Recognizing Ethiopia's Urban Farmers
Marilyn Lee

Rapid urbanization in Ethiopia from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, coupled with drought, famine, and war, placed enormous pressure on the country's food supply, including that of the capital, Addis Ababa, according to an Ethiopian agricultural researcher. But urban residents could do more to feed themselves if authorities would warm to the practice of growing food in the city, says Dr Axumite G/Egziabher.

Dr Axumite has been studying the impact of urban agriculture in the capital for several years and has concluded that the practice is beneficial for the people and for the community.

"Producing food in the city isn't new. It's a traditional lifestyle. Cows, sheep, chickens, maize, and other vegetables are common in the urban environment," she told delegates to the conference of the Canadian Association of African Studies in Toronto last May. "For some families, growing their own food is their only means of survival." D r Axumite's research is especially critical to Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian 1984 Population and Housing Census Preliminary Report showed that the capital accounted for 30.2% of the total urban population in the entire country.

Hunger and poverty are serious problems in an urban centre like Addis Ababa, says Dr Axumite. A survey conducted by the Master Plan Project Office in 1984 shows that 60% of all households in the city were in the low income bracket of less than Birr 200 per month (US$40 in 1984). Among these households, an estimated 56% of the family income was spent on food.

A 1983 survey of 1,352 households showed that only 17% produced their own vegetables, and that the area under cultivation was mostly less than 25 square metres. Among those households not cultivating, the reason given by 90% of them for not farming was lack of access to land. Dr Axumite sees urban agriculture as both a long-term and short-term solution to the problem of ensuring an adequate supply of food. She says it is also an answer to the need for nutritious food. Ethiopians generally consume few vegetables because of their high cost and restricted availability. She adds that traditional eating habits favour buying other foodstuffs such as meat.

GOVERNMENT ATTITUDES

Although it would make sense to take advantage of available land for food production, Dr Axumite finds that government attitudes and policies actually discourage the activity. She says the value of urban agriculture has been seriously under-estimated by government officials. Despite its proven benefits to the poor, urban agriculture is still considered a temporary, part-time activity by citizens.

Urban agriculture improves the quality of life on several fronts, according to Dr Axumite. For one, it creates employment. While most of the food that is produced by households is eaten by the family, some have enough left over to sell, which creates income. And because the food is produced near peoples' homes, it markedly reduces the need to transport food to the city, lowering both fuel consumption and damage to roads.

Despite these benefits, Dr Axumite says residents have trouble getting government authorization to use state land, owing largely to bureaucratic indifference. "There's lots of public land: school yards, road-sides, along highways, even parks."

Another problem people face is access to credit. Borrowing start-up money to launch farming activities, or even to buy tools, is a tremendous challenge, says Dr Axumite.

Dr Axumite calls on urban planners and city governments to better respond to the needs of residents in expanding food production. She says that if Addis Ababa City Council were to grant access to vacant land, to hand out tax rebates, or even simply to coordinate the activities of various governmental and non-governmental agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture, these actions would be big steps in making urban agriculture viable.

Even in the face of government apathy, Dr Axumite found that some gardens had been in existence for as long as 43 years. And because of this record of survival, she believes that government officials can be convinced that urban agriculture is a good thing. "Right now, the government just tolerates urban agriculture. It really should encourage it, promote it."

Dr Axumite learned that most urban agriculture is carried out by extended families because of the need to share work. In addition, it allows families to fulfill cultural and social obligations. Family gardens also guarantee the cooperation and assistance of different branches of the family to ensure long-term survival. "It's like insurance," she says. "I help you now, you help me later."

Dr Axumite also found that the collective manner in which families ran their operations meant that those families had more money. They had less need to spend income from their jobs to buy food. About 60% of families who engaged in urban agriculture owned their own homes. The extra money also allowed the families to achieve higher education levels.

SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES OF COOPERATIVES

While most urban agriculture is carried out by individual families, there are five agricultural cooperatives in Addis Ababa. Each is along a main river or stream in the city, taking advantage of natural waterfalls and small canals for irrigation to carry out intensive farming. While some of the produce is consumed by members of the cooperatives, most of it is destined for sale.

In the case of the largest cooperative -- the Mekanissa, Furi and Saris Vegetable Producers' Cooperative -- Dr Axumite learned that its formation was self-inspired. The members came up with the idea as part of a strategy to become self-sufficient and protect themselves from exploitation by outsiders. Some of the value of this initiative can be seen in the fact that the income of cooperative members has been shown to be 70% higher than people not engaged in urban agriculture.

A NEW OUTLOOK

Being part of a cooperative also changed the outlook its members had of themselves. As members, they each had equal rights and responsibilities in all the activities of the cooperative. All members had the right to vote, and to be elected themselves. Shares from the cooperative were distributed based on the number of points assigned to each task. T he cooperative created a strong bond among its members. This solidarity has inspired members to solve their own problems. The knowledge and self confidence thereby created has helped the people to become more independent, says Dr Axumite.

But here again, credit becomes an obstacle: because the cooperative has not been legalized by the government, it cannot get loans to improve the productivity of the operation.

LOOKING AHEAD

While Dr Axumite's far-ranging research paper has lifted the curtain on the impact of urban agriculture in Addis Ababa, she says that certain aspects require much more study. While the production of food in urban areas -- especially perishable vegetables -- will undoubtedly reduce the strain on limited transportation and on energy-intensive processing and packaging, its impact on the economy needs to be fully explored.

She says that scientists also need to examine the impact of urban agriculture on the environment in terms of micro-climate, soil conservation, and disposal of wastes. Finally, Dr Axumite points out that researchers should not overlook the impact urban agriculture has on the socio-economic structure of the communities in which it takes place, given that it represents much more than a temporary phenomenon.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Dr Axumite G/Egziabher,
PO Box 30837,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
tel: (01) 185932 fax: 251-1-510545

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