Sub-Saharan Africa is the most rapidly urbanized region in the world. Especially in the urban informal areas, Food Planning is one of the main challenges for policy makers, the population itself, city planners and of course -... [ view full abstract ]
Sub-Saharan Africa is the most rapidly urbanized region in the world. Especially in the urban informal areas, Food Planning is one of the main challenges for policy makers, the population itself, city planners and of course - urban farmers to achieve a Sustainable Food System (Biel). This research raises the question on possible urbanGAPs (Good Agricultural Practice guidelines for cities) for more as well as safe, healthy and possibly organic crop production as one –quality related - aspect on Food Planning within cities.
Especially in a city like Cape Town with Food Insecurity rates up to 90% in the townships, it is essential to understand and incorporate regenerative agriculture with a strong socio-political context as a land-use system beyond shows the limits of sustainable agriculture.
The research is focused on Market Gardens in Cape Town as the could play a crucial role in providing fresh produce. The market gardens have potential to be a source of food for the Food Insecure neighborhood as well as a possible income generation for the farmers. To do so, they would need to develop climate smart agricultural methods and adapt the production to local demand. A farmer survey was conducted and 12 market gardeners are scientifically accompanied between 2017 and 2019 to analyze production challenges, Good Practices and income potential of upscaling from backyard gardens to organic market gardens.
The organic crop production in urban environments is challenging because of intensive plant nutrient requirements and incidence of disease. Low-tech and inexpensive techniques are necessary - based on Good Agricultural Practices as well as sufficient and appropriate training for urban farmers.
A general proposal for Good Agricultural Practice for cities (urbanGAP) is developed in Cape Town during a participatory multi-stakeholder process. These urbanGAPs are in practice tested and verified with a Participatory Guarantee System. The potential of Food Planning tool PGS certification is furthermore assessed with the urban farmers PGS group in the township. The grass root movement can be seen as benefit for Sustainable Food Planning as producers work on their own quality assurance and building up their production and markets on trust, participation, and sovereignty from global and national food markets.
5f. Food security and agriculture
