MAGAZINE - RUAF Urban Agriculture and Food Systems · 2020. 1. 20. · ume of organic wastes. Mexico city has neighbourhoods that actively recycle their waste through urban dairies

Urban Agriculture Magazine. It containsarticles and summarised contributions onparticular cases that go beyond the gener-al observation that livestock can beimportant. The contributions describehow different cities and people cope withproblems that are sometimes caused byanimals, and with other problems thatcan be solved by animals. The first part ofthis editorial presents different ways inwhich various stakeholders view issues inurban livestock The second part discussesfunctions, problems and reasons forurban livestock keeping, and the thirdpart suggests ways to classify urban live-stock systems. It is thus shown that live-stock plays alocation-specific butoften essen-tial role incities for the production of food and interms of social aspects, particularly insmall-scale animal production. Moreover,animals not only cause pollution, but theycan also help to clean up the city. The lastpart discusses some points aimed atachieving a better understanding of urbanlivestock keeping among policy makers.

STAKEHOLDERS AND PERCEPTIONS The increased interest in urban livestockis evidenced by several programmes andnetworks and by the authors of papers inthis magazine who responded to our call

Animals not onlycause pollution but

also help to clean the city

Livestock in and around cities

rban livestock keeping has exist-ed in many forms and places. Itstill exists today, and it may even

make a comeback if one considers its var-ious roles: the use of empty plots, clean-ing up of garbage, provision of fresh foodand income. However, the examples fromancient Italy illustrate several importantaspects of the controversial role of live-stock in urban environments: ❖ Urban livestock is not a new phenom-enon; ❖ Urban livestock keeping occurs in cit-ies across the globe; it is not confined tothe tropics;❖ Livestock in cities can be an unavoida-ble nuisance, with good and bad aspects;❖ Policy makers such as the “Medici”queen have other perceptions abouturban livestock than the common personwho wants to make a living.

Livestock keeping in cities has specialproblems and opportunities indeed, andthey form the topic of this issue of the

The cobblestones of the streets in the old city of Pompeiinear Rome are scarred by the wheels of wagons that used to

be drawn by horses and/or oxen, for carrying goods or forsupplying the military. The covered bridge in Florence is now

the home of goldsmiths and jewellers who replaced butch-ers and fish traders, supposedly because a “Medici” queen

complained of the smell (A. Scappini, pers. communication 2000)

U

ww

w.r

ua

f.o

rg

Editorial

Hans Schiere,

Azage Tegegne,

René van Veenhuizen

The Urban Agriculture Magazine

RUAF, P.O. Box 64

3830 AB Leusden, The Netherlands

[email protected]

UR

BA

N A

GR

ICU

LTU

RE

MA

GA

ZINE

VO

LUM

E 1,

NU

MB

ER 2

, O

CTO

BER

20

00

Crossbred

cow

checking

waste in

India

Mic

hael

W. F

ox

for papers with a sense of “finally atten-tion” for this type of animal production.Indeed urban agriculture and its livestockcomponent has always been there but ithas only recently been rediscovered by“Medicis” who were taught to ignore thissector of urban development. The contri-bution by Emil Arias for instance illus-trates how students were made to see therelevance of urban livestock. Animals donot only cause nuisance such as smell,risk of disease, pollution of waterways,and quarrels. Animals also are a source ofincome, they provide food, services, theyrecycle organic waste (as shown in thecase study on Montevideo) and they arepart of social networks that are only clearto those intimately involved in them.

Any categorisation of literature regardingsub-sectors of, in this case, urban live-stock is bound to be incomplete, as theways in which local stakeholders, scien-tists and policy makers may view urbanlivestock differ considerably. Howeverany classification is better than none atall and we shall start by considering thelevel of the people represented by theowner of a bullock cart. He or she makesa living in this business and he is reluc-tant to give up such business, the samesituation as for the owner of a small dairy.At the same level we also find a mother ofa child with dirty clothes due to animalexcreta or a father who gets angry at theneighbours’ goat for damaging his vege-table plot. Many reports have been writ-ten on these “family-level” concerns. Atthis system level there is also a wealth ofpractical publications on how one couldraise small livestock “in the backyard”.

A second level of stakeholders is repre-sented by the municipal legislator whohas no direct interest in livestock but whoworries about fights in the neighbour-hood, or about a quick buck to be madeby fining people who keep animals ille-gally. Exceptions to this rule exist, e.g. thecivil servants of Dar es Salaam are themajor suppliers of milk. Many of theadministrators who are not involved inthis way tend to consider urban livestockas a sign of backwardness. Together withthe academic cadre they tend to see onlyone aspect of reality, that of their ownsector or discipline (Ackoff, 1999).Reports from such professionals aretherefore bound to only find problemswith what they are supposed to regulateor to study. This is an important reasonfor the often gloomy tone in officialreports on urban livestock. (Wilson, 1995;Ho & Chan, 1998)

The third level of stakeholders is repre-sented by the planner (national or inter-national) who is concerned with the pro-duction of food to “feed the masses”.These planners tend to stress that urbanlivestock and agriculture produce only afraction of the dietary food “require-ments” for an urban population. Like thedisciplinary oriented specialists theyoverlook the fact that urban livestock canfulfil many different roles, and that the“fraction” can be substantial for certaingroups. Such planners represent the so-called linear thinkers who tend to see theinterest of only one section, e.g. food pro-duction (Wilson 1995; Ho & Chan, 1998;Schiere, 2000). Non-linear thinkers onthe other hand consider several aspectsand interests that are found in circles ofvisionary architects and NGOs. The twolines of thought should not be seen ascompeting: the “linear thinkers” going for

Livestock in Nineteenth Century New York CityNot until the first part of the nineteenth century didcommercial agriculture emerge as a viable economicactivity within the limits of New York City. Two formsof agriculture, both commercial and subsistenceoriented, existed in nineteenth century New York City:livestock husbandry and horticulture. By the end ofthe century, however, urban livestock production hadslipped into decline, while urban horticulture contin-ued to thrive into the twentieth century.

PA

GE

14

Dear ReadersThe first issue of the Urban Agriculture Magazine presented articles coveringthe broad spectrum of urban agriculture. This second issue focuses on a specifictopic Urban Livestock, and this is how the UA-Magazine will appear from nowon. It will be published three times a year and each time covering a specific topic

This issue comes out a bit later than planned. The amount of articles submittedwas high, and we certainly hope we will receive the same kind of enthusiasm forthe next issues. We offer you 16 articles in this issue. It was decided to publishalmost all of the submitted articles, because the issue of urban livestock appe-ared to cover many different issues, and only by taking all these contributionstogether we felt the issue was adequately dealt with. In forthcoming issues wewill continue to try to keep the amount of articles to about 10, not going over the40 pages in the UA-Magazine.

The appearance of the UA-Magazine has been received very positively, and wereceived various encouraging reactions on the first issue. As you can see at theback we have put the Editorial Board in place, in which persons of differentorganisations take a seat, the Regional Focal Points on Urban Agriculture. Theseorganisations will play a major role in the further development and regionalisa-

PA

GE

5

The Beja Urban Economy The Beja are a confederation of tribes united by a common

language. This article describes the migration of Beja pastoralistlabour to Port Sudan from Halaib Province (NE Sudan), and thedifferent livestock holdings that the Beja have in town. Although

most urban-based pastoralists live in great poverty, some manageto successfully exploit urban opportunities whilst continuing to

engage in rural-based livelihood strategies.

standard and average solutionscan supplement the “non-linearthinkers” who go for flexibleapproaches and methods to workwith multiple realities. The table lists typical advantages,and it should be clear that differ-ent stakeholders experience thepros and cons differently. It alsoshows that many so-called draw-backs listed in the second columncan have simple solutions (thirdcolumn).

REASONS FOR AND AGAINSTURBAN LIVESTOCK KEEPINGA number of positive and nega-tive roles of urban livestock arelisted in the table, and illustratedin this Magazine. Interestingly,there are arguments to do awaywith livestock in cities because oftheir pollution, while at the sametime city planners, as in the caseof Montevideo, are consideringthe use of pigs to reduce the vol-ume of organic wastes. Mexicocity has neighbourhoods thatactively recycle their wastethrough urban dairies and thereare programmes in Ghana whichre-utilise dung from large-scalepoultry farmers (Drechsel et al.this Magazine). All this showsstriking parallels with moderncity planning around the world:much thinking aims at mutual

adjustment of different kinds ofcompanies into so-called indus-trial parks. This is done to reducepollution by recycling waste, atypical case of creative thinkingthat reshapes problems intoopportunities.

CRITERIA TO DISTINGUISHBETWEEN MAJOR URBANLIVESTOCK SYSTEMSIt is impossible to provide a gen-erally valid classification scheme.However a clear discussion of thepros and cons in urban livestockrequires a classification of somesort. Cities like Bombay and Dar-Es-Salaam are too different to becaptured under one singlescheme of classification. Still, onecan say with a degree of certaintythat keeping dairy cows is a fairlyunrealistic option for the heart ofmodern Bombay, Tokyo orAmsterdam. Livestock keeping is,however, quite acceptable inurban areas where there is muchgreen space, or even where thereare a lot of by-products fromagro-industries. For example, urban dairies wereimportant around beer breweriesof 19th century Copenhagen (J.Phelan, pers. comm., 1999) arounddistilleries in New York (seeTremante in this Magazine), andtoday in the city of Dar-Es- Salaam

where dairy provides extra incometo civil servants. Large poultrybusinesses may be controversial inand outside the city boundaries,but small livestock such as guineapigs, goats or poultry may evenhelp to clean refuse from thekitchen or hotels (see the articleson Kumasi in Ghana orMontevideo in Uruguay).

Indeed, an infinite number of clas-sifications is possible; each onewith advantages and disadvantag-es. For example, Waters-Bayer(1995) distinguishes between on-plot and off-plot and between richor poor. The papers by Bellows etal. and Pantuliano suggest thatethnic background, caste or relig-ion may form the basis for classifi-cation of the livestock. Schiere(2000) distinguishes several crite-ria, of which the classification intothe categories ’subsistence small-scale’, ’semi-commercial small-scale’ and ’large-scaleindustrialised’ is perhaps the mostrelevant. An example of a stan-dard type of classification isreferred to in the paper by Azageet al. In line with a participatoryapproach used in most RUAFwork we suggest that any sugges-tion for classification criteriashould be seen only as a guide toestablish locally relevant criteria.

For the purposes of this Magazinewe feel that it is best to at least dis-tinguish between intensive andextensive systems, a classification

tion of the UA-Magazine in the near future. In the next issue you will receivemore information on this.

You will also find information on the subscription policy of the UA-Magazine.This policy is under discussion with the RUAF focal points and the editorialboard of the UA-Magazine. Of course all this information will remain availableon the website of RUAF for free.

The guest editors for this issue were Azage Tegegne from ILRI in Addis Adeba,Ethiopia and Hans Schiere, from Ventana Agricultural Systems A&D, TheNetherlands. A considerable input was also received by the Urban Livestockgroup of ETC: Ann Waters Bayer, Katrien van ‘t Hooft, Sheila Oparachoa andWillem van Weperen. Many thanks to all of them.

Next issues of the UA-Magazine will be on Health and Urban Agriculture (articles in before January 1) and Integration of Urban Agriculture in UrbanPlanning (your contribution expected before April 1). Your contributions aremost welcome, not only articles but also abstracts of books and articles, andinformation on projects and events.

The editor

Increasing use of poultry manure in Ghana Livestock production is a vital part of urban and peri-urbanagriculture (UPA) in Kumasi, in Ghana, where many cropfarmers benefit from cheap poultry manure available in

large quantities. However,with increasing competitionfor this resource, themanure is seldom storedlong enough to prevent thecontamination of food andwater with pathogens.

PA

GE

25

In this issue

5 Livestock inNineteenth CenturyNew York City

8 Urban Livestock inthe State of NewJersey

10 Livestock and liveli-hoods in Hubli-Dharwad

12 The Stray-CattleControversy in Delhi

14 The Beja UrbanEconomy

17 Urban LivestockSystems in the NiayesZones in Senegal

20 Livestock in a Middle-Sized East-Africantown

23 Market-orientedUrban and Peri-urbanDairy Systems

25 Increasing use ofpoultry manure inGhana

28 Urban livestock inKumasi

29 Urban Pig Farming inSettlements inUruguay

32 Veterinary urbanhygiene in developingcountries

33 Cisticercosis, aZoonosis in Rural andUrban Areas

36 Minilivestock inArgentina

37 Improved Pig Feed inVietnam

38 Linking Students toUrban Agriculture inMexico City

that resembles that of Waters-Bayer (1995).The intensive ones tend to be industrial,concentrating the advantages (income, taxbenefits, etc) and dispersing the disadvan-tages (smell, pollution, etc.). The consu-mers who benefit will also primarily bethose who have access to the market, notthe poor who keep a few backyard animals

for themselves. The extensive systems aresmall-scale, commercial, semi-commercialor even subsistence-based. They provideincome, but also tend to be important forsocial relations.

