Urban Farming Research Paper

1. INTRODUCTION

A report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) highlighted the growing worldwide importance of urban farming. According to this report, one seventh of the world 's food supply is grown in cities and there are some 800 million urban farmers globally. The majority of them are found in Asian and African cities. Of these, 200 million are considered to be market producers, employing 150 million people on a full time basis (UNDP 1996). According to the International Development Research Centre 2010, the practice of producing food in cities dates back to Incaic, Aztec and Mayan cities, early Japanese and Indus settlements, and towns of the Tigris and Euphrates. Today more advanced urban agriculture is typically found in

Urban crop production has been viewed as one strategy where recent research suggests that food insecurity could be tackled (Pothukuchi and Kaufman, 1999;Mougeot, 2001, 2005a). Urban crop production has been shown to be an important source of food in developing countries and a critical food ‘insurance policy’ for poor urban households (Mougeot, 2000; Nugent, 2000). Urban crop production also affects household nutrition as it provides a source of fresh, locally grown crops that meets the micronutrient requirements in poor households’ diets (FAO, 2001; Maxwell, 2001).

Other benefits have been documented, such as increases in household incomes due to the sale of urban agricultural produce (Sanyal, 1985; Smit, 1996; Sabates et al, 2001; Henn, 2002). Given the urban population growth world-wide, the phenomenon of urban agriculture as a food, income and employment generator is likely to

The main water resources that provide the city with water are Geferssa, Legedadi and Dire Dams having a combined daily production of 173,000 m 3. Additional supply comes from 20 major springs (10,000 m 3 day 1 ) and the Akaki well system (~30,000 m 3 day 1 ) (AAWSA,2000). Two major rivers flow through the city, namely Tinishu Akaki (Little Akaki) and Tiliku Akaki (Great Akaki) Rivers. These rivers, which are tributaries of Awash River, originate from Entoto Mountains that are located north to Addis Ababa and flow to Aba Samuel Lake (43 km to the South).

One of the most extensively used river valleys for irrigating urban farms in Addis Ababa is the Little Akaki. Little Akaki remains to be the primary recipient of most of the industrial effluents discharged within the city. High concentration and variation of pollutants along the river course was found mostly inside and outside (downstream) the city of Addis Ababa. This variation likely arises due to the rapid urbanization and industrialization of the city. (Girma Kebbede, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, USA