to be severely food insecure as nuclear households. This paper offers some explanations for the survey findings by drawing on qualitative research to understand the gendered geographies of food access in Blantyre. The first point is that gender shapes mobility, which in turn shapes a household’s ability to increase its food security by procuring food from the most affordable sources, particularly peri-urban markets. The second point is that gender shapes a household’s ability to produce its own food, a popular livelihood strategy in Blantyre that often mitigates the effects of low incomes on household food security. The third point is that gender influences a person’s potential income, which shapes the household’s economic access to food. These three points demonstrate the multi-dimensional relationship between gender and urban food security.

Increasingly there are many studies focusing on urban food systems as a whole and this systematic approach has been fruitful. Some components of the urban food system have also been examined individually. Some of the most frequently studied components of food systems are food production, reduction of food waste, the contribution of urban agriculture, nutrition, food security issues and the sustainability of urban food systems. However, comparatively less studies have sought to understand urban food markets as a crucial component of urban food systems especially in relation to resilience. Governments have become increasingly aware of the need for resilience planning so that they are better prepared for natural disasters and other destabilising shocks as a move towards fulfilling some of the objectives of the New Urban Agenda (NUA). This resilience planning is also crucial where urban food markets are concerned. This chapter is the output of a desktop study that contributes to an understanding of the relation between urban food markets and the resilience factor in Zimbabwe. Whilst urban food systems as a whole are critical in resilience planning, it is also of paramount importance to have a food market perspective particularly in the new era where food supplies are threatened by the coronavirus pandemic. Resilient urban food markets can withstand various shocks and stresses ranging from social upheavals to natural disasters and economic shocks and as a result contribute to food security. The chapter examines Zimbabwe’s urban food markets and their resilience mostly in terms of economic shocks and reviews literature by various proponents. It proceeds to interrogate the different types of markets that exist in Zimbabwean cities, how each typology operates and the implications on resilience and on urban food security. The chapter also observes urban food market prices and whether they are the same for different markets and what causes disparities if any. The information found in literature and in emerging issues will inform the lessons learnt.

By 2022, 42.39% of the sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) population was living in urban areas. This urbanization correlates with increasing poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, environmental pollution, and the prevalence of informal settlements. These challenges worsened urban food insecurity during the COVID‐19 pandemic in SSA cities. This review analyzed the role of urban farming system as a pivotal means to enhance urban food security, incorporating socioeconomic integration and environmental sustainability. The analysis is grounded in a systematic review using specific keywords, evaluating 46 articles and institutional reports related to the subject. The results revealed that 3.62% of SSA countries have implemented national urban governance and policies with minimal focus on urban farming. Rapid urbanization, urban population growth, and climate change are key factors contributing to cities' vulnerabilities to food insecurity in SSA. Predominantly characterized by horticultural practice, urban farming enhances the food supply system, nutritious security, jobs and income generation, reduces transportation costs, promotes the consumption of fresh food, and mitigates food loss in cities. Despite its importance, urban farming in SSA encounters several challenges: (i) urbanization governance and policy, (ii) knowledge and technology in urban farming, (iii) access to land and water, (iv) financing and capacity building for urban farming, and (v) environmental pollution. SSA countries need a coordinated mix of urbanization policies and technological advancements to integrate innovative urban farming methods, bolstering cities’ resilience to food insecurity. Implementing these measures could advance the achievement of sustainable development goals 2 and 11 in SSA cities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the trends, effects, and projections of climate change and food security in Tanzania. A systematic literature review design was used to collect, compare, and synthesize existing literature published between 2015 and 2025 based on climate change and food security in Tanzania. The analysis of the information collected in this study has been done through thematic analysis. The findings revealed that climate change has affected the agricultural sector and threatens the future status of food security in Tanzania. Also, results project that there is likely to be an obvious increase minimum and maximum temperature trends over the entire country in three future periods 2011-2040, 2041-2070, and 2071-2100 under both emission scenarios Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 and 4.5. Also, the study indicates that from 2021 to 2050, the annual rainfall cycle shows a slight decrease in monthly rainfall, especially from January to August, and an increase from September to December. The study concludes that climate change is significantly affecting food security in Tanzania. Although some regions remain food secure today, long-term stability is uncertain without coordinated actions. It recommends effective collaboration among government institutions, private sectors, and development partners as an essential way to accelerate progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Food security is a paramount issue, particularly in developing nations like Ethiopia. Much of the existing research focuses on identifying the factors and constraints of households related to rural areas. However, little attention has been paid to urban householders' food security and insecurity. To this end, a study has been conducted in Gondar to evaluate urban household food security, sampling 357 homes. Results revealed that 67% of male-headed households were food secure and 33% were food insecure, while 72% of female-headed households were found food insecure and 28% were found food secure. Tenants faced higher insecurity (77%) versus homeowners (12%). The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke model highlighted 53% incidence, 14% depth, and 5.4% severity of insecurity. Tackling 15% of calorie needs could eradicate it with proactive regional governance. Binary logistic modelling identified gender, homeownership, income, marital status, remittance, and credit access as significant factors (p < 0.01). The study underscores the need for tailored programs focusing on income, stable pricing, housing, and low-interest loans which are crucial for addressing overcoming urban food insecurity.

Food Insecurity, Food Insecurity Determinants and Coping Strategies in the Urban Space – the Experience of Low Income Households of Msunduza in Mbabane

Rapid urbanization goes together with the expansion of urban poverty and the incidence of urban food insecurity. Creative urban farming strategies to achieve food sovereignty and a comprehensive food system plan are needed to address food insecurity and food injustice in vulnerable households in an urban economy. The research analyzed the relationship between urban farming and food security based on three (3) aspects: livelihood generation, vulnerability context, and asset (land) ownership as the basis of crafting a food system blueprint to address food injustice and food sovereignty. It adopted a case study method to evaluate a nearly decade-old urban farming program that provides food and livelihood and promotes environmental well-being and good health for the marginalized sector of selected geopolitical units of a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila. The study revealed that vulnerable families in highly urban economies depend on urban farming to feed their families daily and have alternative job opportunities on full-time or part-time engagements. The lack of access to constant income hinders the ability of households to purchase food and provide for the health needs of the family members. The involvement of vulnerable households in urban farming programs and food system development initiatives makes them resilient to variations and spikes in food prices. Food insecurity is also aggravated by a lack of ownership/tenure rights on land allocated for urban farming. Thus, households may not have access to affordable food, and innovativeness in the urban farming system is hampered. In this context, urban farming needs to be integrated into food system planning to address food injustice and provide direction and guidance in food production, distribution, and consumption. The right to own land as a farming asset should be a requisite in realizing a just food system that supports food sovereignty.