Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Urban food insecurity in Zimbabwe is a serious stumbling block to the attainment of sustainable
urban livelihoods. The casual factors of the urban food crisis in the country include widespread
poverty, an unstable economic environment, a reduction of viable employment opportunities and
climate-related shocks. The cash-based nature of urban livelihoods, coupled with the economic
crisis in Zimbabwe has generated a serious challenge for urban households as basic food prices
have increased to such an extent that most urban dwellers experience difficulties in purchasing
food. In a context of high poverty and unemployment, urban agriculture has emerged as a food
security and livelihood diversification strategy for many poor urban households. Whilst there is
a growing body of literature focusing on urban agriculture in Zimbabwe, it has largely focused
on community and allotment gardens. There has, however, been little empirical investigation of
home-based (or backyard) agricultural production. While backyard gardens have always
existed, they have grown in response to poor economic conditions and adverse livelihood
conditions. The Bulawayo Municipal Council Agriculture Policy has facilitated this expansion,
especially the growth of poultry production. This study addresses this gap in the literature by
investigating the contribution of home-based agricultural production in promoting household
food security and livelihoods in Bulawayo. A mixed methods approach was utilised for the
purposes of the study. In the quantitative part of the study, 99 households were randomly
sampled whilst 10 purposively sampled interviews with urban farmers, 3 key informant
interviews and 1 focus group discussion were employed for the qualitative part of the study. The
Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, which was used as a theoretical framework of the study,
helped to unpack the various livelihood diversification strategies and asset portfolios that poor
people depend on for their well-being. Contrary to our initial assumption, the results of the study
revealed that 71 percent of the households in the study area were food secure. The findings of the
study reveal that home-based urban agriculture is an important food security coping strategy in
Bulawayo. The high levels of food security in Bulawayo should however, not be solely attributed
to the practice of urban agriculture as 75 percent of the respondents bought their food from
supermarkets and other shops. Urban agriculture thus plays a complimentary role to household
food security in Bulawayo.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/6556 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Ziga, Metron |
| Contributors | Karriem, Abdulrazak |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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