|
Stakeholder
Workshop for the Project, “Urban Agriculture in
Kampala, Uganda: health impact assessment and
options for improvement
Background
Half the world’s population now lives in towns or
cities and this will rise to at least 60% by 2020.
Many city dwellers are already facing a deteriorated
urban environment, an impoverished quality of life
and severe problems of food and nutrition
insecurity. According to the WHO global database on
Child Growth and Malnutrition, in 12 out of 16
countries studied, the absolute number of
underweight children in urban areas is increasing,
and at a faster rate than in rural areas (HABITAT
2001a). Growing unemployment and underemployment in
urban areas and worsening supply chains from the
countryside are making it increasingly difficult for
many families to access adequate supplies of
nutritionally balanced food. UPA provides a means to
counteract some of these negative trends, especially
in Africa where urbanization has been particularly
rapid (HABITAT 2001b). Urban cultivation and
animal raising offer alternative food security
strategies and additional sources of income as the
urban demand grows for dairy, meat products,
vegetables and other perishables.
However,
there is concern that the positive nutritional
benefits and social development potential of UPA may
be undermined by the health hazards it poses. IDRC-supported
research identifies the following health hazards
associated with UPA (Flynn 1999):
-
Crop
contamination from soils or water polluted with
industrial and chemical byproducts
-
Contamination
of crops and humans through microbial and heavy
metal contaminants in urban waste and human and
animal excreta
-
Zoonotic
diseases associated with urban livestock keeping
-
Contamination
from use of agrochemicals in confined urban spaces
-
Disease
spread through encouragement of vector breeding
sites
However, we still lack a clear understanding of the
chemical and biological processes involved and their
effect on human health (Lamba 1993; Sawio 1998;
Greenhow 1994; Mougeot 2000). UPA is a complex
socio-cultural and economic reality, yet many
studies of health issues have focused only on
biochemical hazards, neglecting
context (Flynn1999). For UPA to contribute more
fully to sustainable development, it is necessary to
view it holistically, conducting a balanced
assessment of benefits and hazards. The diversity of
urban agricultural producers and their circumstances
and practices underlines the need for developing
typologies of producers, drawing on previous work as
necessary (for example, Mougeot 2000; Maxwell 1995).
Understanding the role of urban agriculture for
these different types of producer can benefit from
the concept of livelihoods (Ashley and Carney 1999)
to locate urban farming within the broader set of
urban strategies that households utilize to secure
their survival and development.
A broad range of methods needs to be employed
in the face of this diversity, including
self-assessments of the benefits and hazards of
urban agriculture as well as directly measurable
effects on individuals, particularly women and
children. These
assessments should permit identification of
practical means to enhance benefits and mitigate
hazards that are identified.
Workshop Objectives
1.
Share perspectives and experiences on urban agriculture and urban health
issues in Kampala among representatives of different
sectors.
2.
Develop a common framework and workplan among the different participants
about the project “Urban
Agriculture in Kampala, Uganda: health impact
assessment and options for improvements”.
3.
Identify complementarities and sharing opportunities with recently
initiated CIAT-led SIUPA project, “Strengthening
Urban Agriculture in Kampala, Uganda”.
4.
Agree upon leadership roles, responsibilities and the composition of a
Local Steering Committee
5.
Agree upon a timetable for implementation and allocation of resources to
different components of the project
|
