Urban Agriculture and the Organisation of Urban Farmers in African Cities: The Experiences of Cape Town and Dar es Salaam

Urban agriculture remains a significant livelihood stratagem for most urbanites across Sub-Saharan African countries, yet the benefits of urban agriculture are usually modest. Urban food security scholars argue that the organisation of urban farmers is crucial in enhancing urban food production. However, the literature on urban farmer organisation in Sub-Saharan Africa is generally fragmented. This chapter adds to the literature by presenting an overview of the organisation of urban farmers and the implications on food resilience based on the experiences of Cape Town and Dar es Salaam. The overview shows the contrasting experiences of urban farmer organisation in the two cities and presents opportunities for learning from the best practices. Specifically, the experience of Dar es Salaam proves that urban farmer organisations can flourish despite a lack of an accommodative policy environment. Conversely, urban farmers in Cape Town engage in collective action despite the lack of formalised structures. Notably, the boundary between formality and informality of urban farmer organisation is not pronounced. As a result, it is essential to appreciate how urban farmers have organised themselves as a first step towards assisting them rather than expecting them to conform to typologies which may not be applicable.