The impact of urban gardening on household food security: evidence from Makhanda East, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Bruwer, Guillaume Marcel Xavier
- Date: 2022-04-06
- Subjects: Food security South Africa Makhanda , Urban agriculture South Africa Makhanda , Urban gardening South Africa Makhanda , Sustainable development South Africa Makhanda , South Africa Economic conditions , Subsistence farming South Africa Makhanda , Economic impact analysis South Africa Makhanda , Propensity Score Matching (PSM)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/263575 , vital:53640
- Description: Urban gardening in townships is a common coping strategy employed by poor inhabitants to improve food security, earn income through sales, and generate cost-savings through home consumption of fresh produce. Food security is a cornerstone of human development and welfare, and the achievement thereof remains a global challenge. The majority of academic research and policy documentation traditionally positions food insecurity as a rural phenomenon. However, recent trends point to an increase in food insecurity in urban areas, particularly in low-income areas such as townships. In South Africa, rapid urbanization has led to burgeoning townships and rapidly expanding low-income informal settlements characterised by poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity. Research concerned with the role that urban agricultural production plays in contributing to the food security of poor households is scarce and not well understood. This research, therefore, aimed to contribute to the limited research which specifically examines urban food security, and the role urban agriculture play in the achievement of household food security. The study employed collective action theory and utility theory to firstly provides an in-depth examination of the determinants of participation in urban gardening using Probit regression modeling. The second research objective was to perform an impact evaluation of participation in urban gardening on selected household food security indicators including Household Dietary Diversity Scores (HDDS), the Household Hunger Scale (HHS) and the Coping Strategy Index (CSI) using Propensity Score Matching (PSM). Purposive and snowball sampling methods were employed to obtain a sample of 60 urban gardeners and a control group of 55 non-gardening households from Extension 6, 7 and 10 townships as well as Joza Location in Makhanda East, Eastern Cape Province. Households were surveyed using a structured household food security questionnaire. A focus group discussion was held with the Linomtha Community Garden members and key informant interviews were undertaken with important stakeholders such as the local extension officers. Descriptive analysis revealed that urban gardening households (UGs) had older household heads who were less educated, and that land and water availability were the dominant constraints to increases in agricultural production. Results from the probit and average marginal effects models showed that the likelihood of participation significantly increased when household unemployment and dependency increased and that households who were engaged in off-farm economic activity were more likely to participate in urban gardening. The impact evaluation was performed using PSM and Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT). Analysis illustrated that participation in urban gardening does significantly reduce both the full CSI and Reduced CSI. Thus, participation in urban gardening improves the food security of participating households by significantly reducing the frequency of participating households (UGs) applying undesirable coping strategies such as sending children elsewhere other than the household, borrowing food from other households and reducing the number of meals eaten in a day due to food shortages. This study posits that urban gardening alone will not eradicate the rampant food insecurity and poverty which pervades in South Africa’s townships. However, urban gardening participation does contribute to the construction of a sustainable, urban livelihood by reducing the number and severity of the undesirable coping strategies that food insecure households employ by providing some nutritious produce as well improved social capital through gardening networks and supporting institutions. It is recommended that policy makers, at a national and municipal level, need to create a clearer directive for the integration of urban food production into the urban food marketplace thus increasing access to income generating channels for small-scale home, and community gardeners. Co-operation between private and public institutions for food security and urban gardeners needs to be fostered and awareness of opportunities to participate in urban gardens needs to be improved. Central to the developmental challenges that rapid increases in urbanization and food insecurity in poor urban areas, is the need for national and local governments to improve access to economic opportunities in township areas - both in urban agriculture and in other, skills intensive sectors. , Thesis (MEcon) -- Faculty of Commerce, Economics and Economic History, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-04-06
Land use decision-making on residential plots in Fingo Village, Makhanda (Grahamstown), South Africa
- Authors: Memela, Sinenhlanhla
- Date: 2021-04-28
- Subjects: Land use South Africa Makhanda Decision making , Land use, Urban South Africa Makhanda Decision making , Residential real estate South Africa Makhanda , Urban ecology (Sociology) South Africa Makhanda , Urban gardening South Africa Makhanda , Urban livestock production systems South Africa Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/322694 , vital:60589 , DOI 10.21504/10962/322694
- Description: This study seeks to understand land use decision-making dynamics on large residential plots in Fingo Village, Makhanda (Grahamstown). Fingo Village was selected as a study area because it is one of the poorest urban settings in South Africa where urban poverty is observed alongside access to land. A dominant economic perspective not only suggests that land use decisions are motivated by economic motives, but also implies that access to land would enable people to generate income from its use to improve their livelihoods. This study argues against an uncritical embrace of this assumption. Lefebvre’s production of space thesis provides a holistic understanding of the factors involved in the making of land use decisions. The focus of this study is on the dialectic process in the spatial triad– spatial practice, representational space and representations of space. This involved the reading of government policies and legislation together with local lived experiences to gain an understanding of the particular spatial practices seen in Fingo Village. Snowball and convenience sampling were used to select 36 household plots in Fingo Village. Primary data was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews and participatory mapping while additional information was sourced from secondary sources and desktop analysis. The findings of the study show that there is no uniform pattern of land use and success. Different land use activities found on the selected residential plots, including the main house, backyard flat or flats, spaza shops, a funeral parlour, livestock keeping, cultural use (a kraal for ancestral worship) and food gardening. These activities are motivated by residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards their spaces, as well as the value and meaning they attach to the land which is not limited to economic factors, but is also influenced by socio-cultural, political and biophysical considerations. Although some spatial practices are prohibited by the government, they are important to the residents. Other participants fail to use the land as would be expected by a conventional economic perspective, due to spatial conflict relating to different interests as a result of collective land ownership and the failure of municipalities to enforce policies and regulations. The fact that numerous factors influence households’ land use decisions means that access to land does not always directly translate into economic benefits. It is all about what people think or do about their land, as well as what the state lays out in terms of policy and legislation, that will influence whether those people with large plots of land will ‘prosper’ or not. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Geography, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-04-28