Food Security Contributions of Urban Agriculture :The Case among Households in Akaki Kaliti Sub-City Addis Ababa
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Date
2011
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Urban agriculture in Addis Ababa city is being implemented by the small holder individual
farmers, micro and small enterprises, and the large scale cooperatives for different reasons.
Urban agriculture is among those socia economic sectors (hat are interrelated with food security
but undermined and misconceived for long. A thorough understanding and analysis of food
security contributions of urban agriculture is the central theme of this research.
The combination of both qUGnlitafive and qualitative research method was employed in this
study where the dala in both types were used as an input for analyzing. III (he courses of
quantitative methods of analysis, the slatis/icalwa/s slich as linear coefficient of relation using
the Pearson correlation coefficient, the coefficient of determination. and the linear regression
were used to examine the interrelations between different variables.
Urban agriculture does appear to be associated with greater dietary diversity and the increased
number of ea/ing occasions that are the measures of an improved diet at household level. The
household food supply from the own production can conSiderably satisfY the food demand of
urban dwellers. The VA production can also fosters the market availability of agriculture
products where 'he urban poor can access VA products in the vicinity. Also, urban agriculture
comrihwes to household's access to food by virlUe of increased income of those people engaged
in the production, processing and marketing of urban agriculture. It widely utilizes as one of the
income generating activities in the city due to that it contributes for employment opportunity and
improves the purchasing power of households. Urban agriculture due to its proximity to the huge
and potential markets, those nutritionally high food products are easily and timely available for
the consumer. Moreover, urban agriculture can be used as an alternative food security through
coping mechanism or survival strategy in times offamily and social crisis: can complement lhe
low income obtained from the basic livelihood sources; and 10 cope with Ihe soaring prices of
food products in the city. De3pite ils role for food security urban agriculture filces the problems
such as institutional and polity related, socia-economic. and research and technological
constraints thai are exogenous (lhe system
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Food Security Contributions of Urban Agriculture