Abstract
M.A. (Development Studies)
Urban agriculture is one of the strategies that urban households may adopt to augment available food, thereby providing more food security to households, as well as for income-generating purposes.
This dissertation discusses the inclusion of indigenous African vegetables in urban agriculture in the township of Ndeke near Kitwe in Zambia. Indigenous African vegetables – such as Amaranthus caudatus (amaranth), Solanum macrocarpon (garden eggs) and Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) – have an important role to play in increasing the intake of nutritious food for people who want to improve or maintain their wellbeing, and especially for poor households, as they are considered to have more nutrients than other vegetables.
The study draws its data from three main sources of primary data. A structured interview was administered to the respondents in the research sample, and an interview schedule was administered to city officials and other key stakeholders. Observations were also used to gather data.
The results of the study indicate that more than half of the respondents in the study practise urban agriculture and that three-quarters of those with urban gardens grow indigenous African vegetables. The most prevalent crop being grown is Manihot esculenta (cassava), a crop that originated in South America and has been indigenised by African people. In addition, the study found that in spite of there being contradicting government policies relating to urban farming, the general consensus amongst participants is that urban farming is against the law. The study also found that more women were involved in urban farming than men, and that although more than half the respondents carry out farming activities in Ndeke, they get no support from government or city officials.