Urban Horticulture for Food Security and Livelihood Restoration in Mutare City, Eastern Zimbabwe

Abstract

Caritas International Zimbabwe implemented a food security restoration project targeting 1,000 vulnerable households in Mutare urban, eastern Zimbabwe. The objectives of the study were to determine whether targeted households were able to improve household income from sale of horticultural produce and to assess if these households were improving their household dietary diversity. Data were collected from a random sample of 100 household heads through interviews in December 2014. Desk reviews of Mutare urban food security project reports (baseline and end line surveys) were done. Results show that the urban horticulture project improved household income of about 70% (n = 70) of the targeted households by then. By December 2014 household food consumption score (FCS) among the project targeted households had improved beyond FCS > 35 as compared to baseline status. Mutare urban farmers were coached to practice market oriented horticulture production to enjoy both a diversified diet themselves and to sell to the market, through which they were getting a net profit of at least US$80/month per household. We conclude that the Mutare urban horticulture project improved food and nutrition security and restore livelihoods for the targeted poor urban dwellers as at December 2014. Such market-led horticulture project formulation is a worthy feasibility studies for options for replication in related project area context which could be proposed.

Land Access in the Development of Horticultural Crops in East Africa. A Case Study of Passion Fruit in Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda

“…This may harm food supply for such households, especially when the limited food supplied at markets becomes expensive and unaffordable. The situation is complex, and there may be a need for refinancing food crops despite their replacement by passion fruits since food crops have key roles in food and nutritional security, however, there is also the knowledge that the newly introduced crops such as passion fruits are in an urgent need of financing for research in the development of their production [38][39][40].…”

Impetus of urban horticulture on open spaces: case of Mutare City

“…A number of investigations in Zimbabwe had been done on urban agriculture among them hazardous farming practices in urban areas, urban agriculture opportunities and urban agriculture as a food security strategy for urban dwellers, (Chaminuka & Dube, 2017;Poverty Reduction Trust, 2019;Ziwenga, 2014;Mkhokheli, 2012;Gandawa, 2020). Gwetsayi, et. al.…”

“…Urban agriculture is driven by a combination of factors linked to severe food crisis, failure of land reform program, worsening poverty, agriculture market failure, political and economic challenges due to failure of government economic policies (Mkhokheli, 2012;Chaminuka & Dube, 2017;Gwetsayi, et al, 2016;Nwosisi & Nandwani, 2018;Martin, 2018). Growing poverty, hunger and lack of formal employment opportunities have forced development of urban agriculture (Gondo, et al, 2017).…”

“…FAO, RUAF and other international organisations in different countries noted that urban and peri-urban horticulture played a role in enhancing vitamin and micronutrient supply for households in the urban areas especially in the poor households. Urban agriculture creates employment and increase incomes to purchase food thus ensuring food security (Gandawa, 2020;Gwetsayi, et al, 2016;Kawadza, 2019;ZEPARU, 2014;World Bank, 2020). In Ghana after the country's independence the government supported urban agriculture in "Operation Feed Yourself" program as a measure to mitigate food demand producing cabbages, lettuce, cauliflower, onions, pepper and tomato (Amao, 2020).…”

“…Urban agriculture may function as an important strategy for poverty alleviation and social integration of disadvantaged groups with the aim to integrate them into urban network, provide them with decent livelihoods and prevent social problems (FAO, 2020;Kawadza, 2019). Urban agriculture creates business opportunities from small to medium enterprises in the value chain (ZEPARU, 2014;Gwetsayi, et al, 2016;Nwosisi & Nandwani, 2018).…”