1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background information

The world is rapidly urbanizing with an average global increase of 160,000 people per day, mostly occurring in developing countries (Ministry of Agriculture Kenya, 2010). The report further stated that in the year 2000, approximately 49% of the world was urbanized and it was expected to be 52% by 2010 and 60% by 2020. In sub Saharan Africa (SSA), urban areas account for 34.0% of the total population of 611  million in 2005, which will approach 440 million, or 46% of its projected total of 952 million, by 2020 (FAO, 2007).The urbanization in many African countries is because of the increase in rural-urban migration as people seek better livelihood sources in urban areas and as a result, urbanization continues to present challenges in infrastructure development, services provision and food requirements to meet the needs of increasing urban populations (Ministry of Agriculture Kenya, 2010).

           Unfortunately rapid urbanization has been accompanied with inequitable economic growth and has resulted in increased urban poverty with many low income households suffering from limited alternative livelihood, food insecurity among others. (Ministry of Agriculture Kenya, 2010). It is because of the high incidence of the urban poverty that majority of the urban poor engage in urban agriculture as a response to limited alternative livelihood options and food insecurity (Armar-Klemesu 2000).

            Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) can be defined simply as the growing of plants and the raising of animals within and around cities (Chris, in Van, 2006). According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNPD, 1996 in City Farmer, 2006), UPA which is synonymous to urban farming is an industry that produces processes and markets food on land and water dispersed throughout urban and peri-urban areas. It is an entrepreneurial activity for people from different levels of income.

            The most striking feature of UPA, which distinguishes it from rural agriculture, is that it is integrated into the urban and peri urban economic and ecological system; it is embedded in and is interacting with the urban ecosystem (Mougeot, 2000). Such interaction include the use of urban residents labourers, use of typical urban resources (like organic waste as compost and urban wastewater for irrigation), direct links with urban consumers, direct impacts on urban ecology (positive and negative), being part of the urban food system, competing for land with other urban functions, being influenced by urban policies and plans, etc. Urban agriculture may take place in locations inside the cities (intra-urban) or in the peri-urbanareas. The activities may take place on the homestead (on-plot) or on land away from the residence (off-plot), on private land (owned, leased) or on public land (parks, conservation areas, along roads, streams and railways), or semi-public land like schoolyards, grounds of schools and hospitals (Waters-Bayer, 2000).

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