The Role of Urban Agriculture in Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability in Africa

Abstract

The role of urban agriculture in socio-economic and environmental sustainability in Africa was reviewed in this seminar. The main objective of this paper was to reveal the role of urban agriculture in socio-economic and environmental sustainability in Africa. Different theoretical and empirical literatures conducted by most scholars were rectified that the benefits of urban agriculture is unarguable issue. Many scholars argue that urban agriculture played a paramount significant role in job creation, in access to balanced diet, in access to fresh milk, vegetables and fruit for urban dwellers. Urban agriculture is also part of the urban greenery that improves the urban micro-climate, increases biological diversity, as well as the aesthetics and recreational functions of urban areas. But there were still some other scholars that urban agriculture has negative externalities on metropolitan. According to theories and empirical studies, not easy access to land, lack of experience, lack of financial support, grazing of crops by animals and theft of farm products, low land productivity, lack of training, access to credit facilities and high interest rates were  identified as the potential challenges for the development of urban agriculture. As a result of the numerous importance of this sector government and other non-government should initiate programmes in support of urban agriculture in order to overcome the aforementioned problems.

Keywords: urban agriculture

DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-2-03