Lesley Hope

In: UA Magazine no. 20 - Water for Urban Agriculture, pp. 29-30

Owing to the importance of irrigated urban vegetable farming in Ghana, a number of research and development activities have been recently initiated to improve the safety of vegetables. The positive and negative impacts of these initiatives have already been widely documented (UA Magazine no. 8 and the article in no. 19 on this issue). This paper describes a number of low-cost risk-reduction interventions developed together with key stakeholders in the "farm to fork" continuum.

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.

Jessica Alegre, Gordon Prain and Miguel Salvo

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

Pig raising is an important livelihood activity in the District of Lurigancho Chosica, which is a low-income periurban neighbourhood located in the Rimac valley in the eastern part of the city of Lima. As many as 1600 families are thought to depend on this activity for some or all
of their income. Without organisation, technical support or regulation, they mostly operate in small clusters of informal livestock units perched on the arid hillsides of this desert city. This type of production raises concerns about public health risks and environmental pollution, and yet relatively simple changes in management can make pig raising a profitable, sustainable activity that can contribute
significantly to the well-being of urban and periurban families.

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. 

This DVD contains an 18 min video on a study visit to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. The video is produced by ETC Urban Agriculture, CTA and The Peoples Garden Centre.

Matthew Lief

In: UA Magazine no. 18 - Building Communities through Urban Agriculture

Thirty years after the 1976 youth uprising which signalled the inevitable end of apartheid, the lives of children growing up in Port Elizabeth remain constrained by the threat of disrupted, unstable families and severe poverty. Today the barrier faced by families to providing a supportive, nurturing environment for children is no longer a brutally oppressive and racist government, but the crushing burden of a population besieged by HIV/Aids and unemployment on a massive scale.

Rhonda Teitel-Payne

In: UA Magazine no. 18 - Building Communities through Urban Agriculture

For over 30 years, The Stop Community Food Centre has been working to end hunger and build a
healthy and strong community in the Davenport West neighbourhood of the city of Toronto. The Stop strives to increase access to healthy food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds community and challenges inequality.

Takawira Mubvami and Milika Manyati

In: UA Magazine no. 18 - Building Communities through Urban Agriculture

HIV and Aids affect all communities –both urban and rural. This article looks at how urban agriculture can be a way to integrate the HIV/Aids-infected and -affected households in a community. The article starts by highlighting some of the issues relating to HIV/Aids and their impact before presenting case
studies that demonstrate how urban agriculture has been used to integrate HIV/Aids-affected households into communities.

Land use policy offers a valuable set of tools to promote and enhance healthy communities. Local governments, private developers, and community groups can all work to create patterns of development that improve community health--by ensuring that farmers' markets and neighborhood grocery stores are supported, for instance, or by promoting sidewalks, parks and other environmental components that encourage physical activity.

Proceedings of the study visit to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa in 17-25 August 2005. Compiled and edited by Resource Centre on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF), ETC Urban Agriculture, Leusden, the Netherlands; Abalimi Bezekhaya, Cape Town, South Africa; and EU-ACP Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Ede,
the Netherlands.