Urban farmers land injustice: Assessing the impact of land development projects on agriculture in Dar es Salaam City

Abstract

Land injustices are a global phenomenon but more vivid in developing countries, especially in Africa, where colonial hangover and the neo-liberal economic policies have been known to contribute into the plight of the urban poor including urban farmers. This paper examines the land injustices of urban farmers by taking Mbweni-Mpiji, a sub-urban area in the city of Dar es Salaam as a case study. The study used a qualitative approach to gather explanations, perceptions and feelings of the farmers regarding the issue of land injustices in the study area. From the findings, farmers in the study area are in constant pressure due to land insecurity and inferior land rights, the use of informality ways in accessing land, stiff competition from other land users and degrading land quality and constant decrease in size of agricultural land. In general terms, these factors are negatively affecting the day to day livelihood (in terms of food security, social status and income) of the people who entirely depend on urban farming. In order to overcome these challenges, this study recommends a dialogue between farmers and the city administrators as a short-term solution and inclusion of urban farming in the future master or strategic plans as a long term strategy. Key words: Land justice, urban agriculture, land development projects, compulsory land acquisition, plot delivery project.