Urban agriculture : food for thought

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:An ever changing urban environment, limited economic opportunities and rising poverty, have broughtinto sharp relief the need for strategies that support the livelihoods of the poor. Urban areas arecomplex and dynamic systems. No town or city is immune from either external forces (globalisation)that dictate the need to adapt, or to internal pressures (the natural growth pattern of an urbanpopulation and rural-urban migration) that collectively can precipitate growth or decline.The formal sector cannot, in most instances, fulfil the need for secure, regular employment in theurban areas, which leads to increases in unemployment, gradual breakdown of basic services - visualevidence includes large squatter settlements in and around urban centres - and the not unlikelyincrease in food insecurity. There is no doubt that the future of urban centres is dependent on theeffective absorption of the increasing number of urban dwellers into its environmental, economical andsocial structures, and public policy plays an important role in the success of this process.The important contribution of urban agriculture in bolstering food security of urban households raisescritical planning issues. The spatial integration of our settlements is critical; it holds the potential toenhance economic efficiency and social development. Spatial strategies should be combined witheconomic and environmental programmes to form an integrated approach towards development.Urban agriculture could possibly catalyse broader developmental processes such as local economicdevelopment, whereby disadvantaged communities could potentially secure the benefits ofemployment and increase food security. The provision of opportunities for urban agriculture not onlymakes it possible to meet the food needs of the urban poor, but to also ensure sustainable humansettlements.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University