OPTIONS AND PRIORITIES FOR THEFUTUREWe have seen that one view is to regardanimals as a source of pollution, a publichealth hazard, and constrained by urbanproduction conditions that do not allowthem to produce enough food for thewhole city. However, many of the prob-lems are balanced by advantages. That is

why urban livestock systems continue toexist and are still even emerging. Cleardiscussions requirea distinction between levels of systemhierarchy and stakeholders, and the wayof looking at urban livestock determinesthe outcome of the analysis. Thosetrained in the linear mode of thinkingtend to recommend removal of animals ifthey smell;, they will tend to prohibit alllivestock even if only a number causeproblems. Non-linear thinking is morecreative. It distinguishes between stake-holders, functions of animals and urbancontexts before deciding whether urbanlivestock keeping is good, bad or in-between. It also actively invites, throughparticipation, local solutions for localproblems. That is perhaps the gist of thisissue of the Urban Agriculture Magazine:a decision on the pros and cons of urbanlivestock depends on who is looking at theproblem and on where one is. In places

where urban planners have the creativityto shed their preconceived ideas theyhave shown that interesting things arepossible, making use of animals for urbanwell-being. On the institutional side thisrequires a lot of work to (re)orient plan-ners, civil servants and academicstowards more creative approaches. Thereis still much research to be done on therole of urban livestock in the socialdynamics of a local community, its rolefor poorer sections and women in partic-ular, and also regarding the changing roleof livestock over time. Developmentefforts based on local participation candraw on a large arsenal of existing tech-nologies to overcome the many draw-backs of urban livestock and to help itreach its full potential.Urban Pig

Farming in Settlements in Uruguay

One of the survival strategies developedby the residents of urban settlements inthe department of Montevideo,Uruguay, is the collection and sorting ofhousehold, organic and inorganic, solidwaste. Due to several factors, includingthe socio-economic condition of breed-ers and the urban status of the neigh-bourhoods where the practice is carriedout, pig farming in urban areas is one ofthe most remarkable aspects of UrbanAgriculture developed in Uruguay.

PAGE 29

4

Positive and negative aspects of urban livestock and a sample of ways tocope with the problems.

Positive Negative drawbacks Coping strategies

Note: the positive aspects in column one are not directly related to the negative

drawbacks in the second column; but the issues in the same row over columns two and

three are directly related.

• No problems with traffic

jams due to transport of ani-

mal produce

• Animals as waste clean-

ers: garbage; hotel waste;

agro-industrial waste;

sewage-utilisation

• Resilience of a city in

times of civil unrest

• Fresh produce in inner

city, little or no packaging /

processing required

• Income for poor people

• Investment for the rich

• Educational value, e.g. link

between urban people and

“nature”

• Public health problems

(disease such as parasites)

• smell, dust and noise

• Pollution (due to manure

effluent and wastes e.g. from

slaughterhouses)

• Competition for space and

conflict

• Stray animals / traffic

problems

• Health and welfare

problems of animals due to

high densities

• Low output per animal,

not “modern”, advanced or

productive, form of

production

• Good health service and

better packaging / treatment

and awareness raising

• Use of drains, straw,

bedding, sheds, tree hedges

• Biogas, smaller scale

enterprise, dung cakes,

integration with vegetables

• Reduce numbers, use

small animals, involvement

of local people to solve

problems

• Traffic rules: limit speed of

cars, animals should be kept

off main roads

• Redesign housing and/or

awareness building and/or

change management;

go for smaller scale

• Not a problem, work on

perception, see other parts

of the multiple perceptionsNon linear thinking is

more creative

REFERENCES- Ackoff R.L., 1999. Disciplines, the two cultures and the scianities. Systems Research and BehavioralScience, 16, 533-537.- Ho, Y.W. and Chan, Y.K. (eds), 1998. Proceedings of the regional workshop on area-wide integration ofcrop-livestock activities. June 18 – 20, 1998, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP-publication 1998/19. FAO RegionalOffice for Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok, Thailand. 86 pp.- Schiere, J.B., 2000. Peri-urban livestock systems. Problems approaches and opportunities. FAO, Rome;IAC, Wageningen. - Waters-Bayer, A., 1995. Living with livestock in town: urban animal husbandry and human welfare.Keynote paper. Eighth International Conference of Institutions of Tropical Veterinary Medicine. LivestockProduction and Diseases in the Tropics: Livestock Production and Human Welfare, 25-29 September,Berlin, Germany, ETC Foundation, PO Box 64, 3830 AB Leusden, Netherlands.- Wilson, R.T. (ed.), 1995. Supply of livestock products to rapidly expanding urban populations.Proceedings of the joint FAO/WAAP/KSAS symposium held from May 16 – 20, 1995 at the Hoam FacultyClub, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. FAO-Rome. 224 pp.

y the turn of the nineteenthcentury, whether in NewYork or any other American

city, it would not have beenuncommon for individual familiesto own a cow and two or threepigs. Cattle ranged on local com-mons, while the swine foraged inthe streets fending for themselvesand consuming household gar-bage. Not until the first part ofthe nineteenth century did com-

mercial agriculture emerge as aviable economic activity withinthe limits of New York City.

Two forms of (commercial andsubsistence) agriculture existed innineteenth-century New YorkCity: livestock husbandry andhorticulture. While the character-istics of subsistence productionremained relatively unchanged,commercial urban agricultureunderwent remarkable growthafter the year 1800. Commercialagriculture depended on land andlocation, the availability of low-cost immigrant labour, and on theavailability of urban waste prod-

ucts. By the end of the century,however, urban livestock produc-tion (both subsistence and com-mercial) had slipped into decline.Urban horticulture continued tothrive into the twentieth century.

FACTORS LEADING TO THE EMERGENCE OFCOMMERCIAL UA A combination of economic andsocial factors, powerful politicalforces and environmental condi-tions helped encourage agricultu-ral specialization in New YorkCity. Not surprisingly, the mostimportant of these was popula-tion increase.

In 1800 New York City (then onlyManhattan Island) with its popu-lation of 60,000 was the largestcity in America, but miniscule ininternational terms. The threelargest cities in the world exceed-ed this figure by a factor of ten!Liberal immigration policies wel-comed settlers from northernEurope to America, and growingdomestic rural-urban migrationcaused the city to double in sizeover the next two decades. By1830 New York’s populationstood at 202,000. Twenty yearslater over half a million people

lived on Manhattan Island alone,and by 1900, with its 3.4 millionpeople New York could boast itsranking as the second largest cityin the world. Similar healthygrowth occurred in the indepen-dent village of Brooklyn, locatedbarely 500 metres away on theother side of the East River.

Nineteenth-century populationgrowth influenced agriculture bystimulating demand and creatingopportunities for a new class offarmers – horticulturists andurban livestock growers - to pro-duce for the market. These vegeta-ble, milk and pork producersreaped the benefits of urban prox-imity because they held a compar-ative advantage in the unregulatedurban marketplace over the moredistant rural producers.

Economic Growth

Changes in the economy alsoencouraged development ofindustrial activity that benefitedlocal farmers. Merchants, bankers,shipbuilders, packet boat compa-nies and other firms located theiroffices in New York City, which by1830 had become the mercantilecapital of America. Of significanceto livestock growers was the coin-

5

__________

Louis P. Tremante

University of Chicago, USA

✉ [email protected]

Livestock in nineteenth-centuryNew York City

B

Producers held a comparitive advantage in the unregulated

urban marketplace

Source: Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper 6 (26 June 1858): 61

“Milkmaids” propping up a sick cow

at a swill

dairy,

Sixteenth

Street,

Manhattan

For two centuries after theDutch settlement of New

Amsterdam agriculture onManhattan Island remained

not all that dissimilar fromfarming elsewhere in north-ern North America (Hedrick,

1933). Over the years farmfamilies engaged in both

commercial and subsistenceproduction, raising livestock,garden and field crops. They

gladly sold surpluses whenthey existed, but always

sought to provide fordomestic needs first

(Parkerson, 1995).

cident establishment of a whiskey distilla-tion industry along Manhattan’s easternand western shores, close to sources ofgrain, water, fuel, capital, merchants andmarkets (Albion, 1939).

Whether due to declining profits or thedesire for increased revenue, it seems thataround 1830 the distillation industry ver-tically integrated, with profound resultsfor urban agriculture (Hartley, 1842).Historian Richard Wines has describedthe exchange of food and waste betweenfarms and cities in environmental termsas a “recycling system” (Wines, 1985). Thisrecycling system existed as a critical com-ponent in the urban agriculture of NewYork City. For example, distillers knewthat cattle and pigs could survive on themash by-product of the liquor manufac-turing process (Mathias, 1952). Seeking toachieve greater efficiencies, these firmspurchased scores of animals to whichthey subsequently fed (waste) mash. Soonindependent dairymen and hog growers,whose operations lay scattered across thecity began to purchase mash directly fromdistillers. In addition hog growers collect-ed household garbage from the streets,which they hauled to the pens (Linderand Zacharias, 1999). Commercial live-stock production in nineteenth centuryNew York City, therefore, depended on anability to obtain and recycle industrial andhousehold waste products.

Immigration

Immigration also encouraged the devel-opment of commercial urban agriculture.At any given moment, the vast majorityof New York City’s agriculturists had

arrived in the United States rather recent-ly. Urban agriculture attracted new immi-grant families seeking to gain a footholdin a foreign land (Ernst, 1949). For exam-ple, census officials reported in 1850 thatin New York’s Sixteenth Ward, tenantagriculturists comprised 89 percent of allfarm units. Of self-reported dairymen, 93percent of male heads of household wereforeign-born, while 90 percent of adultwomen in these households also reportedforeign birth. The most common placefor both was Ireland (Seventh Census,1850). Similar patterns have beenobserved for nineteenth-century London(Atkins, 1977). Few of these recent arri-vals chose to settle in the vast country-side surrounding New York City. In NewYork City immigrant men milked cows,but in the countryside this was consid-ered solely women’s work up to the mid-dle of the century. One reason for thisdifference is undoubtedly the conditionsof the urban dairies.

Livestock production in nineteenth-cen-tury New York City reached extensiveproportions. Various reports indicate thatthousands of pigs were raised within thecity limits (Hartog, 1985). During thecholera epidemic of 1849, for example,New York police officers drove an esti-mated 20,000 hogs from the built-up por-tion of the city (Rosenzweig andBlackmar, 1992). Subsistence producersand local butchers owned many of thesefree ranging animals, but commercialproducers also held sizable herds.

Around this same time one observer esti-mated that enough cattle lived in NewYork City to produce nearly 13,000 gal-lons (49,000 litres) of milk per day(Hartley, 1842).

CHARACTERISTICS OF URBAN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTIONCommercial producers raised livestock inoutdoor pens and in sheds where theywere confined because of the lack of pas-ture. Distillers also developed ingeniousmethods to feed hundreds of animalsefficiently, for example by piping mashinto sheds using gravity-flow systems.Independent dairymen, on the otherhand, purchased mash at 10 cents perbarrel and carted it, still warm back totheir barns (Hartley, 1842). Other esti-mates indicate that the averageManhattan dairyman owned seventeenhead of cattle at mid-century, but thisnumber exhibited considerable variance.For example, James McClusky, a “milk-man” in the Sixteenth Ward owned 100head of cattle, while a Manhattan distil-lery reported 350 head on site (SeventhCensus, 1850). Livestock pens and barnsnormally occupied the worst areas of thecity: industrial areas occupied by facto-ries, cattle yards and tenement houses,and in the less densely populated fringeregions on the edge of town. These placeswere home to nuisances such as boneboiling and bleach factories (Rosenzweigand Blackmar, 1992). For example, areport issued by New York City’s twenty-first sanitary district in 1865 noted that amilk dairy and hog yard shared theimmediate neighbourhood with boneboiling plants, distilleries, breweries, ren-dering plants, manure lots, plus numer-ous stables, liquor stores, tenement hous-es and a primary school (Citizen’sAssociation of New York, 1865).

MARKETING MILK Distilleries initially hired cart men to ped-dle milk, while independent producerssold it themselves, often to discount gro-cery stores (Seventh Census, 1850). Yetbeginning in the 1840s, city milkmenfaced competition from suburban farmslocated an hour or more by wagon fromthe city (New York State AgriculturalSociety, 1844). Suburban producers rep-resented a threat to the city dairiesbecause they offered a better product.

