The performance and support of food gardens in some townships of the Cape Metropolitan Area: An evaluation of Abalimi Bezekhaya

Abstract

Drawing on an evaluation of the gardening promotion activities of Abalimi Bezekhaya, a gardening organisation operating in the townships of the Cape Metropolitan Area, this article puts forward recommendations and policy directives for the development of urban agricultural initiatives. Field research, undertaken with gardeners in the townships, utilised participatory methodologies to elicit their opinions and gain insight into their motivations for gardening, the various constraints they face, and their opinion of the services provided by Abalimi Bezekhaya. From these exercises, recommendations were made to the organisation on how it could improve its services to the communities. In addition, the evaluation revealed that urban agriculture offers gardeners an opportunity to become involved in a development strategy which holds tremendous potential and which can expand into an entrepreneurial activity, if due attention is paid to issues of policy, agricultural development, land reform and the creation of livelihoods.

Notes

This article is based on research undertaken for Abalimi Bezekhaya on their gardening promotion activities in the township areas of the Cape Flats during 1995 and 1996.

Respectively, Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Stellenbosch, and Coordinator, Enviro Unit, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town. The authors wish to thank the food gardeners who so willingly participated in the research exercises; our fieldwork assistants, Khalid Salie and Gladman Ngxokwana; and the staff of Abalimi Bezekhaya for their valuable comments, advice and support throughout the research. We also wish to acknowledge with thanks the valuable comments and suggestions of the anonymous referee.