Draft Proposal on

Impact Assessment of Urban Agriculture Research and Development in Nairobi

By William Omoto
Department of Research Development
Nairobi Kenya

1. INTRODUCTION

Background

Kenya’s leading development challenges today include alleviation of poverty and environmental management in the context of rapid population growth and urbanization. Kenya’s population was 28.6 million people in 1999 and is expected to reach 43 million in the year 2020. According to the government statistics, the national level of absolute poverty increased from 44% in 1992 to 56% in 2002 (GoK 2002). Nairobi has registered the highest rate of urbanization (4.5%) with a population of 2.2m in 2000 projected to reach 3.2m in the year 2010. About 50% of people in Nairobi live below the absolute poverty line of Ksh. 2 648. As the urbanization trend continues, urban environments are deteriorating. Most of the urban poor are concentrated in the informal settlements where there are no infrastructure and services to address environmental problems and are engaged in urban agriculture. One of the biggest policy challenges today is the inclusion of environmental policy into urban policy. UPA can be an integral part of a set of policies for sustainable urban environmental management. Urban AF can play an especially vital role in waste management by transforming waste into food and fuel. Waste management approaches in place include waste collecting, sorting, treatment and recycling at the community level in corporation with local organizations. A national study of six Kenya towns including Nairobi revealed that 29 per cent of all urban households cultivated food crops while 17 per cent kept livestock (Lee-Smith et al, 1987). Urban agriculture is widespread and long established activity in Nairobi, however, it is still undervalued and resisted by public officials.