6

REFERENCES- Albion, Robert G., 1939. The Rise of New York Port. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.- American Institute of the City of New York. Annual Reports 1847-1849.- Atkins, P.J., 1977. “London’s intra-urban milk supply, circa 1790-1914.” Transactions of the Institute of BritishGeographers, new ser., 2, no.3 (1977): 383-99.- Citizen’s Association of New York, 1865. Report of the Council on Hygiene. New York.- Ernst, Robert, 1949. Immigrant Life in New York City, 1825-1863. New York: King’s Crown Press.- Daily Guardian (Paterson, New Jersey) 9 June 1857.- Gates, Paul W., 1968. The Farmers’ Age: Agriculture, 1815-1860. Economic History of the United States. Vol. 3. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winton, 1960; Reprint, Harper Torchbooks,New York: Harper and Row, 1968.- Gilje, Paul A., 1987. The Road to Mobocracy: Popular Disorder in New York City, 1763-1834. Chapel Hill, NorthCarolina: University of North Carolina Press.- Hartley, Robert, 1842. An Historical, Scientific and Practical Essay on Milk. New York: Jonathan Leavitt.- Hartog, Hendrick, 1985. “Pigs and Positivism.” Wisconsin Law Review 4 (1985: 899-935).- Linder, Marc and Lawrence Zacharias, 1999. Of Cabbages and Kings County: Agriculture and theDevelopment of Brooklyn. Iowa City: University of Iowa.- Mathias, Peter, 1952. “Agriculture and the Brewing and Distilling Industries in the Eighteenth Century.”The Economic History Review 2nd ser. 5 (1952): 249-57.- Mullaly, John, 1853. The Milk Trade and Vicinity. New York: Fowlers and Wells.- New York State Agricultural Society, 1845. Transactions of the New York State Agricultural Society. 4 Albany.- Parkerson, Donald H., 1995. The Agricultural Transition in New York State. The Henry A. Wallace Series.Ames: Iowa State University Press.- Rosenzweig, Roy and Elizabeth Blackmar, 1992. The Park and the People: A History of Central Park. Ithaca:Cornell University Press.- Seventh Census of the US, 1850, Mss. Schedules 1 and 4 for the Town of Flushing, and forNew York City Ward 16- Wines, Richard, 1985. Fertilizer in America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Livestock productionin the nineteenth-century New York City

reached extensive proportions

Pastured outdoors on grass, supplement-ed with vegetables and sometimes corn,suburban cattle produced higher qualitymilk. For example, Gouvernor Morris, awealthy farmer living fifteen miles(25km) north of New York City beganselling milk in the late 1820s. Over theyears he earned a reputation for sellingquality dairy products. This helped himestablish regular customers along fixeddelivery routes. Although suburban milksoured when carried long distances onwarm days, urban consumers soonlearned about cream, a substance notusually found in city milk, and that thesubstance was white, and not blue!Shipments of country milk by rail in the1850s squeezed urban produces even fur-ther, and middle and upper class familieswho could afford to do so, purchasedpure country milk (American Institute ofthe City of New York, 1846, 1847).

THE DARK SIDE OF URBAN DAIRYINGYet the urban producers were not to beoutdone, and focused instead on produc-ing a low-cost product which catered to aless affluent clientele who shopped atcheap grocery stores. One observer of thebusiness in the early 1850s claimed thatin order to do this many of these retailerssought to mislead their customers as tothe true origins of their milk. On the pro-duction side, producers kept costs downby raising livestock in filthy, unsanitaryconditions (Hartley, 1842). Local resi-dents complained of the stench from sel-dom-cleaned pens and of animals beingherded in the streets, but more seriousproblems existed. Confined in window-less quarters and fed unbalanced (oftenliquid) diets, cattle seldom survived long-er than a year. Besides pneumonia, epi-demic diseases periodically sweptthrough the barns. Cattle also sufferedfrom hair and tooth fallout, and some-times even the loss of their tails, as well asfrom severe vitamin deficiencies.Recognising this, dairymen milked theiranimals, even ones taken ill, for as long aspossible, taking care to send them off tothe butcher just before death.Nevertheless, reports circulated thatunscrupulous butchers accepted deadanimals from dairymen (Mullaly, 1853). Atask force charged to investigate the “-swill milk dairies” after epidemic cattledisease rocked the city reported in 1848that: “We understand that the cows diedsuddenly, sometimes even while beingmilked; that in one instance a cow diedand fell over on the man milking her.”(American Institute of the City of NewYork, 1848). It was also alleged thaturban dairymen secretly added flour,chalk, egg whites, plaster and other whit-ening substances to hide the unwhole-someness of their milk (Gates, 1960).Similarly awful conditions existed inlarge scale piggeries located along theedge of the city (Daily Guardian, 1857).

REGULATION OF URBAN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTIONAlthough temperance advocate RobertHartley’s 1842 exposé of “swill milk” dair-ies made a connection between NewYork’s high infant mortality rate and taint-ed foodstuffs, not until the 1850s did thegeneral public begin to show much inter-est in keeping people and livestock separ-ate (Hartley, 1842; Mullaly, 1853; Gates,1960). Before this time attempts to regu-

late dairies, or to round up the city’snumerous free ranging hogs failed, servingonly to incite class conflict (Gilje, 1987).

After the cholera epidemics of 1832 and1849, cities like New York and Brooklynbegan to conduct inspections and passlocal legislation that related to the publichealth issues (Hartog, 1985). The NewYork State legislature failed to pass a milkadulteration law until 1862, and when itdid the ordinance was unspecific and wasdifficult to enforce (Gates, 1960).

Establishment of a Dairy Commission(later the state Department ofAgriculture) in 1884 provided an impor-tant step toward improving the quality ofmilk through regulation. At roughly thesame time, scientists were unravelling thesecrets of bacteria, which eventuallyresulted in tougher inspection guidelines.Mandatory pasteurisation, the mostimportant of these laws occurred in the1890s (Hedrick, 1933).

Neighbouring Brooklyn was more success-ful than New York in eliminating its live-stock nuisances (Linder and Zacharias,1999). Yet Brooklyn’s success, and the dis-appearance of debate over hogs in that cityby the 1870s likely reflects other changeswhich have little to do with government.Rising land values and increasing prosper-ity gradually pushed commercial livestockproduction beyond the city limits, out intothe urban fringe. The decline of the distil-lery industry also reduced local availabilityof a cheap supply of feed (critical to theurban-rural recycling system). Finally,changing attitudes among New Yorkerswho, with each passing year became moreremoved from the farm, foreshadowed theultimate fate of the urban livestock indus-try. Middle-class men and women in post-bellum America regarded swill milk pro-ducers and pigs in the street as improperand unacceptable. Whereas a previousgeneration had battled for the right to raisehogs and manufacture milk, urbanAmericans from the 1880s forward pre-ferred that their provisions come from thecountryside. Urban horticulturists survivedon well into the twentieth century for aslong as vacant land remained availablebecause their activities did not violatethese Victorian standards of propriety.

RUAFThe main aim of the Resource centre on UrbanAgriculture and Forestry (RUAF) is to facilitateintegration of Urban Agriculture in the policiesand plans of city authorities and to facilitate theformulation of projects on urban agriculture withactive involvement of all local stakeholders.

The RUAF-Programme is administered by IDRC ,and implemented by ETC-International, The Netherlands. ETC co-ordinates the activitiesof TUAN, City Farmer Network and other participants. Regional Focal Points on UrbanAgriculture in RUAF are: UMP-LAC in Ecuador,IAGU in Senegal, MDP - East and Southern Africa,Zimbabwe and IBSRAM, Thailand.

RUAF further maintains close working relationswith other networks and relevant internationalprogrammes. The duration of the RUAF project isfive years, and started in October 1999. The Urban Livestock Group, of ETC collaboratedwith RUAF and the editors in the development of this issue. This group will further assist in developing a resource base; building up a net-work; organise seminars/workshops/training;contribute with articles; peer review documentsand proposals, and further develop research andextension proposals on urban livestock.

Further information: ETC-RUAF

7

Shipments of countrymilk by rail squeezed

urban produces

8

hile urban livestock is recognized in the “hemi-spheric South”, in the

“hemispheric North” it exists aslargely unpaid labour for foodproduction, and is undocument-ed. In the older industrial cities inthe State of New Jersey, someneighbourhoods retain an ULAinfrastructure. Successive wavesof immigrants from all over theworld, as well as from rural set-

tings in the USA, have broughtthe knowledge and sometimesthe practices of keeping rabbits,chickens, and occasionally goatsand other animals for domesticuse.

Little has been written abouturban livestock in the USA. Whenreferred to in newspapers it is interms of nuisance, disease, or cul-ture clash (e.g. immigrants bring“unbefitting” practices). Theypersonify how it is perceived in

mainstream USA: marginal, prim-itive, dangerous, and dirty. Thereare, however, opportunities aswell as barriers to urban livestock(see Table 1).

Learning about and promotinglivestock in urban USA beginswith recognition of the compro-mised legal and social conditionsunder which it most often exists.Because the practice is often ille-gal or quasi-illegal, practitionersare justly reluctant to talk with“outsiders”. Because recent immi-grants compose a large portion ofthe practitioners, “outsider-insid-

er” status is marked by somecombination of ethnicity, race,language, visa status, residentialneighbourhood, class, and familystructure. These markers repre-sent powerful barriers in smalltowns and large cities alike andhelp to clarify why a practice likeurban livestock can flourish andyet remain invisible.

CASE STUDY: MIDDLESEXCOUNTY, NEW JERSEYIn the East Coast State of NewJersey, there is tremendous dis-continuity in urban livestock-related regulations. An exampleare the 25 contiguous municipal-ities in Middlesex County. TheCounty lies across from StatenIsland, a borough of New YorkCity. Land use varies betweenhigh-density urban space andlandscape that has been losing itssmall farm character to suburbansprawl over the last 20-40 years.According to standards beingestablished within urban agricul-ture literature, Middlesex Countywould qualify as urban or peri-urban (UNDP, 1996:100-101;Mougeot, 2000:6).

__________

Anne C. Bellows, Verdie Robinson,

Jennifer Guthrie, Troels Meyer, Natalie Peric

and Michael W. Hamm

Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA


Outbuildings in residential neighbourhood of

Perth Amboy, NJ originally designed for urban livestock.

Urban livestock agriculturein the State of New Jersey, USA

W

Urban livestock agriculture (ULA) in the USA is a constructive, yet largely unknown, underground, and unevenly regulated activity. Livestock

encompasses multiple meanings for practitioners in the urban environments:economic buttress, tradition, cultural and/or religious endurance, and commu-nity cohesiveness. Research on and policy development for urban livestock (asfor community food security generally) is lacking and needed. However, becauselivestock in the city is kept under diverse legal, illegal, and quasi-legal conditions,and because practitioners tend not to be part of the dominant culture, care must

be taken to raise the issues under circumstances of support. It is argued herethat issues of invisibility, distrust, and/or animosity between regulators and

practitioners of urban livestock are founded more in the lack of attention paid by policy makers to food systems and food security generally than in

insurmountable challenges of urban livestock as a positive urban land use.

Little has been writtenabout urban livestock in the USA

Phot

o by

V. R

obin

son

Urban livestock is rare enough not tohave pro-active regulation. In otherwords, intervention generally takes placein response to complaints, usually ofnoise, smell, neglect, or animal litter. Inthe absence of clear codes, regulation byzoning, health, or animal control officerstakes place according to local custom andavailable expertise.

Most often, social reasons instigate regu-lation and enforcement, while officialcode violations justify the charges. Theofficial reasons are violations of urbanlivestock code, if existing, or of nuisancelaws, if no codes are available, e.g., noise,smell, neglect, etc. Yet, the officersdescribed two groups of unofficial socialconditions that motivate the official com-plaints. The first represents “culturalclash”, where complaints are registeredby one ethnic group against another.Members of the same cultural group,especially low income or “visa-vulner-able” groups, rarely lodge complaintsagainst someone in the same group, evenif they disapprove of the practice. Thesecond complaint group originates from

Interviews with practitioners indicate thaturban livestock can be an economicallysound way to increase families’ proteinconsumption, especially in low-incomehouseholds. These claims were testedwith a four-stage hypothetical model thatmeasures the costs of household meatconsumption (chicken only) from bothhousehold production and retail marketfood sources. The results should be re-tested, but they hypothetically confirmthe economic viability of ULA.

The findings were grouped into three cat-egories of municipal regulation inMiddlesex County. In the first category,municipal code exists to specifically pro-hibit urban livestock (3 municipalities). Inthe second category, municipal codeexists in various forms to allow someforms of urban livestock (12 municipal-ities). In some cases, urban livestock ispermitted specifically on agriculturallyzoned land, but might or might not beallowed on residential land. In the thirdcategory, no municipal code regulatesurban livestock in residential areas (10municipalities).

higher income residents who are worriedthat urban livestock in their neighbour-hood drives property values down. Thisgroup registers complaints against “insid-ers” and “outsiders” alike.

Regulation of urban livestock is viewedby practitioners as an institutional tool toeradicate them - the residents - from thegentrifying neighbourhoods because oftheir class, race, and ethnicity rather thana practice to remove urban livestock, per

se. ULA practice not only helps practi-tioners economically, but also in terms ofsocial and cultural identity, and strongerpresence vis-à-vis more elite groups in amunicipality.

BRIDGING INTERNATIONALEXPERIENCE AND LOCALDIVERSITYThe growing international awareness ofurban livestock experience and relatedliterature offer much technical, theoreti-cal, and practical policy developmentstrategies. A small but dynamic US move-ment promoting community food secur-ity, provides an ideal opening to addressULA at the educational, policy, activist,and research levels. Increasing informa-tion on plant-based and livestock urbanagriculture augments the opportunity tobuild constructive dialogue on commu-nity development and food security thatcan bring together urban policy makersand residents who, until now, have hadlittle interaction.

