Motivation and Marginalisation of Urban Agriculture in Lusaka,Zambia

Abstract

This doctoral thesis aimed at identifying factors accounting for the motivation of urban residents in engaging in urban agriculture (VA) on the one hand, and its exclusion from urban development and planning policy in Lusaka on the other. It is based on fieldwork that was carried out in three different locations of the city, namely; Chilenje, Garden Compound, and Seven Miles. The findings suggest that the motivation for UA in Lusaka is embedded in its contribution to urban household food security and income generation. Despite this contribution, field-based investigations revealed that VA is not officially recognised and integrated into planning policy, in spite of some policy and political statements supporting its practice. While a number of factors, such as lack of financial resources and lack of urban space etc, were presented as some of the major constraints hampering the integration of UA into planning policy by the respondents, field survey data and other policy documents revealed that a weak institutional set up and lack of political-will are among several factors responsible for the neglect ofUA in urban planning policy. With the right political-will and institutional set-up, several factors necessary for the pursuit ofVA could be established. Such an approach would not only facilitate the setting up of an infrastructure that could support VA, but would also result into a detailed city-wide inventory of the practice. The availability of reliable data would then provide a useful basis for discussions between city authorities and farmers and this would spearhead the integration of VA into planning policy. With a greater level ofmutual understanding between different actors, the present contradictory official responses might be replaced with a more positive, sensitive and nuanced approach to urban agriculture, where its value to individuals, households and the city as a whole is more fully appreciated. But before this can happen, it is important that everyone is fully aware of the significance of VA for food security, employment, income and ecological benefits, at a time when the city is facing economic constraints and post-adjustment pressures.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo