Housing schemes affect urban farming
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Rapid urban expansion, demand for housing and growth of the informal market
means land used for urban farming will be compromised, according to town
planners.
05.09.12
10:43am
by Tonderayi Matonho
“More people are buying land in urban and peri-urban communities, the
so-called in-fills” said a senior official responsible for planning in the
City of Harare, Dombo Chibanda.
“Without urban and peri-urban agriculture, the challenge to feed the
megacities would be enormous,” said a lecturer from the department of Rural
and Urban Planning at the University of Zimbabwe.
Large open spaces where urban farming used to thrive in Tafara, Mabvuku,
Mufakose, Epworth and Hatcliff, has been taken up by housing cooperatives
and informal sector businesses.
John Reketayi, 57, an urban farmer from Tafara, said his land provided a
significant income for his family.