Sustainable urban farming in Johannesburg, South Africa
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Date
2018
Authors
Mello, Madimetja Antony
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Abstract
Food insecurity remains a major issue for many of the developing countries in the world
including south Africa. This is evidenced by the number of United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) that focus on improving global food security.
Johannesburg has seen a large influx of people from rural areas who flood to the city in search
of work and other opportunities to improve their quality of life. Growing population numbers in
the city have put the food system, and more specifically food security, under increased
pressure. Johannesburg is highly urbanised with most of the land used for industrial and
human settlement developments. With an increasing need to grow food close to where people
live and work it is becoming very important for the development of alternative farming methods
for the urban context.
Public and private entities have made efforts to establish urban farming initiatives in the city.
However, many of these initiatives fail to deliver the desired outcomes because they do not
take into consideration the complexities involved with setting up initiatives to address food
insecurity. This study was conducted with the aim of developing a sustainable social
entrepreneurship model for the establishment of urban farming initiatives in Johannesburg. A
review of relevant literature and thereafter conducting interviews with subject matter experts
several strategic and operational challenges to ensure the successful implementation of these
initiatives were investigated.
The findings highlighted several key challenges which limited and hampered the ability of
urban smallholder farmers to ensure the financial viability and sustainability of their farming
initiatives. The results confirmed many of the conclusions of the literature studied. The main
identified factors were; limited accessibility to farming land, markets, funding and most
importantly knowledge and information regarding setting up and effectively and efficiently
managing small agri-businesses.
One of the outcomes of this study is a proposed social entrepreneurship model that defines
an alternative way of thinking about social initiatives. The focus is both on the social impact
and the profitability of the business activities. Further work needs to be done to develop an
enabling environment for these initiatives to flourish. This study is one of several which will
trigger a much-needed shift in thinking and approach to urban agriculture to effectively benefit
and transform society.
Description
MBA
Keywords
Social entrepreneurship, urban farming, sustainable, food security