Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-skm99 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T18:44:46.010Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘INSTEAD OF BEGGING, I FARM TO FEED MY CHILDREN’: URBAN AGRICULTURE – AN ALTERNATIVE TO COPPER AND COBALT IN LUBUMBASHI

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2011

Nyumbaiza Tambwe ,
Michael Rudolph  and
Ran Greenstein
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The collapse of the mining company La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (GECAMINES) in the 1990s forced many unemployed workers in Lubumbashi to look at alternative means of survival. The post-GECAMINES era was characterized by acute economic crisis at a time of rapid population growth and increasing urban poverty. The object of this article is threefold: to demonstrate how Lubumbashi residents resorted to agricultural activities within and around the city; to identify reasons for success and failure from three case studies; and to categorize the types of agriculture that emerge. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews, in-depth questions and observation. One hundred farming households were selected and interviewed between November 2004 and March 2005. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis for qualitative aspects and SPSS for the quantitative information. Though the living conditions of 75 per cent of urban farmers declined despite the practice of urban agriculture, these conditions might have worsened without it. However, 20 per cent of the households in the sample succeeded in stabilizing their living conditions, even though they were unable to alleviate poverty completely. A few farmers (5 per cent) became food-secure through the practice of urban agriculture.

Résumé

La faillite de la Générale des Carrières et des Mines (GÉCAMINES) dans les années 1990 a forcé de nombreux travailleurs sans emploi de Lubumbashi à rechercher d'autres moyens de survie. L’ère post-Gécamines fut caractérisée par une grave crise économique coïncidant avec une période de croissance démographique rapide et d'augmentation de la pauvreté urbaine. L'objet de cet article est triple: démontrer comment les habitants de Lubumbashi ont eu recours à des activités agricoles dans la ville et ses environs, identifier les motifs de succès et d’échec de trois études de cas, et classifier les types d'agriculture qui émergent. La collecte des données s'est faite au moyen d'entretiens semi-structurés, de questions approfondies et d'observations. Cent ménages agricoles ont été sélectionnés et interrogés entre novembre 2004 et mars 2005. L'analyse des données s'est faite au moyen d'une analyse de contenu thématique pour les aspects qualitatifs, et du progiciel SPSS pour les données quantitatives. 75 pour cent des exploitants urbains ont vu leurs conditions de vie se détériorer malgré la pratique de l'agriculture urbaine, mais sans cette dernière ces conditions auraient pu être pires. En revanche, 20 pour cent des ménages interrogés avaient réussi à stabiliser leurs conditions de vie, même ils n'avaient pas réussi à réduire entièrement la pauvreté. Quelques exploitants (5 pour cent) sont parvenus à satisfaire leurs besoins alimentaires par la pratique de l'agriculture urbaine.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 81 , Issue 3 , August 2011 , pp. 391 - 412
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bruneau, J. C. and Bukome, I. (1987) ‘La répartition spatiale de petites et moyennes activités économiques à Lubumbashi’, Bulletin de la Société Géographique de Liège 23 (22): 79–97.Google Scholar
Chabal, P. and Daloz, J. P. (1999) Africa Works: disorder as political instrument. Oxford and Bloomington IN: James Currey and Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Conway, F. (1967) Sampling: An introduction for social scientists. London: George Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
de Janvry, A., Radwan, S., Sadoulet, E. and Thorbecke, E. (1995) State, Market and Civil Organizations: new theories, new practices and their implications for rural development. London: Macmillan Press.Google Scholar
Drescher, A. W., Hagmann, J. and Chuma, E. (1999) ‘Home gardens – a neglected potential for food security and sustainable land management in the communal lands of Zimbabwe’, Der Tropenlandwirt 2: 163–80. Kassel: Witzenhansen.Google Scholar
Ferguson, J. (2006) Global Shadows: Africa in the neoliberal world order. Durham NC and London: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization (2009) ‘The state of food insecurity in the world’, <http:www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/>, accessed 15 November 2009.,+accessed+15+November+2009.>Google Scholar
Freeman, B. D. (1991) A City of Farmers: informal urban agriculture. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.Google Scholar
Friedmann, J. (1992) Empowerment: the politics of alternative development. Oxford and Cambridge MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Frutchard, V. (2004) ‘The socioeconomic situation of Gécamines’. Unpublished MS.Google Scholar