REFERENCES- Mercia, S. Leonard. 1990. RaisingPoultry the Modern Way. Vermont:Garden Way.- Mougeot, Luc J. A. 2000.“Concepts and Definitions.” UrbanAgriculture Magazine. 1(1).- United Nations DevelopmentProgramme. 1996. UrbanAgriculture: Food, Jobs andSustainable Cities. United NationsDevelopment Programme,Publication Series for Habitat II(Istanbul, June 1996), Vol. One.New York: UNDP.

Urban livestock can be aneconomically sound way

to increase protein consumption

Table 1. Barriers and Opportunities for Urban Livestock Agriculture in USA

Urban Environments (with reference to New Jersey)

Barriers Opportunities

• Little, unknown, and/or illegal experi-

ence in, which make research difficult.

• Little existing professional or popular

literature on urban livestock practice in

North America.

• Disparate and un-coordinated legal

codes at municipal level on urban live-

stock.

• Space restrictions.

• Inadequate knowledge and/or unsafe

(e.g. unsanitary) practices.

• Cultural resistance to raising animals

for food and other economic purpose.

• Often practiced by less elite groups

and regulated by more elite groups.

• Survives because of economic need,

cultural endurance, and social resistance.

• Fungible resource practice.

• Fresher and tastier meat produced.

• Critical and growing literature in other

countries, especially in the "South."

• Immigrant and rural migrant commu-

nities bring experience to the U.S.

• Local dialogue between practitioners

and regulators can proceed in tandem

with new developments at international

level.

• Small, space tolerant species like fish,

guinea pigs, rabbits, and chickens.

• Technical training; workshops; com-

munity engagement in urban livestock.

• Community-wide food systems edu-

cation

• Community dialogue on food security

needs.

9

1010

oaming livestock is acommon sight in mosturban areas of India.

Livestock keeping, particularly ofbuffaloes, is a tradition, but buffa-lo, cattle, pigs and chickens arealso kept in towns and cities tocontribute to household liveli-hoods and food security.

Urban centres provide a numberof incentives for keeping livestock,such as foodstuffs (food wastefrom hotels and vegetable wastefrom markets and homes) and

easily accessible markets, particu-larly for fresh milk from urbandairies. There are also, however, anumber of problems with keepinglivestock in urban centres, includ-ing access to grazing land andwater (both for drinking andwashing buffaloes and cows) andstoring dung for sale. The difficul-ties for the urban authoritiesinclude roaming and herded ani-mals contributing to traffic chaos,dung and fodder in storm drains,complaints about smell and con-cerns about health hazards.

Families who keep a small num-ber of livestock in urban centresoften rely on additional sources ofincome, from construction workto cleaning and laundry. The

opportunities for using a mix ofincome generating opportunities,which urban centres provide,make livestock an attractiveoption, providing space and fod-der can be obtained.

URBAN DAIRIESIn and around the city there arelarge and small dairies. Abouttwenty commercial enterpriseskeep between ten and twenty buf-faloes and crossbred cows, while anumber (30-40) of smaller dairieskeep crossbred cattle. By far thelargest number of urban dairiesbelong to traditional buffalo keep-ers, known as gowlies. Some ofthese households rely solely onthe milk produced by buffaloes astheir source of income, othersmay rely more on urban-basedwork, but keep one or two buffa-loes as a source of milk for theirfamily and as an additional sourceof income. Keeping buffaloes isalso part of tradition. Animalsmay be impounded in a vada orgo-shala, which are cattle shelters,including pounds where roamingcattle are taken. Owners of cattlehave to pay a fine for the latter.

The main source of fodder for theurban dairies is from the adjoiningrural areas. The urban dairies pur-chase sorghum and grasses duringthe harvest season and store it foruse during the year. The owners oflarge urban dairies have their ownresources for growing fodder,

including cereals and legumes.Additionally, food waste fromhotels and cafés and vegetablewaste is fed to the buffaloes.

Milk is sold once or twice a day inHubli-Dharwad, depending ondemand. There are several differ-ent methods of marketing themilk. Gowlies sell their milkdirectly to hotels, boarding hous-es and households. Some gowliesmilk the buffaloes in front of theconsumers, to assure them of thefreshness of the milk, which isalso carried out in certain loca-tions, for example at fixed hoursin the morning and evening. Apremium price is paid for suchfresh milk. Sometimes loans aregiven to the gowlies for the pur-chase of buffaloes, with the loanrepaid in the form of milk. A fur-ther marketing route involvesvendors collecting milk directlyfrom dairy owners and deliveringthe milk to organised milk boothsin Hubli-Dharwad.

The milk collected by theKarnataka Milk Federation (KMF)from the rural areas, along withdried milk, poses a significantsource of competition to the tra-ditional urban dairies. People canobtain milk when they want it,rather than wait for it to be deliv-ered, and its sale appears to beincreasing, despite the fact that,in some cases, it is a little moreexpensive than buffalo milk,

R

A review of dairies and pig-keeping in the twin-city of Hubli-Dharwad, in the State of Karnataka,

illustrates the role of livestock in household liveli-hood strategies in Indian cities. Small urban dair-

ies and roaming pigs are a common sight inHubli-Dharwad and make an important contribu-

tion to household livelihoods and urban food sup-plies. However, the future of livestock keeping in

urban centres can be questioned, given publicconcerns at city and national level and recent

moves by city authorities to evict pigs.

__________

Fiona Nunan

University of Birmingham, UK


Livestock and livelihoodsin Hubli-Dharwad, India

Families who keep a small number oflivestock in urban centres often rely on

additional sources of income

Urban Dairy in Hubli-Dharwad

Phot

o by

F. N

unan

retailing at around Rs. 11 a litre (exchan-ge rate is approximately Rs 41: US$ 1).

Milk produced in the urban areas is,however, not a substantial source of sup-ply to the city. From livestock censusdata, it is possible to estimate approxi-mately how much urban dairies contrib-ute to the milk supply of the city, workingout at 0.03 – 0.06 litres per person per dayin 1997. Although these figures are esti-mates, and the numbers of cows and buf-faloes given in the census may not beentirely reliable, the figures are quite low.Milk from KMF and more commercialdairies dominate the market, and thesedairies are likely to increase their domi-nant position if the constraints on urbandairies are not reduced, and if consumersincreasingly prefer pasteurised milk andmodern forms of purchasing.

URBAN SCAVENGING PIGSHubli-Dharwad also has a significantnumber of scavenging pigs, owned byquite distinct communities within the city.These communities include the Hindi‘Gollar’ communities and the Bhils com-munity from the Punjab, whose mainoccupation is hammering scraps of metalinto utensils. As with buffalo keeping, pigowning is a tradition, handed down fromgeneration to generation. Pig owningcommunities can be found in several areasof Hubli-Dharwad, depending on tradi-tion, but also on proximity to areas wherepigs can roam for food. There does notappear to be a significant amount of co-ordination between the pig-owning com-munities, though the areas are marked outbetween them. Although there is little co-ordination, there have not been reports ofconflict between the communities either.In fact, collaboration would seem a moreappropriate response to recent constraintson their source of livelihood.

The pigs represent a source of cheap pro-tein, for certain social groups which con-sume pork, as they rely on low costsources of feed - street rubbish, wastefrom hotels and restaurants, soil and veg-etation. The pigs, or pork, are transportedto the consuming markets in Goa and atHassan, Mangalore and Bangalore, inKarnataka. The pre-Christmas period isthe busiest for sales.

The perception dominates that pigs are anuisance and pose a threat to health,despite the role they play in consuming

nightsoil and other organic wastes. Thedegree to which they constitute a healthhazard, however, varies considerably andis unclear. For instance, Japanese encepa-lopathy - a disease carried by pigs buttransmitted by a mosquito, which lives inirrigated rice paddies - is not a problem inthe city, as there are no paddy fields. Publicsafety is at times at risk due to pigs dashingout into traffic on the roads, though this isobviously a danger for the pigs as well.

In response to complaints about roamingpigs and potential health threats, theHubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation

(HDMC) has been rounding up pigs andsending them out of the city. TheCorporation announces in the localnewspapers beforehand when such a pigclearance is going to take place. The Environmental Health officers ofHDMC have been attempting to shifthundreds of pigs out of the city for aboutten years. The pig owners’ associationwent to the High Court and obtained a

“stay”, but in 1997 the High Court revisedits decision in favour of the MunicipalCorporation. The municipality begancatching 50-60 pigs per week in 1997.This has prompted some pig owners tosell their pigs before they are seized. Thepolice have stopped owners from goinginto the forest areas to look for their pigsand return them to the city.

There does not appear to be any obviousresolution to this conflict, unless the pigowners can restrict the movement oftheir pigs, perhaps by limiting the number of pigs. This would have incomeimplications. Stall feeding pigs appearson the surface to be an option in whichuse of wastes could continue. It would,however, involve more labour as wastewould have to be brought to the pigs,which would have a cost. Pig owners alsobelieve that the variety of pigs would notthrive if they were stall-fed. The marketprefers local pigs, as the taste of pigs suitable for stall-feeding is consideredinferior, so a change in the types of pigsbred could have income implications.Stall-feeding, however, is not being pursued as an option either privately orby the public authorities.

Table: Issues associated with livestock keeping in Hubli-Dharwad

Main Advantages Main Problems Possible Solutions

Cows and buffaloes

Farm level

Cows and buffaloes

City level

Pigs and Chickens

Farm level

Pigs and Chickens

City level

• income (milk and

dung)

• status

• maintaining tradition

• certain consumer

groups are happy

• dung cakes reduce

demand for fuelwood,

• cows have spiritual

significance

• food security

• easy access to food

(scavenging)

• income

• food source

• consumption of

nightsoil along roads

by pigs

• consumption of

organic waste in

streets

• disease

• space

• fodder shortage

• traffic congesting

• public health

• pigs being evicted

from city

• traffic chaos

• public perception of

pigs as a nuisance and

health hazard

• vaccinations

• greater support and

recognition by author-

ities

• dialogue to agree

on locations where

animals could be kept

• ban stray animals

• work with owners to

prevent dung from

entering drains and

animals from disrupt-

ing traffic

• dialogue and com-

promise between

owners and author-

ities

• collaboration

between pig-owning

communities

• ban stray animals

• official assistance in

penning animals

The urban dairiesillustrate important

rural-urban linkages

s the villages on Delhi’s fringeundergo a radical transforma-tion in land use, the sources of

livelihood ‘urbanise’ as well(Bentinck, 2000). So why doesdairy farming persist? One of thefactors that contribute to this situa-tion is the Indian caste system.

Most villages in India have onedominant caste group, both innumbers and in terms of localpower. In the rural areas aroundDelhi these are usually the cultivat-ing castes such as the Jats, Rajputsand Tyagis, or the Gujjars, who aresmall landowners and particularly

involved in dairy farming. Themore resource-poor groups, most-ly low caste people with no land,often do not possess cattle.The influence of castes on occu-pation has changed considerably,to a large extent due to urbanisa-tion. Much diversification has

12

PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIESASSOCIATED WITH URBAN LIVESTOCKExamples of the types of problems andopportunities associated with keeping live-stock in Hubli-Dharwad city are noted in thetable.

The urban dairies illustrate important rural-urban linkages, where fodder is brought intothe city and dung and poultry manure aretaken from the city to the rural and peri-urban areas. Although these resource flowsmay not be substantial, dung and manure isalways in demand by farmers and there isnever enough in the peri-urban and ruralareas, so the urban supply is a welcome con-tribution.

THE FUTURE OF LIVESTOCK IN HUBLI-DHARWADThe future of livestock keeping in urban cen-tres is questioned, given concerns aboutroaming cattle at city and national level andbecause of moves to evict pigs. Legislation onkeeping livestock in urban areas is set out inthe Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act1976, which states that permission isrequired to keep more than ten animalswithin a corporation area. The annual fee forpermission to keep animals is a minimum of

Rs.200, which is paid by poultry and com-mercial dairy owners. There are very fewpermitted dairies or poultry farms in Hubli-Dharwad, and most small-scale livestockkeeping remains informal.

There is concern within the UrbanAuthorities that the presence of livestock inthe urban areas obstructs their responsibil-ities regarding maintaining the infrastruc-ture of the urban area, including keepingstreets clean and delivering drinking watersupplies to urban dwellers. There are a num-ber of indications that measures will be tak-en that further discourage urban livestockkeeping, or even make it illegal.

For instance, the HDMC is evicting pigs frommany areas of Hubli-Dharwad, and theSupreme Court Interim Report (1998) statesthat cattle should not be allowed to roamfreely and that cattle sheds should be phasedout in cities with a population of more than500,000.

The Interim Report is largely concerned withrecommendations for improving solid wastemanagement in cities. There is one section, however, that refers to the ‘cattle nuisance’ incities:

“No stray cattle should be allowed in citiesabove 5 lac (500,000) population. All existingcattle sheds, vadas and go-shalas should beremoved in phased manner from such cities.Until then no animals should be allowed tomove around the streets. They should bestall-fed and the waste produced in suchstables should be disposed of by the cattleowner on daily basis at the community stor-age sites. Owners of these animals should besuitably charged for the disposal of suchtrade waste in the municipal system”(1998:66).

