Impacts of urbanization on food security in Ethiopia. A review with empirical evidence

Abstract

Currently, the globe is challenged by various problems, such as war/conflict, poverty, climate change, and urbanization. Among them, Urbanization become the main problem. It has a disproportionate impact on developed and developing countries. One of the main problems of urbanization is the inability to ensure food security in urban areas. This situation is also evident in Ethiopia. This happened due to reductions in arable land and its productivity, dumping huge waste into the environment, depleting biodiversity, and water and soil pollution. The combination of these impacts affects urban food security. Although it is an undeniable fact, limited attention is paid to examining the impacts of rapid urbanization on urban food security. To fill this gap, this article reviews the empirical evidence from various studies on how urbanization affects the state of food security in Ethiopia and possible solutions to solve the problem. The review showed that urbanization affects the state of food security by compromising all dimensions of food security. When there is rapid urbanization, production will be reduced and food prices will become higher. Due to this, the prevalence of food insecurity in Ethiopian urban areas is very high. The solution is adjusting the community to live with this challenge. Moreover, this review suggests formulating and implementing proper land use planning and policies, expanding urban agriculture, and farm intensification should be a solution to ensure food security. As can be understood from various articles during the review, Ethiopia has not implemented the abovementioned ideas as a solution to its expectations and potential. In particular, urban agriculture has not been initiated, this is its untapped potential. Therefore, to ensure the food security policymakers, researchers, development planners, and the executive bodies of the government at all levels should exploit the untapped potential of the country’s urban areas.