Guiding safe Agriculture in Kampala

Last year brought good news for urban crop and livestock producers and traders in Kampala, when the City Council abandoned the old colonial restrictions on city farming and formalized a City Ordinance on urban agriculture.  This year the City Council will incorporate five sets of urban agriculture guidelines into the Ordinance that have been accepted and cleared by technical officers of the City Council, which are crucially important for urban food security and income generation, are carried, safely, without risk to the health of producers, consumers or the environment and without causing a nuisance to neighbors.

The five guidelines will provide clear and realistic regulations for city farmers and traders on urban agriculture, livestock, meat, fish and diary.  Each guideline provides a well-written explanation of what can and cannot be done, when permits are needed, and what penalties or consequences there are.  For example, if a livestock keeper owns a cow that seems to suffer from a disease he/she must inform the Council.  Any breach in the ordinance guidelines could result in judiciary actions.  If a case is serious enough the courts could impose a penalty or suspend licenses.

The steps taken by the Kampala City Council are an impressive example of how policy dialogue, initiated in this case by Urban Harvest together with the city authorities, local university and other governmental and non-governmental agencies, contributes to the sustainability of urban agriculture through municipal action. To read more about the guidelines please go to our website. http://www.cipotato.org/urbanharvest/Kampala_guidelines_ua.htm

Urban Harvest would like to recognize their investment partners for making all possible.BMZ, CIDA, DFID, IDRC, INIA, World Bank, Comunidad Madrid