TITLE:
Dynamics of the Nature and Value of Urban Agriculture in Arusha City, Tanzania: The Case of Daraja Mbili and Lemala Wards
AUTHORS:
Pastory Salvatory Thomas, Wilbard Jackson Kombe, Aldo Lupala
KEYWORDS:
Dynamics, Nature, Value, Urban Agriculture, Arusha City, Daraja Mbili and Lemala Wards
JOURNAL NAME:
Current Urban Studies,
Vol.9 No.3,
September
6,
2021
ABSTRACT: In the near future, urban agriculture will not be
the same as it was in the past or as it is at present. The different forms and
context at which agricultural activities take place can have different effects
on the value of urban agriculture. Information about the actual ideal place
where urban agriculture has to be done and about the exact of value of urban
agriculture is implicit. This study examines the factors that characterise the
change of the nature and value of urban agriculture in Arusha as one of the
rapidly urbanizing cities in Tanzania. It uses two case study areas that were
purposefully selected from Arusha City, namely the wards of Daraja Mbili and
Lemala. A total of 60 respondents participated in depth interviews. The study
reveals that limited access to ideal areas for doing urban agriculture has made
some farmers to acquire small portions of land in unlawful areas for that
purpose. Hence, the livestock kept are limited
in numbers and crops grown are those that take a short time to grow but
with less ability to suffice the food needs of the farmers and urban residents.
It also reveals that the majority farmers whose land is somehow secured to meet
their food and income needs through agriculture. However, uncontrolled
agricultural practices have on the one hand accelerated environmental degradation and pollution, its roles on
supporting livelihoods of needy farmers cannot be underrated. The study
argues that urban agriculture cannot take
place in the absence of adequate access to agricultural land by the farmers. It cannot also take place in the weak
institutional framework that can guide its operations without
jeopardising other urban land uses.