The future for livestock keeping in urban cen-tres in India appears uncertain. Banning ani-mals is not the answer, as this would deprivemany urban families of a vital source of liveli-hood. In the case of Hubli-Dharwad, therecould, however, be room for compromise, if allstakeholders could be involved in decision-making processes to find ways of addressinghealth and environmental concerns.

12

The stray-cattle controversy in Delhi

In the streets of urban India, many cows can be seen scavengingaround. At first glance it may appear as though the cattle are an undis-puted part of city life, but the case of Delhi shows that the issue is sur-rounded by controversy. The persistence of dairy farming in the city is

related to how villages and their people become urbanised. Since 1951,about 140 villages have become completely incorporated into the city of

Delhi (Census of India, 1991). Caste-specific economic traditions andconstraints cause certain households to continue dairy farming despite

the spatial constraints.

__________

Johan Bentinck

University of Groningen,

The Netherlands


REFERENCES-The Hon. Supreme Court ofIndia (1998) Interim Report ofthe Committee Constituted by theHon. Supreme Court of India onSolid Waste Management inClass 1 Cities in India, The Hon.Supreme Court of India, Delhi.

AWoman washing a buffalo

Phot

o by

J. B

entin

ck

s the villages on Delhi’s fringeundergo a radical transforma-

tion in land use, the sources of live-lihood ‘urbanise’ as well (Bentinck,2000). So why does dairy farmingpersist? One of the factors thatcontribute to this situation is theIndian caste system. Most villagesin India have one dominant castegroup, both in numbers and interms of local power. In the ruralareas around Delhi these are usual-ly the cultivating castes such as theJats, Rajputs and Tyagis, or theGujjars, who are small landownersand particularly involved in dairyfarming. The more resource-poorgroups, mostly low caste peoplewith no land, often do not possesscattle.The influence of castes on occu-pation has changed considerably,

to a large extent due to urbanisa-tion. Much diversification hastaken place in the fringes of thecity. About half of all workerspresently commute to the city fortheir employment. Many amongthe local low castes have also pro-gressed a fair amount throughbetter access to urban jobs. Withthe sale of agricultural land to themunicipal authorities and privateparties, large sums of moneyenter the villages. Some formerlandowners quickly becomewealthy and invest the money inurban-type activities (e.g. runninga bus or truck, property dealing,or in a shop). They usually stoptheir dairy farming, due to landand labour shortages, but alsobecause dairy is perceived as ‘-backward’.

Migrants flock into the villages insearch of employment and cheaphousing. In the more urbanisedvillages, the migrants outnumberthe local villagers, and have takenover most of the agriculturallabour. But migrants hardly everkeep cows. They have too littlespace and resources, and theirtheir households do not havespare labour available for milkingand maintaining cattle.

In the villages where the Gujjarsdominated, the cattle haveremained after the villages havebecome urbanised. The cows thatremain are increasingly depen-dent on space and food on thestreets, due to increase in pres-sure on the village common landsas a result of urbanisation.

1212

The stray-cattle controversy in Delhi

In the streets of urban India, many cows can be seen scavenging around. Atfirst glance it may appear as though the cattle are an undisputed part of citylife, but the case of Delhi shows that the issue is surrounded by controversy.

The persistence of dairy farming in the city is related to how villages and theirpeople become urbanised. Since 1951, about 140 villages have become com-pletely incorporated into the city of Delhi (Census of India, 1991). Caste-spe-cific economic traditions and constraints cause certain households to con-

tinue dairy farming despite the spatial constraints.

__________

Johan Bentinck

University of Groningen,

The Netherlands


A

Woman

washing

a buffalo

Phot

o by

J. B

entin

ck

13

DAIRY IN THE CITYCattle in Indian cities is a controversialissue; there are different interests at stakeand subsequent views among cityauthorities, villagers and other involvedresidents.

For instance, contrary to general belief,the stray cows have not all been aban-doned by their owners. Although thereare a considerable number of abandonedcows, most cows in the city are owned bypeople who milk them daily. Many ofthese cows however are old and no long-er give sufficient milk for the farmer tobother about them. Since they cannot beslaughtered, what can be done aboutthem?

Public hygiene is a reason for banningcattle in the city. But although the netpositive effect that such a ban wouldhave on city health would seem to beobvious, this cannot easily be assessed.For instance, in the present situationdung does not remain on the streets forlong, but is used as fuel. Cows eat most ofthe green vegetable residues from house-holds, which certainly reduces the vol-ume of municipal waste. There is the caseof a power plant that was supposed torun on municipal waste, funded withmoney from the Danish developmentcooperation organisation DANIDA. Thisplant never worked though, because theorganic content had been reduced too

much by the cows, while the dung andother inflammable materials were col-lected by individuals. A further concern isrelated to traffic problems with cattle.Although overcrowding and traffic mis-behaviour by humans are undoubtedlybigger contributors to traffic obstructionsand accidents, cattle are also a real con-cern. Cows can frequently be seen lyingundisturbed on the busiest of roads. Anadditional argument against cattle in thecity is based on the embarrassment aboutthe ‘backward’ impression it gives tourban India.

On the other hand, dairy is an importantsource of income. Although the city’scows contribute only a small part of thetotal supply of milk to the city, it is notunimportant. There is often a shortage ofsupply, and the government subsidiseddistribution of milk to Delhi’s citizens isneither efficient nor reliable.Furthermore, there is some compensa-tion for the land, but this is limited tothose owning land. Training aimed atacquiring “urban labour skills” is practi-cally non-existent.

POLICY MEASURESThe authorities formally favour theremoval of the cattle from the urban are-as, but have been quite passive in doingso. Subsidised sites at the city’s fringeshave been made available so that the cat-tle owners can relocate their animals, but

these have had very limited success.Some dairy farmers refused, indicatingthat they are a sizeable political force.Some manipulate the policies, selling theassigned plots outside the city and mov-ing back to their original place. Theseplots are now used for industrial or resi-dential purposes. State-run cattle sheds

have been set up, but this programme isalso plagued with corruption: the farmerwho brings his cows there can bag themonetary compensation, and buy backthe cattle for a much smaller fee from thecivil servant administrating the place.

The presence of dairy farming in the cityis clearly connected with spatial expan-sion and socio-economic transformationin general. The villages become incorpo-rated into the city, sometimes at a fasterrate than the inhabitants change theirform of livelihood. If cows are successful-ly removed, the municipal waste collec-tion will have to be much more efficient.

REFERENCES- Bentinck, J.V., 2000. Unruly urbanisation onDelhi’s fringe - Changing patterns of land use andlivelihood. Netherlands Geographical Studies 270.Utrecht/Groningen: Royal Dutch GeographicSociety/Faculty of Spatial Sciences, RijksuniversiteitGroningen.

Cattle in Indian citiesis a controversial issue

Transporting

cowdung

Phot

o by

J. B

entin

ck

14

conomic diversification hasalways been an importantstrategy for Beja pastoralists,

as a means to complement familyincome at certain times of theyear or during periods of crisis.Some of the subsidiary activitiesof the Beja are agriculture, fish-ing, mining, firewood collectionand charcoal making as well assale of rural products like milk,ghee, mats, baskets and leather

goods. Labour migration to town,especially to Port Sudan as cashlabourers on the docks, was alsoa constant feature of the Bejaeconomy throughout the 20th

century.

However, the scope of theinvolvement in these non-pasto-ral activities has dramaticallychanged over the years. The result

is a more permanent shift to alter-native sources of livelihoods asopposed to seasonal or crisis-related moves to increase familyincome.

LIVESTOCK KEEPING IN TOWNOne of the most notable changesto livelihood strategies has seenthe Beja, particularly theAmar’ar/Atmaan, starting tomove to Port Sudan in large num-bers since 1931. From being a tinyminority for most of the first halfof the century, it is estimated thattoday the number of Beja in thecity has reached 400,000–500,000,i.e. approximately 50-60% of theoverall town population accord-ing to recent unofficial estimates(Port Sudan has approx. 800,000inhabitants).

The patterns of migration of theBeja are of several types. Perhapsthe most dominant one has beenthe short migration of youngmen, taking turns to make surethat there is always somebody toherd the livestock in the hills. Theregularity of these patterns hasaltered and the number of youngmen who moved to Port Sudan

increased significantly duringtimes of crises.

For many of the migrants livestockare still an important livelihoodresource. Holdings vary quite sig-nificantly between the differenthouseholds, but the majority ofthem own a few small ruminants,mostly between one and threegoats. Animals are kept both toobtain milk for family consumptionand to be sold in times of needwhen there is no work available. Insome deims (suburbs), camels andcattle are also kept. The animalsnormally graze in the more ruraloutskirts of the city, where thesocial and cultural atmosphere ofthe rural areas has been “recreated”by the Beja migrants.

Small ruminants, especially goats,are also kept in central areas ofPort Sudan, where they usually arereared in the courtyard of thehomestead, browsing on the gar-bage in back streets. Although live-stock are less apparent in centraltown, a relatively large number oflivestock owners live in this area. Inmost cases they hire young herdersto take the animals to graze in therural areas around town.

14

Today the number of Beja in the city has reached approximately 50-60%

of the overall town population

The Beja are a confederation of tribes united by acommon language, TuBedawiye, and a common

segmentary structure, each of which is linked to acommon ownership and use of land. The three

main tribes are the Amar’ar/Atmaan, the Bishariyynand the Hadendowa, who mostly live in North-Eastern Sudan between the Egyptian and the

Eritrean borders, and all speak similar versions ofTuBedawiye. Other minor related groups include

the Arteiga, the Ashraf, the Kemeilab, the Halangaand the Shayaab. This article describes the migra-tion of Beja pastoralist labour to Port Sudan from

Halaib Province (NE Sudan). It reviews the differentlivestock holdings that the Beja have in town and

shows that, although most urban-based pastoral-ists live in great poverty, some manage to success-

fully exploit urban opportunities whilst continuingto engage in rural-based livelihood strategies.

__________

Sara Pantuliano

UNDP, Sudan


E

Urban Camel

Phot

o by

A. W

ater

s-Ba

yer

The Beja urban economy

Understanding and responding to an evolving reality

The survey of Forman (1992) showed thatin all deims significant differences in live-stock holdings exist. A majority (63.7%)claims not to own any livestock in town,although 1/3 of this group state that theypossess animals in Halaib Province.

Among the 36.3% who say they have live-stock in Port Sudan, the vast majority(87%) say they have between one or fourgoats from which they obtain milk for thefamily. Very few are in a position to sellsurplus milk. However, many of them,especially those who have recentlyarrived in town, hope to be able torebuild the family herd through theirurban earnings and return to HalaibProvince in a short time. This possibilityappears very unlikely though, since fami-lies in Port Sudan frequently come underpressure to sell livestock assets. Most Bejain Port Sudan actually live in conditionsof great poverty as the economic activ-ities in which they are mostly engagedare precarious, fragmented and do notoffer the Beja a reliable alternative totheir traditional pastoral livelihoods.

It is worth mentioning though thatamong the migrants from HalaibProvince sampled in Port Sudan there is asmall group (4.6% of the total) whodeclared they owned large herds of sheepand goats and camels in and aroundtown. Part of this group is composed ofurban dwellers who have been able toinvest in livestock when the price waslow (i.e. in time of drought), seizing largenumbers of livestock from other herders,in some cases Beja from the same sub-group. They are in most cases govern-ment employees or former pastoralistswho have been involved in animal trad-ing in town for a long time. The othermajor livestock holders are still transhu-mant pastoralists who own large camelherds and use wage labour in Port Sudanto complement their earnings, e.g. the‘Aliab Beja of El Wihda.

For most Beja who have moved to town,livestock have retained their importanceboth in cultural (bridewealth payment),dietary (milk and meat) and economicterms (assets not eroded by inflation). Itis interesting to note that the majority ofthem still describe themselves as pastor-alists, even if they do not now own ani-mals. From the above analysis of the sur-vey findings, it is possible to identifythree main types of “town pastoralists”.

First, those whose main goal is to regainthe lost viability of their pastoral house-hold unit in Halaib Province. Secondly,those for whom livestock-keeping is onlya subsidiary activity supporting a mainlyurban-oriented unit (Hjort af Ornäs andDahl, 1991:148). The third is the case oftranshumant herders, such as the abovementioned ‘Aliab Beja. This group offersan example of how pastoralists can takeadvantage of urban opportunities todiversify their income sources in order tostrengthen the security of their livelihoodsystem centred on livestock keeping

DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONSAND THE URBAN BEJASo far very little has been done to addressthe specific condition of pastoralists inurban contexts. In the case of the Beja inPort Sudan, many development agencieshave concentrated their work on sup-porting and experimenting with theviability of a range of conventionalincome generating activities outside thepastoral sector. This has often stemmedfrom the widespread belief amongst localpractitioners as well as internationalagencies that pastoralists’ livelihoods areno longer viable and that alternative solu-tions need to be found.

