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‘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
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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

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