Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
of UA takes place in open spaces and on vacant public land. Also, it is
important to support UA in the form of production inputs, agricultural
extension, viable prices and places for marketing.
The regulatory environment should not constrain the activities of the urban
self-employed, given that close to 50 per cent of the income of the lowest
quartile income group comes from the informal sector. Historically, the
municipality has tended to view the informal sector as a problem to be solved
rather than as a viable resource for dealing with unemployment. Lately, the
central government has also developed an intolerance for this sector, resulting
in harassment of informal entrepreneurs. Female-headed households tended to
have lower incomes because they had fewer assets, especially human assets such
as education, labour and marketable skills. Therefore, investment in education
for girls is likely to reduce poverty in the long term.
The municipality should invest in publicizing UA legislation and invest in
dialogue with urban farmers. This is crucial, given that more than 40 per cent
of the people practising UA were unfamiliar with any such related by-laws,
and 22 per cent considered existing legislation to be hostile to UA. Given the
potential environmental and health hazards that can emanate from UA,
municipal administration should actively regulate, manage and guide UA.
Only by doing this will they be able to fully realize its potentials and prevent
negative side-effects.
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to thank Canada's International Development Research Centre for
fully funding my research project through its AGROPOLIS award
programme. I am grateful to Agricultural Research and Extension Services
(AREX) and the City of Harare for providing an environment conducive for
my research. I also want to thank my supervisors, Dr R. Mano and Mrs C.
Muchopa, and the many Harare residents who answered my questions.
N
OTE
1
Charity Mutonodzo; MSc Agricultural Economics; 10 Hillside Gardens, 15-17 Ferreira
Avenue, Hillside, Harare, Zimbabwe; tel: +263 4 747800; email: mutonhodzac@yahoo.
co.uk
R
EFERENCES
Colman, D. and Young, T. (1996) Principles of Agricultural Economics: Markets and Prices in
Less Developed Countries, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of
Manchester, UK
Deaton, A. (1997) The Analysis of Household Surveys: A Micro-econometric Approach to
Development Policy, World Bank, Washington, DC