An example can be found in the experi-ence of the ACORD Small ScaleEnterprise Programme in Port Sudan,which started in 1984. In overall termsthe programme was relatively successfulin reaching the urban poor and inremaining ostensibly financially sustain-able in a very difficult economic context.However, it never devised specific meas-ures or enterprise development packagesthat could be relevant for people with apastoralist background. The only target-ed support was the provision of loans tobuy small stock (namely goats). The loansfollowed the same criteria applied to oth-er kinds of businesses: a loan ceiling withrepayment periods up to a maximum ofsix months, a mark up rate, and 25%immediate payment for loans of a certain

size. Impact flow charts drawn in twoPort Sudan deims with Beja clients whohad applied for a goat purchasing loanshowed how difficult it was for them torepay the debt in such a short time frame.This was due to the high cost of fodderand drugs needed for the animals as wellas to the fact that the milk obtained wasoften used for family consumption ratherthan for sale. As a result, clients wereoften forced to sell the goats to repay theloan. In other cases the clients returnedto the rural areas with the livestock pur-chased through the loan without repay-ing the debt. As a consequence, ACORDstaff started to perceive Beja clients asunreliable. In the case of the goat loans,

longer time-frames would have allowedthe Beja to sell the offspring and recoverthe original cost. A different approachmore focused on community dynamicscould have also helped people to reacti-vate redistributive mechanisms that areendogenous to Beja society.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONSThe experience of ACORD is not unique.Interventions of other agencies workingin the region show equally ill-informedanalysis and planning (Pantuliano, 2000).Certain agencies such as ACORD andOxfam made serious attempts though toaddress local complexities throughresearch and responsive programming inthe late 1990s. Research has revealed arange of under-explored programmingalternatives for urban pastoralists in theregion, which could also prove applicableelsewhere in the Sahelian context.

Agencies involved in promoting develop-ment with Beja pastoralists in town,could focus on improving access to non-farm opportunities so as to strengthenlivelihoods through a diversified resource

15

For most Beja who moved totown livestock have

retained their importance

REFERENCES- Forman, S., 1992. Port Sudan Survey. Report for Save the Children Fund UK (unpublished). Port Sudan.- Hjort af Ornäs, A. and Dahl, G., 1991. The Responsible Man. The Atmaan Beja of North-eastern Sudan.Uppsala Stockholm Studies in Social Anthropology n°27, in co-operation with Nordiska Africainstitutet.- Pantuliano, S., 2000. Changing Livelihoods: Urban Adaptation of the Beja Pastoralists of Halaib Province (NESudan) and NGO Planning Approaches. PhD Thesis: University of Leeds.- Scoones, I., 1998. Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: A Framework for Analysis. Working Paper No.72. Brighton:Institute of Development Studies.- Waters-Bayer, A. and Bayer, W., 1998. Participatory Evaluation of ACORD’s Red Sea Hills Programme. Areport for ACORD, London.

base. A variety of inputs could be extend-ed to those who are in town. Credit, train-ing and marketing support are of rele-vance to both those who intend to remainin Port Sudan, amongst whom womenare prominent, and those who are lookingfor a way of returning to Halaib Province.

Opportunities exist for promoting rural-urban linkages. Support strategies couldprioritise town-based activities, whichdraw on rural resources and/or people’sskills as pastoralists. These include dairyproduce making and leather processingwhich are traditionally practised bywomen. Since there is a finite number ofopportunities of this nature, clearly someurban Beja will have to be supported topursue alternative livelihood options notlinked to the pastoral sector. Agenciescould plan for the provision of initial mar-keting support for both pastoral relatedand non-pastoral activities, such as fish-eries. It is important that the philosophyunderpinning such kinds of interventionis informed by “credit policies for liveli-hoods” (Scoones, 1998:14), which wouldallow the Beja access to a wide number oflivelihood strategies according to theoptions available and people’s own prior-ities and aspirations.

Other possibilities include supporting theproductive investment of remittances,especially for the benefit of rural women

who are the wives of town-basedmigrants. Such work would be facilitatedby initiatives aimed at assisting womenwho are currently restricted in theiraccess to markets. Enhancing economicopportunities should be accompanied byefforts to increase access to basic servicesin rural areas.

A crucial element to any attempt to try topromote investment or return to rural are-as is the issue of land tenure in HalaibProvince. Efforts need to be made to mob-ilise government support for developingland tenure regulations that recognisepastoralists’ rights. Urban-based Beja whoare closer to the centres of power can beeffective in advocating for partnershipswith government and other actors that cansecure the Beja’s basic rights and in sodoing will work towards achieving sus-

tainable development. This interaction ispredicated on a degree of openness on thepart of government as well as the efficientfunctioning of Beja institutions. There isclearly scope for strengthening establishedorganisations and institutions as well asfor creating new ones that are knowledge-able of both urban and rural dynamics.

There is potential and need for a broadening of the development agenda ifthe Beja are to be assisted in achieving sustainable livelihoods across their new

found contexts. Failure to distinguish thelarge community of the Beja from theother urban poor and to design appropri-ate support strategies is likely to result ininappropriate measures. The externalconstraints to carry out such an agendacannot be underestimated but there ismuch that can be gained from agenciescoming together to undertake a moreprofound assessment of the wider con-temporary Beja reality and working inconcert to respond to the challenges thatthis presents.

Themes for next issues

An article contribution shouldgive a clear description of theurban aspects and policy implica-tions of your experiences andinclude recommendations forlocal policy makers and planners.

Articles should be written in sucha way that those working withfarmers could readily understandthem. We would like to receivearticles of up to 3000 words long(This is about 5-6 pages A4).Articles should preferably beaccompanied by illustrations(digital if possible) and references.The availability of a good abstractis appreciated. Articles will beexamined for selection by the edi-torial team consisting of theRUAF-editor and the external sci-entific advisor/co-editor.

You are invited to contribute to the Urban AgricultureMagazine with an article, description of best (or bad)

practices, photo’s and information on interesting publi-cations, websites, and forthcoming events.

THE PLANNING FOR THENEXT ISSUES IS:No. 3. Health Aspects of Urban

Agriculture : Contributions inbefore January 1, 2001.No. 4. Integration of UPA in

Urban Planning : Contributions inbefore April 1, 2001.No. 5. Methodologies for UA

research, Policy Development,

Planning and Implementation ;Contributions in before August 1,2001.

Other issues that you mentionedin the questionnaires are: ❖ Transition to ecological urbanfarming❖ Economic and marketingaspects of Urban Agriculture❖ Re-use of waste and waste-water in urban agriculture; rural-urban nutrient cycles❖ Training in urban agriculture

A crucial element is the issue of land tenure

16

1717

he current crisis in ruralagriculture and increasingurban food insecurity is

stimulating the development ofurban agriculture in Senegal. Inthe Niayes zone urban agricul-ture, in the form of both crops andlivestock, is increasingly contrib-uting to urban food security. Thedevelopment of livestock keepingin and around the main urbancentres in the Niayes zone is mak-ing an important contribution tomilk, meat and egg production, allof which are key elements in thediets of women and children andwomen. Livestock product mar-keting also contributes to incomegeneration for women.

Under the IDRC funded project‘Integrated peri-urban systems:horticulture and livestock in WestAfrican cities’, a diagnostic surveywas carried out by the Senegalese

Institute of Agricultural Research(ISRA) and Dakar University (-UCAD). The systems were char-acterised according to location,farm size and products.Investigations were carried out inthree cities: Dakar, Thiès andSaint-Louis.

The Niayes zone is the Atlanticcoastal stretch between Dakarand Saint-Louis. It comprises thefour administrative regions ofDakar, Thiès, Louga and Saint-Louis. The Niayes zone is charac-terised by sand dunes and depres-sions which are often flooded,and a climate that favours agri-culture. Average annual rainfall is500 mm, and most of it falls dur-ing the three-month wet seasonfrom July to October.

Over half of the Senegalese popu-lation live in this area, which

make it the most highly urbanisedzone in the country. Populationdensity is more than 1000/km2 inDakar and 100/km2 in Thiès(compared with a national aver-age of 35 /km2 ). Forty five per-cent of the Senegalese urban pop-ulation now live in Dakar, whichis the main destination formigrants from the countrysideand neighbouring countries. Mosturban agriculture activities takeplace in Dakar City and its sur-roundings and to a lesser extentin other cities like Thiès andSaint-Louis. The higher popula-tion density, and greater marketand economic strength offer moremarketing possibilities to urbanand sub-urban farmers in Dakarthan in other locations in Senegal.

The survey distinguishes twomain systems: urban and sub-urban livestock systems.The sub-urban system is furtherdivided into Dior, Niayes andN’Diouky according to soil andclimatic characteristics.

THE URBAN SYSTEMProduction networks are pre-dominantly family based in theurban system. Most Senegalesefamilies keep some domestic ani-mals such as (traditional) poultryor a few small ruminants.Although sheep production pre-

Urban livestock systemsin the Niayes zone in Senegal

__________

Safiétou Touré Fall

Ibrahima Cisse

ISRA, LNERV, Dakar,

Senegal


Abdou Salam Fall

IFAN University, Dakar,

Senegal

T

The main agricultural cities of Senegal are located in the Niayes Zone.Production in this zone accounts for more than two thirds of the total horticul-tural production, and urban livestock is also well represented. Livestock keep-

ing is well integrated into the production systems, in the form of waste recy-cling and animal traction. Considerable efforts are being made to restructure

the production system in order to meet increasing demand for animal products.An exploratory study of the main agricultural systems in the Niayes Zone indi-

cated that there is great diversity in farm products (fruit and vegetables as wellas livestock) and also potential for further development. The main constraints

to further development are the land tenure system, deterioration of naturalresources, lack of organisation of farmers and minimal access to credit.

Goats in

Kumasi

Phot

o by

Den

nis

Fiel

ding

dominates in Dakar, the cattle populationis on the increase.

Economic objectives do not prevail in thisproduction system. Rather there is a mys-tical dimension to keeping animals, as itis believed that “an animal will protecthuman beings from calamity”. Animalsare housed in backyard paddocks or onrooftops. Animals are predominantly fedon domestic waste, supplemented withconcentrates and good quality by-prod-ucts like groundnut or green bean by-products. Grasses from horticulturalfarms are also given to the urban-basedruminants. These feed resources are notenough and animals scavenge freely inthe towns. Within this urban familybased system there are a few sheep-fat-tening and intensive poultry farms whichproduce livestock especially for sale atreligious events.

THE SUB-URBAN SYSTEM The sub-urban area is characterised by awide range of production sites. Three sub-systems can be distinguished, accordingto soil type, topography and water avail-ability: Dior, Niayes and N’Diouky.

The Dior Sub-System predominates in thesand dunes, which cover 70% of the Niayesarea. The major part of the Dakar dairy beltis located in the Dior. Poultry farming (meat and egg production) is present, asare orchards and flower production.

The Niayes Sub-System is found in theinter-dune depressions. Niayes is not asuitable area for livestock due to highparasite load and animal diseases. TheN’Diouky Sub-System located in depres-sions as well as in the dried lakes, is char-acterised by the presence of market gar-

dening, but livestock is not yet very welldeveloped.

Integrated systems predominate in thesub-urban system, with about 97% of thefarmers being agro-pastoral (Fall et al.,1993). The mean farm size is 4.5 ha, while83% of the farms are less than 3 ha, andonly 8% are more than 10 ha. About 72%of the properties are owned, while 27%are on communal lands. The averageherd size is 5 sheep, 32 cattle, 25 goats, 2horses, 1 donkey and 48 poultry perhousehold (Fall et al., 1993). Feeding isbased on crop residues and agro-indus-trial by-products from Dakar.

Trends and constraints

Intensification is an observed trend,which is mainly due to space constraints.Livestock is particularly affected by thisintensification, as pasture areas in thesub-urban system are declining. Anothertrend is that traditional productionsystems are rapidly modernising. This hasled to an increase in animal survival rateand performances. Water management isa key constraint as natural wateringpoints are only available to grazing herds

during and after the rainy season.Livestock therefore competes with horti-culture and households for running water.Major farm products are meat, milk,poultry, hide and skin and honey. There isa more diversified production in theNiayes sub-system compared with otherthe sites. The choice of farm products isdictated by soil type, climate and farmsize (see Table 1).Economic constraints compromise thepresent and future sustainability of inten-sive milk and poultry production. Urbanmarkets are not sufficient to sustain live-stock production in the city. New institu-tional orientations, involving clearoptions in local market protection andbetter input availability are expected toconsolidate the milk production belt andpoultry production in the Niayes.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING URBAN LIVE-STOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMSLivestock in the Niayes zone is one theactivities which has been identified bypolicy makers to be stimulated in order toimprove urban employment opportu-nities and food

REFERENCES- Cissé I., 2000. Utilisation des substancesChimiques dans le système Horticulture-Elevage de la zone des Niayes Thèse Doct 3ème

Cycle UCAD. In press. - Fall S. T., Akinbamijo Y., Fall A. S., KebbehM., Cissé I. Joobe B., Bâ Diao M., Badiane A.,Fall C. A. , George S., Manneh K., 1999.Integrated peri-urban systems: Horticultureand livestock in West African cities. ISRA -ITC - IDRC project N° 03934-97-0021-01Annual Technical Report June 1998 - May1999. 50 p.- Fall S. T. and Cissé I., 2000. Constraints andopportunities for development of grasslandsin urban areas of the Niayes zones inSenegal; In Proceedings IXth InternationalGrassland Congress. São Paulo Brazil, 2001. InPress.- Fall S.T., Cissé M., Sèye B M, Fall A. Diop A.K., 1993. Systèmes d’alimentation pour laproduction intensive de viande au Sénégal;Projet ISRA CRDI 3 P 90 0200 RapportTechnique ISRA LNERV N° 30 Res Alim ,1993 50 p.

