City Women Generate Food & Income on Tiny Urban Plots
"It's a lot of work", says Mama Lulama Jim as she takes respite from the wind in a makeshift container kitchen. She pauses to study her notes made during an early morning inspection of the current crops of cabbage, carrots, spinach, brinjal and spring onion.
"It's a lot of work, but we manage because we have a passion for farming".
Mama Jim is part of a revival of urban agriculture in the townships of Cape Town. On the back of higher food and commodity prices, micro farmers like Mama Jim are using tiny parcels of land to grown food for their families and to generate an income.
She and three other women, all over the age of 60, run a communal food garden in Gugulethu, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town.
Read more: City Women Generate Food & Income on Tiny Urban Plots
New Research Centre to Boost Food Security
Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom will on Tuesday launch the Department of Science and Technology (DST)-National Research Foundation (NRF) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Food Security at the University of the Western Cape.
The CoE is co-hosted by the University of the Western Cape and the University of Pretoria.
"The DST-NRF CoE in Food Security will bring together a cohort of experts and researchers to research the systemic and structural factors that shape food access and dietary choice, as well as food security strategies, choices and decisions for poor and vulnerable people," the department said in a statement.
The department said it will not look at agricultural productivity in isolation, but will take a "farm-to-fork" approach.
"Studies show that food insecurity is widespread in South Africa, where more than 60% of the population is urbanised," the department said.
Approximately 57% of South Africans live below the poverty line (meaning that some days there is no food).
Small Farmers As the Key to Africa's Agricultural Future
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Zambia are holding a regional workshop for East and Southern Africa from 6 to 9 May in Livingstone, Zambia, to review lessons learned from IFAD-funded projects and identify strategies to address challenges faced during their implementation.
Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda and Agriculture and Livestock Minister Wilbur Simuusa of Zambia will join PĂ©rin Saint Ange, Director of IFAD at the opening session of the workshop Tuesday.
The workshop is attracting more than 200 participants, including government officials, representatives of other United Nations agencies, and bilateral development institutions, members of the private sector and civil society groups, and partners from IFAD-funded projects in the region.
In keeping with the United Nations' designation of 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming, and the African Union declaring 2014 as the Year of Agriculture and Food Security, family farming and agricultural investment will be a central focus of this week's workshop.
Read more: Small Farmers As the Key to Africa's Agricultural Future
Zambia can be Africa's food basket - Simuusa
AGRICULTURE minister Wylbur Simuusa says Zambia has the potential to become Africa's food basket within the next five years.
Commenting on a statement by justice minister, Wynter Kabimba, who during a courtesy call on Mwense district commissioner, Mumba Mushitu, on Friday said the country's independence is incomplete if it cannot feed itself, Simuusa called for a change of mindset amongst all stakeholders if Zambians were to fully realise the enormous potential of the agriculture sector.
"…within the next five years, if we do our homework well and are focused as government, farmers and Zambians, we can be the food basket of this region and a good part of the world. What it will take is the realisation and change of mindset on the part of Zambians to grasp farming. It is not just a hobby, it is a business that will take this country forward," Simuusa said.
