African Urban Harvest

Over the past two decades, how has urban agriculture changed in sub-Saharan Africa? Is city farming now better integrated into environmental management and city governance? And, looking ahead, how might urban agriculture address the needs of the low-income households and modernizing cities of Africa?In this book, leading specialists in the fields of urban agriculture and urban environment present a unique collection of case studies that examines the growing role of local food production in urban livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. Amongst many issues, the authors probe the changing role of urban agriculture, the risks and benefits of crop-livestock systems, and the opportunities for making locally produced food more easily available and more profitable. Concluding chapters reflect on the policy and governance implications of greater integration of urban natural resources and the built environment, an expanded role for urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa and the crucial role of women in urban food systems.African Urban Harvest will be of interest to decision-makers, development professionals, researchers, academics, and students and educators in urban planning, development studies, African studies, and environmental studies.

Addresses marginalized topic of urban agriculture within the histories of agricultural research and urban institutions and policy

Cameroon.- The Institutional and Regional Context.- Urban Agriculture in Africa: What Has Been Learned?.- Urban Farming Systems in Yaoundé - Building a Mosaic.- Crop-Livestock Integration in the Urban Farming Systems of Yaoundé.- Institutional Development of Urban Agriculture - An Ongoing History of Yaoundé.- Uganda.- Changing Trends in Urban Agriculture in Kampala.- Can Schools be Agents of Urban Agriculture Extension and Seed Production?.- Identifying Market Opportunities for Urban and Peri-Urban Farmers in Kampala.- Health Impact Assessment of Urban Agriculture in Kampala.- Kenya.- Recycling Nutrients from Organic Wastes in Kenya's Capital City.- Crop-Livestock-Waste Interactions in Nakuru's Urban Agriculture.- Benefits and Selected Health Risks of Urban Dairy Production in Nakuru, Kenya.- Urban Agroforestry Products in Kisumu, Kenya: A Rapid Market Assessment.- Urban Agriculture and Institutional Change.- IDRC and Its Partners in Sub-Saharan Africa 2000-2008.- The Contribution of Research-Development Partnerships to Building Urban Agriculture Policy.

How much does urban agriculture help feed and support people living in the world's towns and cities? How could it do this better? This book seeks to answer these timely questions with evidence and proposals based on studies in Eastern and Central Africa.