Peri-urban agriculture in Southern Africa: miracle or mirage?

Peri-urban farming is a common phenomenon across much of Africa. The extant literature describes it as a critical source of household food, a trend that is intertwined with such factors as declining incomes of urban households, high rates of urbanization, and a need to serve an emerging niche market in African cities. However, the literature indicates that the practice does not play a major role in Southern Africa. Triangulating research methods and methodologies, and critically examining the literature, this paper argues that peri-urban agriculture is a viable livelihoods response to the complex challenge of feeding a burgeoning mass of urban residents amidst declining food production. The paper concludes that the apparent lack of political will necessary to promote peri-urban agriculture is reflected in weak or absent policy frameworks, resulting from enormous capacity deficit. African states must be able to balance the need to preserve physical esthetics of the cityscape with the promotion of peri-urban agriculture needed to mitigate the negative impacts of changes resulting from the changing urban landscape. African cities need the capacity to develop and implement policies that foster ecologically sound peri-urban agriculture, including appropriate land use reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]