18

Table 1: Production profile in urban and peri-urban systems

SYSTEM PRODUCTS

Urban system Small ruminant meat

Small-cale poultry production (meat and eggs)

Hide and skin (from slaughterhouse)

Peri-urban systems

Dior sub-system Dairy industrial (milk and cheese)

Dairy traditional (milk, butter and cheese)

Poultry industrial (meat and eggs)

Beef

Small scale rabbit and turkey production

Niayes sub-system Small ruminant and small scale poultry production

Roaming

sheep in

Bolgatanga

Phot

o by

S.Y

. Api

iga

19

security. Citizens look upon the expan-sion of livestock in the city and the sub-urban areas as an activity that enhancesfamily life.

Opportunities

Urban livestock in Dakar accounts for 3%of small ruminants, 1% of cattle and 30%of poultry production (Direl, 1998).Currently, 7% of the total cattle and 4% ofsmall ruminants in Senegal are located inthe Thiès region. Poultry is the mostimportant activity of the zone, involvingsome 70,000 entrepreneurs. Poultry andmilk production in particular arefavoured for their marketing potentialand contribution to income generation.However, further livestock expansion isconstrained by lack of space and feedresources. Grassland development in the

sub-urban system seems to be a promis-ing way to support the increasing inten-sification. Cattle and sheep fattening is onthe increase in all administrative regionsof the Niayes zone. Non-conventionalspecies like rabbit, ostrich, pigeon andturkey are also being raised under thediversification process.

In the sub-urban areas, there is a widespectrum of farm types, with around 85%being small-scale enterprises. Livestockintensification in dairy and poultry indus-tries is a current trend with emphasis onthe improvement of livestock productiontechniques, like cross-breeding. However,the profitability of intensive livestocksystems is still questionable as market limitations compromise economic sustain-

ability. Feed resources are very scarce;grasslands are not well developed in theNiayes due to space constraints, as land isallocated for housing or horticulturearound main cities. See Table 2 for anoverview of constraints and opportunities.

Integration of livestock with horticultureis risky as pesticides and chemical fertilis-

ers are generally used by farmers withoutrespect to withdrawal time, resulting inhigh chemical residues in undergroundand surface water as well as in crop by-products (Fall et al., 2000).

Farmers’ organisation

To facilitate access to credit and livestockinputs in urban and sub-urban systems,farmers are organised in economic inter-est groups. Various initiatives have beendeveloped in different regions of theNiayes, and Thiès has up to 123 suchgroups. These organisations are a tenta-tive response to poor government assis-tance which in the past has left the pro-ducer open to the rough realities of themarket. Government support for the stim-ulation of self-management in urban agri-culture systems should be encouraged.

Structural constraints in the urban live-

stock system

The land tenure system is a major con-straint to further expansion of livestockin the urban areas of the Niayes. Humanhousing and welfare are given priority inland allocation. Other constraints aresalinity of the soil and poor access toland. These constraints especially limityoung and poor people.

Several research centres near the produc-tion sites offer technical assistance tofarmers trying to modernise. Researchfocuses on genetic improvement of localbreeds by artificial insemination or

Table 2: Constraints and opportunities in different livestock systems

SYSTEMConstraints Opportunities

Urban system Poor space availability Marketing

Waste management Good climatic conditions

Poor organisation of farmers Availability of wastes for recycling

Lack of credit

Peri-urban systems

Dior Low soil fertility Space

Poor access to inputs (seeds, Market

fertilisers and pesticides) Good climatic conditions

Poor water availability Availability of horticultural

Poor organisation of farmers by-products for recycling

Lack of credit Forage cropping

Lack of feed resources

Niayes High humidity stimulating Good soil fertility

parasites Water available

Poor space availability

N’Diouky High humidity stimulating Good soil fertility

parasites Water available

Land tenure is amajor constraint to

further expansion of livestock

embryo transfer, improvement of animalfeed, based on locally available resources(for milk, meat and poultry production)and prevention and treatment of themain diseases. Milk and meat processingtrials are currently being carried out inThiès.

Development of the livestock system alsorequires improvements to the distribu-tion network. It is advantageous to baseall technologies on locally availableresources, but good collection and distri-bution systems also require the appropri-ate decisions at both the political andfarm level.

CONCLUSIONDespite climatic and land tenure con-straints, urban agriculture is an impor-tant sector in the major cities in Senegal.Not all stakeholders may favour thedevelopment of urban livestock, as itcompetes with “regular” urbanisation forspace.

The growing population and subsequentspace constraints, however, seem to finda balance in the dynamics of the wholesystem. The potential of urban livestockto contribute to food security and incomegeneration suggests that animal agricul-ture should not be marginalized.However, the development of the urbanand sub-urban livestock sector can onlybe achieved by overcoming economicand environmental constraints.

Research was

funded by IDRC

project N° 03934-

97-0021-01. The

authors would like

to thank Y.

Akinbamijo for

reviewing the

paper.

akuru is located in the heartof the Great East African RiftValley, 160 km north-west of

Nairobi. It is the fourth largesttown in Kenya, with a populationof 240,000. The annual growthrate between the censuses of 1989and 1999 was 4.3%, which wasmuch lower than the 6.5% duringthe previous decade. The majoreconomic sectors of Nakuru arecommerce, industry, tourism,agriculture and tertiary services.Because of the rich agriculturalhinterland, Nakuru is called the “farmers’ capital” of Kenya and isfamous for its agro-based indus-tries. There are over 100 agro-industrial establishments rangingfrom food processing to farmmachinery assembly.

Within the boundaries of Nakurutown, three forms of urban agri-culture can be distinguished.First, there are a few large farmslocated on the fringes of thetown. Second, there is a lot ofsmall-scale farming in the peri-urban areas (i.e. the areas betweenthe built-up area and the townboundaries), which came to beincluded after the boundaryextension of 1992. With thegrowth of the town’s population,many of these small farms havebeen subdivided into small-hold-er portions and urban residentialplots. Farming is still the domi-nant activity there. Third, there isthe usually less visible form ofintra-urban agriculture, i.e. withinthe built-up area. Though verycommon, compared with thefarming activities in the peri-urban areas, intra-urban farmingis generally a much more modestactivity (‘micro farming’) mainlydue to lack of space. This does notnecessarily mean that intra-urbanfarming is a marginal activity interms of household income: formany it constitutes a significant

element in the household’s foodsupply and/or income. The results presented in this arti-cle concern the population in thebuilt-up area only.

LIVESTOCK KEEPERS IN TOWNTwenty percent of all the Nakuruhouseholds could be classified aslivestock keepers in town.Although livestock is kept by allurban income categories, theactivity becomes more commonas incomes rise.

For instance, in the survey it wasfound that among the poor house-holds (with a monthly income ofless than 5,000 Kenyan Shillingsper month, 14% kept livestock,while among the more well-to-do(over 20,000 shillings per month)this was 38%. Not surprisingly,livestock keeping was also morecommon in the areas with lowerhousing densities.For the large majority of the Nakuru

livestock keepers, the livestock meant

an additional source of food. For one

third, it was also a source of income,

while one quarter of the households

tried to diversify their income sources

in this way. Livestock keeping

appeared to be more of an income

source than crop cultivation, which is

more for self-consumption.

20

__________

Dick Foeken

African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands


Samuel O. Owuor

University of Nairobi, Kenya


N

In a survey done in 1999, basic information was collected on urbanfarming practices in Nakuru, Kenya. The main aim was to obtain a

general overview of urban agriculture in this town for the localauthorities in the context of their town planning exercises. Part of

the survey covered several aspects of livestock keeping.

Cow shed

in Nairobi

20

Livestock in a middle-sizedEast-African town: Nakuru

Phot

o by

Ren

é va

n V

eenh

uize

n

TYPES OF ANIMALSAs in many other towns, chickens are byfar the most common type of livestockkept by the Nakurians. The percentagesof households keeping large livestock(cattle, sheep, goats and pigs) did notexceed 5%, while other small livestockthan chicken (ducks, rabbits, doves andturkeys) were even less common.

Nevertheless, we can roughly estimate thenumbers of livestock in Nakuru town bythe end of 1998 to be 12,000 head of cattle,6,600 sheep, 6,800 goats, 360,000 chicken,13,500 ducks, 3,000 rabbits, 1,400 dovesand 600 turkeys (built-up area only).

Of the lower-income households, only19% kept one or more of the larger live-stock types (Table 1). For the higherincome group, this figure is 46%. This dif-ference is undoubtedly related to the costsof buying a large animal, cattle in particu-lar. Small livestock is very commonamong all livestock-keeping households.

Animals are either kept within the live-stock keeper’s own compound or areherded outside (‘free range’) or a combi-nation of the two. In one-third of thehouseholds with large livestock, all ani-mals grazed freely in the neighbourhood,while small livestock (this concerns large-ly chicken) were even more often leftfreely roaming around.

Keeping livestock, either large or small,solely for commercial purposes is veryrare in Nakuru. Small livestock is keptfirst of all for own consumption: almost60% of those who keep these animalsslaughter and consume most or all ofthem, while another third consumes partof the animals and sells the rest. Largelivestock is less consumed by the keepers

themselves: almost three-quarters sell atleast part of the animals. There are noclear differences between richer andpoorer households as far as the purposefor rearing livestock in town is concerned.

INPUTSThirteen (11%) of the livestock-keepinghouseholds had not used any externalinputs. These were all small-livestockkeepers. In general, large livestock receivedmore attention than small livestock. Thisapplied to almost all types of inputs.

All cattle holders gave their animals forinstance veterinary drugs and feed sup-plements, while improved breeds/artifi-cial insemination and feeding with cropresidues were also very common (forboth inputs 77% of the cattle holders).

The use of inputs was more commonamong the richer households thanamong the poorer ones. This applied par-ticularly to the more expensive inputs,such as veterinary drugs, feed supple-ments and improved breeds/artificialinsemination.

Also assistance for large livestock wasmuch more common than for small live-stock, which has to do with the highervalue attached to larger animals.Assistance was mostly provided by anextension officer (39%), a neighbour(25%) or a combination of an officer,neighbour and/or relative (17%).Interestingly, there appeared to be norelationship between receiving technicalassistance, on the one hand, and theoccurrence of deaths of the animals, onthe other. This can be explained by thefact that usually animals are only vacci-nated after an outbreak of a disease.Preventive measures are hardly taken.

LABOURIn most cases, it was either the head ofthe household (38%) or the spouse (56%),spouses are always women, responsiblefor rearing the animals. For large live-stock the responsibility was equally dis-tributed between the head and thespouse, while for small livestock thespouses formed the majority. In 16% of the livestock-keeping house-holds, taking care of the animals was a full-

time job for the person involved. Higher-income and lower-income households didnot differ in this respect. They did, howev-er, in terms of hiring additional labour:43% of the higher-income households didso, against only 13% of the lower-incomehouseholds. Money constraints undoubt-edly explain this difference.

PROBLEMSTable 2 lists the constraints most fre-quently mentioned in the survey. It isclear from the table that the animals’health was by far the greatest concern forthe farmers. Theft, lack of feed and lackof funds/capital were constraints men-tioned by at least 10% of the livestock-keeping population. Two respondentsmentioned ‘nuisance’, a problem that dif-fers from the other constraints in that itrefers more to the farmer’s neighbour(s)than to the farmer him/herself. It prob-ably shows that these two respondentshad problems with their neighbour(s)because of the latter’s problem with thefarmer’s livestock.

Although, generally speaking, the keep-ers of large livestock and those of smalllivestock were unanimous regarding thevarious problems, there are some prob-lems which were more specific to largethan to small livestock and vice versa(Table 2). Lack of feed and safe drinkingwater was much more of a problem forlarge livestock keepers, probably simplybecause these animals eat and drink

much more than small animals.Harassment, though not frequently men-tioned, was also a constraint specific tolarge livestock. This may be related to theregulation saying that it is forbidden tolet large animals freely roam around. Oneproblem more frequently mentioned by

21

This article is

based on a chapter

in a report by the

same authors enti-

tled Urban farmers

in Nakuru, Kenya,

ASC-Workingpaper

45/2000.

Livestock meant an additional

source of food

Table1: Types of livestock by household income

household income (Kenyan shillings/month)

lower highertype of livestock(<10,000) (>10,000)

large 5 8

small 67 20

both 11 9

Phot

o by

Ren

é va

n V

eenh

uize

n

the small livestock keepers concerned thethreat of predators. This is logical, since achicken or a duck is much more likely tofall prey to a wild animal (or dog) than agoat or a pig.

