Articles
PROMOTING A DYNAMIC APPROACH FOR AGRICULTURE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Article number
1021_2
Pages
27 – 40
Language
English
Abstract
This presentation focuses on results obtained from the international workshop Agricultures et développement urbain en Afrique de lOuest et du Centre [Types of urban agriculture and development in Central and West Africa] hosted in Yaoundé in 2005 in Cameroon.
The main partners in this workshop were Senegal, Benin and Cameroon, with the participation of several other countries from sub-Saharan Africa.
Four main topics were investigated: urbanization and governance; urbanization and city supplies; urbanization and the environment; and urbanization and sanitary issues.
Several main areas of research emerged, among which: 1) How can areas in cities for which it is impossible to obtain building permits be rezoned and promoted for agriculture?; 2) How can the marketed surplus from urban and peri-urban areas be promoted?; and 3) How can agrochemical inputs be better monitored? Among the participants at the workshop there was consensus on the highly heterogeneous situations confronted by urban and peri-urban agriculture.
There was also consensus for a wide variety of policies to implement or pursue in order to improve livelihoods and environmental standards for urban and peri-urban agriculture (training, reliable data, etc.). Today, however, despite some case studies, there is still a lack of systematic research concerning institutional urban-rural interconnections.
Moreover, little research has focused on the very nature of the currently ongoing transition between the rural and urban worlds.
From a transition perspective, future research could thus begin to study the dynamics of agricultural practices; the migration of people in or out of agriculture; or the question of whether or not to adopt intensive systems.
In this sense, a complementary area for research from a transition perspective would be the study of substitution factor between inputs (labour, technology, land, credit): for example, the economic and agronomic consequences that would result from recycling municipal solid wastes instead of using agrochemical inputs.
The main partners in this workshop were Senegal, Benin and Cameroon, with the participation of several other countries from sub-Saharan Africa.
Four main topics were investigated: urbanization and governance; urbanization and city supplies; urbanization and the environment; and urbanization and sanitary issues.
Several main areas of research emerged, among which: 1) How can areas in cities for which it is impossible to obtain building permits be rezoned and promoted for agriculture?; 2) How can the marketed surplus from urban and peri-urban areas be promoted?; and 3) How can agrochemical inputs be better monitored? Among the participants at the workshop there was consensus on the highly heterogeneous situations confronted by urban and peri-urban agriculture.
There was also consensus for a wide variety of policies to implement or pursue in order to improve livelihoods and environmental standards for urban and peri-urban agriculture (training, reliable data, etc.). Today, however, despite some case studies, there is still a lack of systematic research concerning institutional urban-rural interconnections.
Moreover, little research has focused on the very nature of the currently ongoing transition between the rural and urban worlds.
From a transition perspective, future research could thus begin to study the dynamics of agricultural practices; the migration of people in or out of agriculture; or the question of whether or not to adopt intensive systems.
In this sense, a complementary area for research from a transition perspective would be the study of substitution factor between inputs (labour, technology, land, credit): for example, the economic and agronomic consequences that would result from recycling municipal solid wastes instead of using agrochemical inputs.
Authors
L. Parrot
Keywords
securing access to land and water, integrated plant production and protection, product quality and safety, marketing
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