Berihun Tefera and Getachew Tikubet

In: UA Magazine no. 19 - Stimulating Innovation in Urban Agriculture

Solid waste management is a major challenge facing the cities in the developing world. The commercial recycling of organic waste into a valuable organic fertiliser called “Bio-compost” is new in Addis Ababa and it is having a noticeable impact on improved organic waste management and urban agriculture.

Sanderijn van Beek and Rebecca L. Rutt

In: UA Magazine no. 19 - Stimulating Innovation in Urban Agriculture

Uncollected solid waste is one of Kampala’s most visible environmental problems, and one of the main causes of environmental degradation within the city. While this poses a critical health hazard to the livelihoods of the urban poor, it also hinders economic growth and social achievement (Sengendo, 1994). However, amidst the gloom, there are local initiatives – developed by enterprising individuals and groups – which are helping to address waste problems through the creative reuse of organic waste in urban farming. Some of these innovations are rapidly becoming common practice; others are still experimental.

Zhang Feifei, Cai Jianming and Ji Wenhua

In: UA Magazine no. 19 - Stimulating Innovation in Urban Agriculture

Beijing is a city faced with a shortage of water. Less than 600 mm of rain falls per year; but this figure is highly variable and actual rainfall has been lower than average in the past eight years. Less than 300 cubic metres of water is available per person per year; this is one eighth of the average volume per person available in the country as a whole and one thirtieth of the world average. Because of the downward trend in rainfall, surface water is gradually drying up and the level of ground water is declining.

Bernard Keraita, Pay Drechsel, William Agyekum and Lesley Hope

In: UA Magazine no. 19 - Stimulating Innovation in Urban Agriculture

Irrigated vegetable farming is a common practice in and around many cities in low-income countries. It is also an important means for attaining urban food security and balanced diets, and it provides a livelihood to many urban dwellers. However, increasing contamination of irrigation water sources makes this practice a major risk factor for public health, especially as most vegetables grown are consumed raw. Urban vegetable farmers in Ghana use different water sources for irrigation, depending on the location of their farming sites. Surface water is most commonly used as it is easily accessible and thus most economical. Farmers collect it from streams, stormwater drains
and gutters with greywater. However, these water sources are usually heavily contaminated with untreated wastewater. 

Marit Brommer and William Critchley

In: UA Magazine no. 19 - Stimulating Innovation in Urban Agriculture

It is increasingly recognised that in rural areas of developing countries the microenvironment around the household/ home garden is the centre of productive resources (Chambers, 1990; Scoones, 2001; Critchley et al.,in preparation). Not only are people based there, but animals tend to be housed close by and crop production is more intensive and diversified around the homestead. The most common hotspot of fertility and production is thus around the house and compound. From the point of view of water, the home is again a concentration point: not only is water brought there for various domestic purposes (and wastewater thus available after use), but also roof tops and compacted compounds give rise to runoff.

Olufunke Cofie ¹, Pay Drechsel ¹ and Henk de Zeeuw ²

¹ International Water Management Institute (IWMI), West Africa Sub-Regional Office, Accra, Ghana
² RUAF, ETC, Leusden, The Netherlands

H. de Zeeuw

Key note paper for the International Conference �?Urban Agriculture, Agro-tourism and City Region Development�?, Beijing, 10-14 October, 2004

Pay Drechsel, Sophie Graefe, Moise Sonou and Olufunke O. Cofie

Also online at: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/pubs/pub102/RR102.pdf , and will be available at IWMI HQ as hardcopy end of October. It is a product of a collaboration of IWMI-FAO-RUAF and the Comprehensive Assessment.

To order hard copies of this report please contact:
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