Urban Food Systems Governance and Poverty in African Cities

As Africa urbanises and the focus of poverty shifts to urban centres, there is an imperative to address poverty in African cities. This is particularly the case in smaller cities, which are often the most rapidly urbanising, but the least able to cope with this growth. This book argues that an examination of the food system and food security provides a valuable lens to interrogate urban poverty. Chapters examine the linkages between poverty, urban food systems and local governance with a focus on case studies from three smaller or secondary cities in Africa: Kisumu (Kenya), Kitwe (Zambia) and Epworth (Zimbabwe). The book makes a wider contribution to debates on urban studies and urban governance in Africa through analysis of the causes and consequences of the paucity of urban-scale data for decision makers, and by presenting potential methodological innovations to address this paucity. As the global development agenda is increasingly focusing on urban issues, most notably the urban goal of the new Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda, the work is timely.The Open Access version of this book, available at: http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781315191195, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

"From the outset, it was recognised that household livelihoods cannot be understood in isolation from the wider economic and political linkages that provide or constrain household choices related to income earning, consumption, land and housing tenure, access to services and political participation. For some years, too little attention was given to these wider links, including the environmental and governance systems that influence water supply and waste management, energy supply and, indeed, food. Gradually, more attention has been given to them and it is in the latter area that this book makes its path-breaking contribution....I look forward to this team and others taking forward the research, policy and practice work identified. This research shows that future work needs to overtly acknowledge and analyse the realities of political power relationships, examine the drivers and characteristics of changes in urban food wholesaling and retailing systems, and ensure that analysis and policy is gendered throughout." taken from the Foreword by Carole Rakodi, University of Birmingham, UK"This book is a game changer and should be compulsory reading for anyone concerned about the future of Africa. Battersby and Waston skillfully draw together the threads of urbanization, governance and food systems to weave a compelling argument for why food and nutrition are central to the future well-being of billions of urban Africans yet to be born. If you believe that Africa’s future is the rural life, read this book – it will change your mind!" - Bruce Frayne, University of Waterloo, Canada"An essential contribution to the critical and much needed re-framing of the role of food and nutrition security in urban poverty in low and middle income countries. This book provides new evidence on the links between household food security, rapidly evolving food systems and the still inadequate governance of food in urban contexts. It makes a strong, carefully argued case for the integration of food in global agendas, from the SDGs to the New Urban Agenda." - Cecilia Tacoli, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), UK"This book is destined to be a key reference in the emerging field of urban food security, and I highly recommend it (in its entirety or specific chapters) for upper level undergraduate and graduate seminars in development studies, urban studies and food related courses. The book will challenge students to think about food security and urban planning anew." - William G Moseley in Urban Studies (Sept 2019). Full review available here: https://www.urbanstudiesonline.com/resources/resource/book-review-urban-food-systems-governance-and-poverty-in-african-cities/

Jane Battersby is a senior researcher at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, South Africa, and is the Research Coordinator of the ESRC/DFID-funded Consuming Urban Poverty project and PI of the IDRC-funded Nourishing Spaces Project. She is the Laurete of the Premio Daniel Carasso 2017. An urban geographer by training, her work focusses on urban food security, food systems and governance.Vanessa Watson is a Professor of City Planning and Fellow of the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She holds degrees, including a PhD, from South African Universities and the Architectural Association of London, UK, and is on the executive committee of the African Centre for Cities. She is the PI of the ESRC/DFID-funded Consuming Urban Poverty project.