What’s so urban about agriculture? Dar es Salaam development planning must include farming to secure food security for all

Panorama of Dar es Salaam city a few minutes before dusk. Photo by Benjamin William Mkapa

Urban Farming – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

By Afton Halloran
Afton Halloran is a urban agriculture project officer with Sustainable Cities: PLUS Network Africa Project.
This Day
April 13, 2010

Excerpt:

Examples of innovation on the behalf of farmers in Dar es Salaam include the zero-grazing method of livestock rearing as it reduces the amount of land needed to graze. Zero-grazing cattle reduce soil compaction, soil erosion and other environmental stresses caused by over-grazing.

A direct result of this method is the milk we drink from peri-urban areas in Dar es Salaam. Other farmers have designed vertical poultry “apartments” to provide more space to raise chickens in the city.

Another innovative agricultural method is mushroom cultivation. With a few inputs like plastic bags, string, corn husks, cotton and spores, mushrooms can yield a substantial crop within three weeks.

Additionally, they can be harvested continuously for three months. They do not require sunlight and are ideal to grow when land is not suitable for cultivation due to land scarcity, theft or pollution. With proper training mushroom cultivation can help improve the livelihoods of many urban dwellers.

In confined urban spaces many residents of Dar es Salaam choose to grow food on their balconies and rooftops in order to maximize space.

For instance, beans, tomatoes and squash can be trained to move great distances upwards with the help of a string. Old plastic containers and plastic bags can be filled with soil and suspended from ceilings. Simple techniques like these can greatly maximize space, especially in crowded downtown areas.

Although there has been some negative light shed on urban agriculture, such as the contamination of urban vegetables irrigated with water from the polluted Msimbazi river, we need to continue to support our urban farmers. In doing so, we need to address the primary problems first.

For example, why is the Msimbazi river polluted? What can we do to clean it up in order to ensure that the irrigation water from this river is safe for the future? Blaming farmers for cultivating in polluted areas does nothing to ensure that the residents of Dar es Salaam will continue to have access to food.

Together we must think of ways in which we can efficiently integrate agriculture into our cities. It would be inefficient to grow cereal crops within the city centre, but it is not far fetched to envision tomato plants growing on one’s balcony and bananas in one’s backyard.

These are small acts, but they can make a huge difference in household expenditures, as well as to our nutrition. We must include urban agriculture in our present and future plans for this city if we want to secure long-term food security for all. We all eat. We all support agriculture.

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