Households In Peri-urban Areas Research Articles

The implication of water accessibility challenges to urban water governance in Morogoro municipality, Tanzania

This study investigates water accessibility challenges in urban and peri-urban areas and its implication to urban water governance in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. A cross-sectional research design was adopted using a survey of 90 randomly selected households. The key informant interview was used to collect key information. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Mann-Whitney U Test was employed to establish the extent to which factors affected water accessibility differently in urban and peri-urban areas. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative information. Approximately 69% of the respondents accessed water from public piped water system. Some accessed water from public water taps while others used private boreholes and tank carts. Water supply, more so in peri-urban areas, was not reliable. In addition, water leakage, cost of connecting to the public piped water system, cost for constructing a borehole, climatic and environmental factors piled up into challenges of water accessibility suggesting poor urban water governance. The Mann-Whitney U Test showed that households in peri-urban areas were significantly affected by the challenges compared to households in urban areas at 5% level of significance where p = 0.000. The study concludes presence of challenges in water access due to multiple factors with implications on urban water governance. Therefore, urban water governance should be improved to heighten water accessibility. Further studies should focus on developing an urban water governance framework in Tanzania.

Peri-urban food insecurity and coping strategies among farm households in the face of rapid urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ethiopia

A growing body of literature discusses food insecurity in rural and urban contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Peri-urban food insecurity and coping strategies remain an understudied topic. To fill this gap, household cross-sectional survey data was collected from randomly selected 300 farm households in the peri-urban area of Jimma City and complemented with key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) to assess their food insecurity status and coping strategies in the face of rapid urbanization. A structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from farm households while an unstructured questionnaire was used to gather qualitative data from key informants. Twelve indicators involving the four food insecurity dimensions were identified to develop a food insecurity index and categorize households into four food insecurity levels. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is employed to determine the most important indicators of household food insecurity. The ordered probit regression model was employed to ascertain significant factors affecting farming household food insecurity. The results revealed that 46% of peri-urban farm households were food-insecure at various levels. The household food insecurity status varied with their level of human capital, physical endowments, risk aversion behaviour, and institutional barriers. The expansion of built-up areas and marketable crops, particularly eucalyptus trees have greatly affected the food security status of peri-urban farm households. Income diversification, farming diversification, social ties, and farming specialization were the main food insecurity coping strategies of peri-urban farm households. The findings of this study highlighted insights into the urban expansion of medium-sized cities and agricultural land loss, marginalization of staple food crops, and market food prices increase, which resulted in increased vulnerability to food insecurity and poverty among farm households in peri-urban areas. The recommendations drawn from these findings are formulating strategies that preserve agricultural land-use and promoting food insecurity mitigation programs that capitalize on the coping strategies of households in peri-urban areas in the face of rapid urbanization.

Effect of high-volume insecticide spraying on sand fly vectors in household gardens in Spain.

This study investigated the efficacy of high-volume spraying with the adulticide α-cypermethrin alone and in combination with the larvicide diflubenzuron on the density of sand flies in gardens of three detached households in periurban areas in southeast Spain. Treatments were applied four times between June and August 2016, and four nearby sites, two households and two non-urbanized sites, were untreated controls. The number of sand flies collected between May and October 2016 using sticky interception and light attraction traps, was 4446 specimens. Species identified morphologically included Sergentomyia minuta (n = 2101; 48%), Phlebotomus perniciosus (n = 1922; 44%), Phlebotomus papatasi (n = 173; 4%), Phlebotomus sergenti (n = 161; 4%) and Phlebotomus ariasi (n = 36; 1%). Sand flies were detected in both treated and untreated sites. The proportion of positive sticky traps and the median (range) density of sand flies in positive traps were 61% traps and 7 (2-172) sand flies/m2 /day in untreated sites, and 43% traps and 4 (1-56) sand flies/m2 /day in treated sites (p < 0.05). Similarly, for light traps, it was 96% traps and 30 (3-168) flies/trap/day, and 83% traps and 3 (1-12) sand flies/trap/day, respectively (p < 0.05). However, sand fly density followed a comparable seasonal pattern in untreated and treated sites and did not consistently decrease following insecticide applications. These results were confirmed with mixed negative binomial modelling of sand fly density adjusted for time since application, month, environmental setting and site. The limited efficacy of the treatments, added to their cost, the impact of insecticides on non-target organisms and human health, and the risk of development of insecticide resistance, should dissuade similar outdoor applications to control sand fly vector populations in residential areas.

