Urban agriculture in Cape Town : an investigation into the history and impact of small-scale urban agriculture in the Cape Flats townships with a special focus on the social benefits of urban farming

Abstract

Urban agriculture (UA), defined in this study as the cultivation of crops and the farming of poultry and livestock within city boundaries, is not a new phenomenon. There are noticeable gaps in the literature in respect of Cape Town: a lack of information on the history of the practice and a relative lack of information on the social benefits. Life history interviews were conducted with 30 small-scale, informal UA farmers in the Cape Flats areas of Guguletu, Philippi, Nyanga, KTC and New Crossroads. It was found that UA has been practised in various parts of the Cape Flats since the early 20th century. It was found that Cape Flats farmers have derived and continue to derive a variety of benefits from both the products and the processes of their UA activities, including food security, health and income generation, as well as significant social benefits.