The role of Urban Agriculture in food security. A case of low-income dwellers in Dangamvura

Abstract

Changing economic conditions, increasing unemployment and increasing population pressure on urban centers have resulted in heightened food insecurity among low-income urban dwellers in Zimbabwe. In order to ensure food security, urban dwellers have now resorted to intensive use of water and land for the production of food for their livelihood. This paper intends to highlight the challenges and opportunities of urban agriculture and to examine the central role played by access to water resources therein. Urban agriculture has not been recognized as a legitimate form of land use. While this form of agriculture has been relegated to the informal sector and challenged by state institutions, it continues to exist as an essential source of food production for home consumption. In our study of Dangamvura- a low-income suburb of Mutare, Zimbabwe - it has been identified that people are utilizing open municipal spaces and their yards to grow crops and vegetables for family consumption and as surplus to sell.