Contribution of Home Gardening to Household Dietary Intake among Peri-urban Households of Imo State, Nigeria

Rapid urbanization, industralization, land grabbing and dwindling land resources is fast eroding the practice of home gardening in peri-urban areas. This has altered the dietary intake pattern of peri-urban households who hitherto could augment their meals from products of gardens around their homes. The study assessed home gardening contribution to dietary intake among households in peri-urban areas of Imo State. Specifically, the study sought to ascertain the types of home gardening practiced, the contribution of home garden to the household dietary intake and identify the constraints of peri-urban households in practicing home gardening. Multistage sampling procedure was adopted in the selection of sample. Okigwe, Orlu and Owerri-West Local Government Areas (LGAs) were purposively selected from each of the agricultural zones in Imo State for their peri-urban nature. Four communities were purposively selected from the three LGAs were home gardening was mostly practiced. A survey was conducted to find out households which practiced home gardening. Ten households each were then randomly selected from these communities, making a total of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents for the study. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean, frequency and percentage). The result showed that majority (54.2%) of the respondents practiced mixed crop home gardening while 43.3% practiced mixed farm home gardening. The level of contribution of home gardening to dietary intake among households was (53.3%). A fairly high number (47.5%) of peri-urban households expressed experiencing high constraints to practicing home gardening. It is recommended that peri-urban households should be educated on other methods of home gardening where land is in limited supply to improve household dietary intake.

Social Acceptance for Reclaimed Water Use: A Case Study in Bengaluru

The main source of water to the peri-urban areas of Bengaluru is groundwater. Access to groundwater is through tankers, private borewells, Bruhat Bengaluru MahanagaraPalike (Urban Local Body) borewells, and public stand posts. All modes other than tankers provide water to the community free of charge. Reclaimed water from sewage treatment plants (STPs) is in use by industries and some gated communities and multistoried apartments for toilet flushing and landscaping. For individual households in peri-urban areas of Bengaluru, it could be an additional water source replacing expensive water supply through tankers; reducing demand for groundwater (a finite resource); improving the sanitation system by providing drainage systems and preventing groundwater contamination from black and grey water. Consequently, this research paper investigates the willingness of residents in peri-urban areas of Bengaluru to use reclaimed water for non-potable end uses. To investigate residents’ willingness and key motivations for the use of reclaimed water, a survey of residents in the peri-urban ward of Bellandur was conducted. In this region, the sewerage board had prepared a media advertisement to create awareness of—and to sell—reclaimed water to other users, including local residents. This advertisement was shown to respondents, asking if they were willing to accept and buy the reclaimed water at 15 Indian Rupees (INR) per kiloliter. Sixty-seven percent of residents who were household owners were willing to buy reclaimed water, 20% were concerned about hygiene, and 33% of respondents lacked trust in the public agency with respect to water quality standards. The study concludes that public awareness from key stakeholders is essential for the reuse of reclaimed water. It also recommends stringent regulation by levying fees for groundwater extraction in addition to making reclaimed water readily available and supplied free of charge to the consumers. In addition, the quality of reclaimed water should meet international standards to gain the confidence of the people.

Contribution of urban and periurban agriculture to household food and nutrition security along the urban–rural continuum in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

AbstractThere is growing evidence of urban poverty in and around cities in sub-Saharan Africa in the form of food and nutrition insecurity. Although many studies have been done across sub-Saharan Africa on urban agriculture, food and nutrition insecurity, little is known about the association of urban agriculture to household food and nutrition insecurity along the urban–rural continuum, especially in West African cities. Therefore, a survey was carried out between August and September 2014 in and around Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), using a transect approach to guide the data collection. The purpose of this study was to understand the dynamics of urban, periurban and rural agriculture and its association with household food and nutrition insecurity. A total of 240 households participated in the survey. From these households, data were collected on 179 women of reproductive age (15–49 yr) and 133 children under the age of 5 yr to compute Women's Dietary Diversity Scores (WDDS) and other anthropometric indices. The results of this study provide a general picture of crop production which is inclined to subsistence and income generation. Households in rural and periurban areas were more engaged in crop and livestock production compared with their urban area counterparts. Households in periurban areas had the highest relative proportion (54%) of food insecurity (household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) &gt; 11), compared with urban areas (39%) and rural areas (45%). At the same time the periurban households had the highest relative proportion of stunting and wasting prevalence compared with urban and rural households. Households in the rural areas had the highest dietary diversity (WDDS ≥ 6), compared with periurban and urban households. Households keeping livestock significantly experienced less wasting (weight-for-height index (WHZ)) (coef = −0.15;P= 0.008) by a factor of 0.15, and overweight (body mass index (BMI)-for-age (BAZ)) (coef = −0.12;P= 0.015) by a factor of 0.12 compared with households not doing livestock keeping. Households involved in crop production significantly experienced more food insecurity, HFIAS (coef. = 2.55;P= 0.042) by a factor of 2.55 compared with households without crop production. The complexity of periurban areas coupled with the scourge of food and nutrition insecurity will require more periurban agriculture and food policy consideration.

Household credit for the poor and child schooling in peri-urban Vietnam

This paper uses a novel dataset of poor households in peri-urban areas in Vietnam to estimate impacts of small loans on child schooling. The Probit and Negative Binomial model estimates roughly indicate no strong evidence of the effect. However, breaking down credit into formal and informal credit and credit for boy and girl schooling provides better insights. The paper suggests that to obtain the target of sustainable poverty reduction, easing access to formal credit sources and exempting tuition and other school contributions are necessary steps to keep poor children in schools longer.