Editorial: Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

Takawira Mubvami, Shingirayi Mushamba and René van Veenhuizen

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

Land is an important resource for urban agriculture. Urban farming requires some land space, irrespective of whether the farming system is soil-based or not. Therefore land is and will remain a resource of particular concern to urban farmers. But land, or rather the adequate use of the land, is of increasing concern also to planners and municipal policymakers who have to consider the various demands on the land and its functions in and around the city.

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Electronic Conference: Optimising Agricultural Land Use in the City Area

Michael Baumeister and Henk de Zeeuw

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

An increasing number of cities and countries are interested to include urban agriculture in their strategies and programmes to reduce urban poverty and enhance urban food security. In order to facilitate that process, from 3 - 26 of November 2003, the Urban Management Programme (UNDP / UN-Habitat), and ETC-RUAF organised an electronic conference on the optimisation of access of the urban poor to land for agricultural activities.

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Electronic Conference.pdf	113.74 KB

Migrants' Access to Land in Periurban Beijing

Shenghe Liu, Jianming Cai and Zhenshan Yang

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

Farmland in periurban Beijing is owned by local rural collective units (village committees) but is primarily cultivated by migrants without local hukou (household registration). This is different from the typical agricultural production in China where farmland is both owned and cultivated by the local rural population. Two case studies were conducted in Haidian district of the Beijing suburbs to explore how migrants in Beijing gain access to land.

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Migrants' Access to Land in Periurban Beijing.pdf	156.42 KB

Optimising Agricultural Land Use in Kano

E.A. Olofin and A.I. Tanko

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

This contribution summarises the findings of a sequence of research studies in Kano, the largest city in Northern Nigeria, which show the significance of urban and periurban agriculture in the area and its contributions to improved nutrition, household food security, employment, etc. of city dwellers, and discuss the access of farmers to land.

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Optimising Agricultural Land Use in Kano.pdf	95 KB

Access to Land for Urban Agriculture in Kampala

Lillian N. Kiguli, Augustus Nuwagaba, David Mwesigwa and Juliet Kiguli

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

Agriculture in Kampala is practised mainly in valley slums where the poor live in informal settlements. Although urban agriculture offers easy access to services and markets, gaining access to land to grow food and rear animals is a challenge for the urban poor.

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Access to Land for UA in Kampala.pdf	98.32 KB

The Land Issue and Urban Agriculture in Bamako

Dr. Dieudonné Zalle, Ms. Fatima Meite and Mr. Amadou Konate

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

African cities experience uncontrolled development and Bamako, the capital of Mali, is no exception. Its rapid growth catches town planners unawares and exceeds national budgets for support to urbanisation. Urban agriculture is one way to help to meet the increasing demand for food in the city.

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The Land Issue and UA in Bamako.pdf	83.16 KB

Access to Land and Water for Urban Vegetable Farming in Accra

Emmanuel Obuobie, George Danso and Pay Drechsel

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

Access to land and water are key parameters for urban farmers. Often, both land and water are of marginal quality and the use thereof is informal or illegal. As such, the municipal authorities are requested to increase land security, allowing farmers to invest in water management, thereby meeting public health concerns as well.

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Access to Land and Water for Urban Vegetable Farming in Accra.pdf	128.33 KB

The Problem of Access to land in Divo

Paola Iaccarino Idelson

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

The issue of access to land, for urban agriculture in particular, involves multiple spheres of the public and private domains: political, legal, and socio-economic. Easy access to land means access to food, while limited access often leads to food insecurity, and to a strong sense of anxiety for the future. This article is based on a descriptive study that analysed the different categories of people in the town of Divo, Côte d'Ivoire. It focuses on the differences between locals and migrants, and points out the consequences that access to land has on their lives. It argues that the conditions constraining migrants and the formal recognition of Divo's urban agriculture and its potential, is crucial in a policy framework.

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The Problem of Access to land in Divo.pdf	143.35 KB

Urban and Periurban Agriculture in Setif

Abdelmalek Boudjenouia and Andre Fleury

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

In Algeria, periurban agriculture as such is not recognised. Thus small-scale agriculture around a city like Setif has not been differentiated from the larger-scale cultivation of cereal in the rural regions. With the liberalisation of economic policy since 1987, farmers have greater freedom in the orientation of their agricultural operations. The potential for a policy that promotes household gardens in periurban popular housing areas is necessary to meet food, recreational and environmental functions.

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Urban and Periurban Agriculture in Setif.pdf	85.85 KB

Optimisation of the Use of Vacant Land in Rosario

Marielle Dubbeling

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

The experience from Rosario described here is one of three experiences under the project 'Optimisation of Use of Vacant Land for Urban Agriculture' promoted by the Urban Management Program for Latin America and the Caribbean (UMP- LAC). The project is simultaneously being carried out in Cienfuegos, Cuba (the next article) and in Governador Valadares in Brazil (included in a box).

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Optimisation of the Use of Vacant Land in Rosario.pdf	85.47 KB

From Empty Lots to Productive Spaces in Cienfuegos

Alejandro R Socorro Castro

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

The experience from Cienfuegos described here is one of three experiences under the project 'Optimisation of Use of Vacant Land for Urban Agriculture' promoted by the Urban Management Program for Latin America and the Caribbean (UMP- LAC). The project is simultaneously being carried out in Rosario, Argentina (the previous article) and in Governador Valadares in Brazil (included in a box).

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From Empty Lots to Productive Spaces in Cienfuegos.pdf	80.03 KB

Community Gardens in eThekweni Municipality in South Africa

M.G. Leech

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

Part of eThekweni Municipality has tracts of public land, zoned for various purposes, but which could not be used or developed due to limited finances. In early 1998, the council started to stimulate community gardens, which is believed to be a win-win situation for both the community and the Council.