Hovorka, A. J. (2004) ‘Entrepreneurial opportunities in Botswana: (re)shaping urban agriculture discourse’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 22 (3): 367–88.Google Scholar
International Labour Organization (ILO) (1972) Employment, Income and Equality: a strategy for increasing productive employment in Kenya. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
MacGaffey, J. (ed.) (1991) The Real Economy of Zaire: the contribution of smuggling and other unofficial activities to national wealth. Philadelphia PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
May, J. and Roger, C. (1995) ‘Poverty and sustainable cities in South Africa: the role of urban cultivation’, Habitat International 19 (2): 165–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mbiba, B. (1995) Urban Agriculture in Zimbabwe: implications for urban management and poverty. Harare: Avebury Ashgate Publishing Limited.Google Scholar
Mougeot, L. J. (1994) ‘African city farming from a world perspective’ in Egziabeher, A., Lee-Smith, D., Maxwell, D., Memon, P., Mougeot, L. and Sawio, C. (eds), Cities Feeding People: an examination of urban agriculture in East Africa. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.Google Scholar
Moustier, P. (1998) ‘Définition et contours de l'agriculture périurbaine en Afrique sub-Saharienne’ in Agriculture Périurbaine en Afrique sub-Saharienne, Actes de l'Atelier International, Montpellier, 20–24 April 1998.Google Scholar
Moustier, P. and Fall, A. S. (2004) ‘Les dynamiques de l'agriculture urbaine: caractérisation et évolution’ in Smith, B. O., Moustier, P., Mougeot, L. J. A. and Fall, A. (eds), Développement durable de l'agriculture urbaine en Afrique francophone: enjeux, concepts et méthodes. Ottawa: Centre de Recherche pour le Développement International.Google Scholar
Mwembu, D. D. (1998) ‘Mémoire Congolaise: objectivation du vécu de jeunes Katangais’ in Jewsiewicki, B. and Letourneau, J. (eds), Les Jeunes à l’ère de la mondialisation: quelle identitaire et conscience historique. Silley: Editions du Septentrion.Google Scholar
Nugent, R. (2000) ‘The impact of urban agriculture on the household and local economies’ in Bakker, N., Dubbeling, M., Guendel, S., Sabel Koschella, U. and de Zeeuw, H. (eds), Growing Cities, Growing Food: urban agriculture on the policy agenda. Feldafing: German Foundation for International Development (DSE).Google Scholar
Owens, R. G. (2010) ‘Post-colonial migration: virtual culture, urban farming and new peri-urban growth in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 1975–2000’, Africa 80 (2): 249–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petit, P. (ed.) (2001) ‘Lubumbashi: la situation des ménages dans une économie de précarité’. Research report, Observatoire du Changement Urbain, Lubumbashi.Google Scholar
Petit, P. (ed.) (2002) ‘Byakula : Approche socio-anthropologique de l'alimentation à Lubumbashi’. Research report for the period, November 2000–January 2001, Observatoire du Changement Urbain, Lubumbashi.Google Scholar
Petit, P. and Mutambwa, G. M. (2005) ‘“La crise”: lexicon and ethos of the second economy in Lubumbashi’, Africa 75 (4): 467–87.Google Scholar
Sawio, J. C. (1994) ‘Who are the farmers of Dar es Salaam?’ in Egziabeher, A., Lee-Smith, D., Maxwell, D., Memon, P., Mougeot, L. and Sawio, C. (eds), Cities Feeding People: an examination of urban agriculture in East Africa. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.Google Scholar
Stanley, M. (1969) Methods of Social Research. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Tambwe, N. (2006) ‘Urban agriculture as a global economic activity with special reference to the city of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’, African and Asian Studies 5 (2): 193–213.Google Scholar
Tinker, I. (1994) ‘Urban agriculture is already feeding cities’ in Egziabeher, A., Lee-Smith, D., Maxwell, D., Memon, P., Mougeot, L., and Sawio, C. (eds), Cities Feeding People: an examination of agriculture in East Africa. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.Google Scholar
Tripp, A. M. (1997) Changing the Rules: the politics of liberalisation and the urban informal economy in Tanzania. Berkeley CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (1996) ‘Urban agriculture: food, jobs and sustainable cities’ in UNDP Publication Series for Habitat II, Volume 1. New York NY: UNDP.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2006) ‘Case study: Democratic Republic of Congo’ in the report ‘Human security: evaluation of UNDP support to conflict-affected countries’. Washington DC: UNDP.Google Scholar
Walker, R. (1985) Applied Quantitative Research. Aldershot: Gower.Google Scholar
Warren, A. B. C. (2002) ‘Qualitative interviewing’ in Gubrium, J. F. and Holstein, J. A. (eds), Handbook of Interview Research, Context and Method. London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Webb, L. N. (1996) ‘Urban Agriculture: advocacy and practice. A discursive study with particular reference to three Eastern Cape centres’. PhD thesis, Rhodes University.Google Scholar
World Bank (2004) ‘Report 2004 on restructuring of Gécamines’. Unpublished draft, Lubumbashi.Google Scholar