The findings discussed above clearly show that encouraging agricultural development in urban and peri-urban areas is a valuable strategy to promote food security, economic development, poverty alleviation and diversification within Botswana’s agriculture sector. The outputs from horticulture, and poultry-keeping also have the potential to add further economic value in the form of jobs in the marketing, transport, storage, packaging and retail sectors.
The promotion of commercial horticulture, poultry-keeping and the raising of small livestock in the peripheries of cities and rural towns will inevitably lead to increases in land values. Policy instruments should therefore be developed to ensure such land remains affordable and available for UPA, particularly in those areas where it is geographically feasible and cost-effective to access treated wastewater.
The success of the UPA sector will depend on recognition of its monetary as well as nutritional value by all stakeholders in the urban sphere. Central and especially local government can play a key role in promoting urban agriculture, firstly by legitimisation and institutionalisation of the practice, and secondly by providing land and infrastructure. However, this should not be a top-down process, but a multi-stakeholder activity that supports the many functions (poverty alleviation, source of incomes, employment creation, nutrition to the body etc) of urban agriculture. Policy development should be holistic in nature, not precautionary. All stakeholders – public and private – should be roped in for UPA to succeed. Local and central government should also encourage ‘bottom-up’ or grassroots involvement in the provision of, conservation of, and access to space allocated to urban agriculture.
Such central and local government support for urban agriculture in the cities of Botswana will encourage long-term sustainability through the creation of a more integrated agriculture system.
Focus should be put on making land available for UPA; this is a priority area for focus, in which both central and local authorities should play a key role by zoning and allocating plots for UPA.
There is a need to extend training and extension to urban farmers to stimulate interest and awareness in UPA. This will improve the technical competence of farmers, their farm management skills and their marketing. Furthermore, current agricultural personnel are not trained for urban agriculture’s peculiar situation; therefore there is a need to retrain staff to cater for UPA.
Financial support, whether from public sources or commercial banks, should be sought to encourage the uptake of UPA. Financial support can make a significant difference to poor urban families, who increasingly live around the poverty line, and are involved in a diversity of economic activities such as waste collection, trading and farming. Urban gardening is an indicator of political and social stability, and a survival strategy for urban inhabitants. It also helps alleviate urban poverty by improving food security, and provides job opportunities, healthy food and a recreational focus for young people. This paper therefore recommends that the government should invest in facilities and infrastructure for community gardens.
Finally, the dearth of data on UPA should be addressed. Baseline studies are needed to assess the contribution of UPA, the inputs it requires and its impact on the environment. There is also a need for research and monitoring on UPA activities to design relevant government interventions.
Urban agriculture in Botswana | Mosha | Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance