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Community Gardens in eThekweni Municipality.pdf	61.38 KB

Allotment Gardens for Philippine Cities

Robert J. Holmer, Merlito T. Clavejo, Stefan Dongus and Axel Drescher

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

Community gardens are defined as gardens where people share the basic resources of land, water, and sunlight. This definition includes both allotment and common gardens. Since March 2002, a project is being implemented in Cagayan de Oro, Southern Philippines, to establish four pilot allotment gardens in different parts of the city with financial assistance from EuropeAid's AsiaUrbs Programme.

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Allotment Gardens for Philippine Cities.pdf	118.6 KB

Urban Agriculture in the London Borough of Bexley

Beacon Mbiba

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

This paper looks at under-utilisation of urban agricultural land in the London Borough of Bexley and considers the challenges that municipal officials face in making decisions about the future use of such land. Whereas the financial costs and benefits for alternative land use are clear, those for urban agriculture are not. Essentially, technical decisions on the use of land are made with an eye on local politics and pressures from competing constituencies. In the highly populated residential areas, like in Kenya, where arable land to cultivate is too scarce to facilitate meaningful farming, vegetables can be grown in space-confined gardens, like bags.

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UA in the London Borough of Bexley.pdf	72.01 KB

Facilitating Land Access for the Copperbelt's Periurban Farmers

Gail Steckley and Mike Muleba

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

Lack of secure access to land is a significant constraint for periurban residents in Zambia's Copperbelt Province to realise the potential of urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy. This paper explores the role of the Copperbelt Urban Livelihoods Project (CULP) in facilitating the resolution of land disputes affecting poor periurban residents using an "interest-based negotiations" approach.

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Facilitating Land Access.pdf	101.72 KB

The Right to Suitable Water for Agriculture in India

Max Haan

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

It is not unusual for urban and periurban farmers to use wastewater for agriculture. According to Indian law it could be argued that wastewater farmers are entitled to such water, while the government has the obligation to ensure the suitability of the water. This article aims at making a small step in creating legal awareness by offering a constitutional view on the right of access to water suitable for agriculture.

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The Right to Suitable Water for Agriculture in India.pdf	159.64 KB

Legal and Policy Aspects of Urban Agriculture in Tanzania

Malongo R.S. Mlozi

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture in Tanzania knows a generally favourable political and legal national context. These policies were issued during the 1970s and 1980s, to encourage people to produce their own food. At the municipal level it was found in the 1980s that these policies, especially encouraging livestock, also had some negative effects and the existing municipal by-laws were reviewed. An overview.

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Integration of Urban Agriculture in Planning in Turkey

Mercan efe

In: UA Magazine No. 11 - Availability, Access and Usability of Land for Urban Agriculture

In Turkey, urban agriculture does not appear in the "land use and possession classification codes" used in urban planning. This classification was developed 25 years ago and is not clear about certain uses. This classification needs to be updated for which this article gives some suggestions.

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Integration of UA in Planning in Turkey.pdf	62.67 KB

Colophon

Urban Agriculture Magazine
No 11, December 2003

The UA Magazine is published by the Resource Centre for Urban Agriculture (RUAF), a Programme co-ordinated by ETC Netherlands and financed by DGIS, the Netherlands, and IDRC, Canada. The UA Magazine is published 3 times a year, and is translated into French, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic, and distributed in separate editions through regional networks.

Editorial Board

• Urban Management Programme-Latin America and the Caribbean (UMP-LAC), Quito, Ecuador; Mr Alain Santandreu; e-mail alain@pgu-ecu.org: Magazine in Spanish: www: http://www.ipes.org/aguila/
• Institut Africain de Gestion Urbaine (IAGU), Dakar, Senegal, Ms Ndeye Fatou Gueye;e-mail iagurau@enda.sn : Magazine in French;
• Municipal Development Programme (MDP) - East and Southern Africa, Harare, Zimbabwe;Mr Shingirayi Mushamba, e-mail: smushamba@mdpesa.org
• Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resource Research (IGSNRR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bejing, China; Mr Jianming Cai, e-mail: caijm@igsnrr.ac.cn ; Magazine in Chinese;
• Centre for Environment and Development in the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), Cairo, Egypt, Mr Ismail El Bagouri; e-mail: ibagouri@cedare.org.eg Magazine in Arabic;
• IWMI-India, Hyderabad, India, Ms Stephanie Buechler, e-mail: s.buechler@cgiar.org
• The Urban Agriculture Network (TUAN), Washington, USA. Mr Jac Smit; e-mail: urbanag@compuserve.com
• ETC - Resource Centre on Urban Agriculture and Forestry (RUAF), Leusden, the Netherlands; Mr Henk de Zeeuw: email: ruaf@etcnl.nl
• Ms Dagmar Kunze, FAO Regional Office for Africa (RAF), Ghana
• Mr Luc Mougeot, International Development Research Council (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada;
• Mr Gordon Prain, CIP- Sustainable Initiative on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (SIUPA), Peru.

Editors No. 11

This issue has been compiled by René van Veenhuizen (responsible editor), together with Shingarayi Mushamba and Takawira Mubvami of MDP and Michael Baumeister.

Resonsible web edition

Lucy Browne, René van Veenhuizen

Administrations

Michael Baumeister

Design and Layout

Jan Hiensch, Leusden

Language Editor

Chesha Wettasinha

Design, Layout and Printing

Koninklijke BDU

Subscriptions

The editor
ruaf@etcnl.nl

Address

Urban Agriculture Magazine
P.O. Box 64
3830 AB Leusden, The Netherlands
Visitors address: Kastanjelaan 5, Leusden.
Tel: +31.33.4326000
Fax: +31.33.4940791
e-mail: ruaf@etcnl.nl
website: www.ruaf.org