Urban agriculture in Botswana Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance
Botswana, a middle income country, is experiencing a sluggish economic growth and a rapid urbanisation which has brought in its wake high unemployment, poverty and food insecurity. This has led some people to engage in subsistence and commercial urban and peri urban agriculture (UPA) to address these problems. However, in spite of its known advantages, uptake of UPA has been low for a number of reasons including: high GDP before the economic meltdown of recent years; a harsh climate; lack of water; poor access to land; and over reliance on generous government handouts. Nevertheless, the extent of its practice and its contribution to food security albeit modest shows that it is a sector that needs to be encouraged and supported. Both central and local government can play a big role by providing land and infrastructure, and also by implementing an enabling policy and regulatory environment which promotes smalland medium scale urban food production. Introduction: the concept of urban and peri urban agriculture As noted by Magnusson et al. (2000) by 2050 the UN estimates that the global population will reach 9.6 billion, with the majority of that growth taking place in urban areas of less developed regions (United Nations 2012, 2013) By 2100 the population is expected to be 11.2 billion. This will lead to a huge rise in demand for resources (physical, space and infrastructure) and the number of middleclass consumers will increase by three billion. Sub Saharan Africa constitutes a great portion of this projected growth, as the urban population is predicted to expand faster than in any other region and to double between 2010 and 2030 (FAO 2012) The rapid expansion of urban populations puts direct Aloysius Clemence Mosha University of Botswana Mosha Urban agriculture in Botswana CJLG December 2015 49 pressure on food sources and agricultural production; thus there exists a serious challenge in supplying enough nutritious and safe food in a situation of such rapid urbanisation. Despite many technological and mechanical improvements in food production, hunger and malnutrition remain central issues as poverty continues to be prevalent in many cities around the world. Specifically, it is estimated that 40% of urban inhabitants are living on less than US$1 a day, and 70% are living on US$2 a day (FAO 2012) Rural dwellers moving to cities often bring their agricultural practices with them for food security and livelihood reasons (Thys et al. 2005) However, the translation of agriculture from a traditional rural industry to an urban and peri urban phenomenon leads to significant livelihood changes. There is no universal definition of urban and peri urban agriculture (UPA) but the term typically refers to agriculture practices formal or informal, and within and around cities which raise, process and distribute food from fisheries, chicken, horticulture and livestock. UPA is used as a strategy by many urban dwellers in both developed and developing countries to improve their livelihoods and overall wellbeing. Research has shown that many households in the African continent have benefited greatly from this activity. Firstly, UPA improves a household's access to food during times of shortage, instability or uncertainty (Bush 2010; Zezza and Tasciotti 2010) Secondly, UPA can act as an income generating activity as farmers produce directly for markets or sell their surplus, which contributes to a household's income security (Cohen and Garrett 2010; Mougeot 2005) Lastly, UPA contributes to improved health among the urban population by providing highly nutritious and fresh foods (Zezza and Tasciotti 2010) Despite these positive aspects of food security, livelihood and access to nutritional foods, there are downsides to UPA. Some major problems are the increased risk of the spread of diseases from animals to humans, and sanitary and environmental problems related to waste, water and manure (Bonfoh et al. 2010) It is in light of the above that this paper examines the relevance and role played by UPA in Botswana. The paper is structured as follows: background to and rationale for UPA; the experience of UPA in Botswana and its benefits to the local economy and its people; challenges and constraints encountered; and finally lessons learnt. The paper concludes by putting forward possible strategies to enable an increased uptake of this activity. Urban agriculture in Botswana: a literature review To date there has been only limited research on urban agriculture or urban food production in Botswana, for two main reasons. Firstly, the sector had until recently been put on the back burner by Mosha Urban agriculture in Botswana CJLG December 2015 50 government, and secondly researchers and academics have not been interested in the subject as it is deemed peripheral to the main urban problems of the country. The earliest study is that of Byerley (1996) who carried out a small research project on urban agriculture in a neighbourhood of Francistown, the second largest city in Botswana. The major finding of his study was that urban agriculture had not employed people to any significant extent in the town, for several reasons including: the harsh climate; lack of water or the prohibitive cost of water; strict urban planning regulations; cultural and attitudinal factors; relative poverty; recent urbanisation; and a preference by respondents to carry out cultivation in rural areas. Another study on urban poverty alleviation strategies was undertaken by Mosha (1999) who found that urban agriculture was a survival strategy adopted by the urban poor. Again, however, it was found that little agriculture was actually practised, for the same reasons as those advanced by Byerley. However, it was also found that the presence of government 'safety nets' such as subsidies and handouts encouraged people to just sit by and wait for public help, leading to a 'handout' mentality (Mosha 1999) A third research study was undertaken by Matsila (1999) on the practice of UPA in Jwaneng town. She found that: ".it is a viable survival strategy that the urban poor are beginning to engage in, though the numbers are still small." She suggested that "urban agriculture should be encouraged and assisted in raising the standard of living of the low income [groups] in urban areas." A fourth study was that done by Hovorka (2004) which looked at gender issues in urban agriculture in Greater Gaborone, where the activity has a predominantly commercial character and most produce is sold on the urban market. In her study she found that UPA did not emerge as a response to stifled economic opportunities in the city, but rather from a favourable political and economic environment, fuelled by government financial assistance for local businesses and urbanisation trends. She found a total of 114 commercial agricultural enterprises operating in Greater Gaborone, varying in scale and type of production. Her research revealed that gender clearly influences the quantity and type of foodstuffs produced for the urban market. Gender matters because men and women enter into agricultural production, and participate within this urban economic sector, on unequal terms based on socio economic status, location and interrelation with the environment. The latest relevant study is that by Acquah et al. (2014) on urban food insecurity in Gaborone. These researchers undertook a baseline study of 400 households drawn from Old Naledi, White City/Bontleng and Broadhurst. The study found that levels of food insecurity in these areas of the city Mosha Urban agriculture in Botswana CJLG December 2015 51 were high and, despite the economic health of Botswana compared to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries, no better than in many other cities. Only 12% of households were completely food secure, while 62% were severely food insecure. Food insecurity was endemic in the poorer parts of the city, and Botswana's 'economic miracle' was clearly not reaching many of these households. Other relevant writings, albeit more peripheral to this subject, are those by Kruger (1994) who observed that food was very expensive in the urban areas of Botswana; and Feddema (1990) and Hesselberg (1993) who found that there is a high propensity for multi cropping as a method of assuring food security in Botswana. They too found that there was hardly any urban agriculture in Botswana. From these limited studies and a general observation it is obvious that UPA has not really been on the radar for Botswana's citizens, for two main reasons: one, for some time Botswana had been enjoying relatively high per capita GNP which masked the underlying poverty that the downturn of the economy has brought to the fore; and secondly, the government has been very generous in providing safety nets to poor and low income citizens, to the extent that many people are now dependent on them for survival, rather than engaging in UPA. Research study methodology The present research was carried out to document the extent and impact of UPA in Botswana's cities and towns. The issue is that in spite of great efforts made both by central and local government, UPA uptake has been low despite its potential contribution to food security, poverty alleviation and employment generation especially among women and young people. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected: firstly through secondary data sources including a literature review, government reports/documents and policy statements; and secondly through empirical data collection. The empirical data collected for the study derived primarily from semi structured interviews with key stakeholders in the five main urban centres of Gaborone, Francistown, Lobatse, Selebi Phikwe and Jwaneng. Respondents represented a wide range of stakeholders including: ministries related to land, environment, agriculture and livestock; municipal planners; agriculture and livestock e