WASTE DISPOSALNone of the livestock-keeping respon-dents mentioned the disposal of theanimals’ waste as a constraint, eventhough this is generally considered as oneof the major nuisances of keeping ani-mals in town. One-third of the farmerssaid that they dump part or all of thewaste in the street. The large majority ofthem (92%) dumped the whole lot in thatway. However, this practice was morecommon among the keepers of small live-stock than among those with large ani-mals. It was also more common amongthe poorest households (49%), most likelybecause these people often have no com-pound. On the other hand, many more(62%) of the livestock keepers were ableto utilise part or all of the waste produc-tively, namely for crop cultivation pur-poses, either by themselves (on a plot intown or in the rural area) or by theirneighbours. The dung of the larger ani-mals in particular appeared not to bewasted in Nakuru town.

CONCLUSIONS AND POLICYIMPLICATIONSLivestock keeping is a neglected subject inthe urban agriculture literature. Theresults of the Nakuru survey show thatalthough a minority of the households areengaged in livestock keeping, the totalnumber of animals is considerable. Forthe large majority of these people, theproduce forms an important food sourceand for many an income source as well.Moreover, it provides employment for anumber of people, which is a factor thatshould not be neglected by policy makers.

At the same time (according to the munici-pal by-laws which date from the colonialperiod) urban agriculture is an illegal activ-ity. Particularly the keeping of large live-stock is generally seen as a nuisance. Whenthere are complaints or when the healthrisks are considered to be too high, action isundertaken, such as confiscation of the ani-mals. Animals freely roaming around in thestreets can cause dangerous situations, asthe authors have seen more than once.

Hence, there is a need for regulations, themore so because municipal authorities ofNakuru are presently undertaking anurban planning exercise in the context ofthe Localising Agenda 21 programme.This involves environmentally-friendlyplanning, of which urban agriculture isan inevitable part. This is recognised bythe municipal authorities.

The first step would be to designatezones where certain types of animals, orbroader, certain types of urban agricul-ture, are allowed under certain condi-tions. For example, that the number ofcattle should be bound to a certain maxi-mum and should only be kept underzero-grazing in the peri-urban areasand/or in compounds of a certain mini-mum size in the built-up area.

An important issue in terms of environ-mentally-friendly planning concerns the“closing of the nutrients cycle”, i.e. the re-use of animal waste for crop cultivation aswell as the use of crop residues and otherorganic waste as feed for the animals. Tosome extent, this is being practisedalready by the Nakuru livestock keepers,but more can and has to be done.

One way of developing the sector is byproviding more and better technicalassistance, as pests and diseases and therelated high death rates among the ani-mals are the most serious problems thelivestock keepers are facing. Here lies atask for the extension officers of theMinistry of Agriculture. Although they dovisit farmers within the municipality,they usually do so only on request.

The results of the survey show that increating policies, it is important to distin-guish between large and small livestock.For instance, large livestock is usuallymore of a nuisance (traffic accidents,waste disposal, diseases) than small live-stock. Small livestock can more easily beallowed in the built-up area than largelivestock. On the other hand, large live-stock can play a more important role inthe “nutrient cycle” than small livestock.

A major constraint, as in many otherAfrican towns and cities, concerns thelack of enforcement of the existing laws,by-laws and regulations, partly related toa shortage of manpower. Formulatingnew regulations without the necessarywill and power to enforce these regula-tions is thus a useless exercise.

Prerequisites for any policy regarding theintegration of urban agriculture in urbanplanning include the recognition thaturban agriculture is not only a ruralactivity but an accepted form of urbanland use as well, the understanding thaturban agriculture is an important eco-nomic activity for many urban dwellers,the conviction that urban agriculture hasto be incorporated in any future townplanning exercise, and a fruitful workingrelationship between the municipalauthorities and community-based organ-isations.

The very positive thing about Nakuru isthat, unlike many other African townsand cities, these prerequisites are all met.

Table 2 Most frequently mentioned problems with

livestock keeping by type of livestock (%)

large small

livestock livestockN (h’holds) = 33 108

no problem 9.1 11.1

diseases 75.8 71.3

theft 24.2 20.4

lack of feed 27.3 12.0

lack of funds/capital 15.2 10.2

lack of safe drinking water 24.2 6.5

predators 3.0 10.2

lack of space 3.3 7.4

harassment 12.1 2.8

Goats and Cattle roaming for food

It is important todistinguish between

large and small livestock

Phot

o by

D. F

oeke

n

22

he development and sustainabilityof urban and peri-urban dairy pro-duction systems requires a relative-

ly large initial investment and long-termcommitment. In addition, the major tech-nical and non-technical constraints asso-ciated with these dairy production sys-tems such as availability and cost of gene-tic materials, breeding systems, feedresources, feeding systems, animal health,processing, marketing, public health,waste handling, management and hand-ling, and policy issues need to be addres-sed. In this case study, the characteristicsof the production systems, feed resourcesand feeding systems, genetic resource andbreeding systems in urban and peri-urbandairy production in Ethiopia is assessed.

A study on market-oriented urban andperi-urban dairy production systems inthe Addis Ababa milk shed was underta-ken, to test a conceptual framework,developed by ILRI for general characteri-sation of dairy systems, characterisationof specific sub-systems and identificationof major constraints. A total of 147 dairyfarms (market-oriented smallholder andcommercial) were selected for characteri-sation, and of the three urban systems 49farms for a further detailed study.

PRODUCTION SYSTEMSSeven, market-oriented, dairy productionsub-systems were characterised. The ‘milk

shed’ approach, was considered, referringto systems that supply fluid milk to thecity. The rural and urban systems developin a dynamic way and shifts betweenthem occur. All these systems are basicallymarket driven due to the large urbandemand for milk. In fact they have develo-ped in response to the market demandand have emerged depending on availableresources (land, labour, feed, capital, etc).

Traditional crop/livestock farms in rural

areas: These farms are located between25 and 130 km from Addis Ababa, theaverage distance being 68 km from thecapital. They are small farms with anaverage of four dairy cows, and providevery little or no specialised inputs(improved breeds, supplementary feed,housing, veterinary care, etc) to their dai-ry enterprise. They sell fresh milk on adaily basis to the government ownedDairy Development Enterprise (DDE).Excess milk is processed into butter and alocal cottage cheese (known as Ayib) andsold in local markets.

Intensified dairy/crop livestock farms:

These are smallholder farms locatedaround Addis Ababa and exercise someform of intensive dairy production sys-tem. These farms have had experienceswith dairy development projects underthe Ministry of Agriculture. Projects suchas the Selale dairy development projectand the smallholder dairy developmentproject have been operational in theseareas and have influenced the productionsystem. Improved genotypes, artificialinsemination, improved forages, concen-trate feeding, housing, calf bucket fee-ding and early weaning are common

practices by farmers. Compared to thosetraditional crop/livestock farmers, landholding is about half the size and milkproduction is 15% higher, but the num-ber of cows per household is similar.

Crop/livestock farms with intensive crop-

ping: These farms are located relativelycloser to Addis Ababa city, between 25and 60 km. The farms and herds are 25%larger than the traditional crop/livestockfarmers. The cropping system is moreintensive, particularly with a frequent useof fertilisers. They provide supplementa-ry feeds to their animals. Fresh milk issold to the DDE and they seldom practicemaking dairy products.

Specialized dairy farms: These farms arelocated between 15 and 60 km fromAddis Ababa. They are large farms withan average holding of 8.9 ha and 17 cows.They widely use specialised inputs suchas improved genotypes, artificial insemi-nation, forage production, improvedhousing, concentrate feeding, veterinary

care, etc. They sell fresh milk in relativelylarge quantities of over 30 litres per dayprimarily to local informal markets or tothe DDE. Most farm owners have addi-tional off-farm activities often generatingmore income than livestock.

Peri-urban farms in secondary towns:

These farms are located in and aroundsecondary towns within 25 to 50 km fromAddis Ababa. Cattle are grazed on ownedor rented land. Special inputs are linked tothe type of genotype and involve artificialinsemination and supplementary feeds tograzing and stall-fed roughages. These

__________

Azage Tegegne, Million Tadesse,

Alemu Yami and Yoseph Mekasha

ILRI Debre Zeit Research Station, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


T

Urban and peri-urban dairy production systems are among the manyforms of dairy production systems in the tropics and sub-tropics. The

systems involve the production, processing and marketing of milk andmilk products that are channelled to consumers in urban centres (Reyet al., 1993; Staal and Shapiro, 1996). These urban and peri-urban dai-

ry production systems evolved to satisfy the increasing demand formilk in urban centres as a consequence of increasing urbanisation,

rising per capita income and increasing cost of imported milk andmilk products. They contribute to overall development through inco-me and employment generation, food security, asset accumulation,

poverty alleviation and improving human nutrition and health.

Market-oriented Urban and

Peri-Urban Dairy Systems

23

Milking shed in Nairobi

Phot

o by

Ren

é va

n V

eenh

uize

n

farmers, on average, own five dairy cows.The primary outlet for milk is either theDDE or local informal markets.

Intra-urban dairy farms in Addis Ababa:

These dairy farms are specialised andintensive production units based on zerograzing of crossbred and high gradecows. There is little or no grazing withinthe city and stall-feeding is based on pur-chased hay and concentrates. The level ofexotic blood in the herd is among the hig-hest found in the sample. Annual milkproduction per cows is high and milk isdirectly sold to the local market.

Urban dairy in secondary towns: Theseare specialised dairy farms found in mostsecondary towns within the milk shed. Inthese small towns, farmers have moreaccess to grazing; stall-feeding is therefo-re less intensive. The level of exotic bloodin the herd is high, but herd size is thesmallest of all types and averages abouttwo cows per farm. Milk is sold fresh tolocal markets or the DDE, or processedinto butter and ayib and sold. Most farmowners have off-farm activities represen-ting about two-thirds of their income.

Detailed study conducted on three produc-tion sub-systems showed that 76%, 22%and 54% of the farms in secondary towns,peri-urban and intra-urban areas respecti-vely are owned by female farmers. Thepercentage of illiterate farmers (owners)was highest in intra-urban (50%) farms fol-lowed by those in secondary town (37.5%)and peri-urban (12.5%) areas.

Conserved hay, agro-industrial by-pro-ducts and commercial concentrate rationsare the major feed resources used by urbanand peri-urban dairy farmers. Hay makesup almost the entire basal diet of the peri-urban dairy farms. Agro-industrial by-pro-ducts are fed as supplement to roughagebased diets, and are mainly accessed byperi-urban production systems, due to the

fact that most of the by-product processingindustries are located around cities andtowns where the demand for the ediblemajor products is high. The use of com-mercial concentrates is restricted to insti-tutional farms and certain large peri-urbandairy farms. Non-conventional feedresources like hulls of pulse and othercrops, traditional brewery and alcohol resi-dues, poultry waste, vegetable and fruitwastes (Yoseph Mekasha, 1999) are che-aper and play a significant role in peri-urban dairy production system.

Crossbred and grade animals are prefer-red by 85%, 67% and 44% of farmers,while pure temperate breeds are prefer-red by 10%, 33% and 56% of farmers insecondary towns, peri-urban and urbanareas, respectively. Among the temperatedairy breeds, the Friesian is the most pre-ferred one. About 92% of urban farmersproduce their own animals throughcrossbreeding zebu cows with exotic bul-ls. Purchase of heifers or cows from otherdairy farms is the main source for 29% ofthe farmers in secondary towns and 17%in peri-urban areas. The criteria for selec-tion of animals are variable. Milk yieldpotential, reproductive efficiency, diseaseresistance, breed or size are the mostimportant criteria for bull selection.

Cash income from sale of milk and/orbreeding animals and utilisation ofavailable resources (land, feed, labour,capital) are the most important reasonsfor keeping dairy animals in urban andperi-urban dairy production systems.

CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNI-TIES FOR DEVELOPMENTMarket-oriented urban and peri-urbandairy production systems are emerging asimportant components of the milk pro-duction systems in Ethiopia. These sys-tems are contributing immensely towardsfilling in the large demand-supply gap formilk and milk products in urban centres,where consumption of milk and milk pro-

ducts is remarkably high. A recent survey undertaken by the AddisAbaba Agricultural Bureau shows thatthere are a total of 5,167 small, mediumand large dairy farms in and around AddisAbaba city. The total milk production fromthese dairy farms amounts to 34,649,450litres per annum. Of this, 73% is sold, 10%is left for household consumption, 9.4%goes to calves and 7.6% is processed main-ly into butter and ayib (Azage Tegegne andAlemu Gebrewold, 1998). The totalamount of milk available to Addis Ababa is43,849,675 litres per annum.

The large demand for milk on the onehand and the small supply of milk andmilk products for the major urban cent-res in Ethiopia on the other hand showsthe untapped potential for developmentof urban and peri-urban dairy farms.Market-oriented smallholder peri-urbandairy production systems have tremen-dous potential for development andcould play a significant role in minimi-sing the acute shortage of dairy productsin urban centres. Current increases ineconomic pressure, competition for limi-ted resources and market forces have ledto an increase in the level of intensifica-tion in these production systems.

In order to sustain high productivity andprofitability, high levels of managementin appropriate feeding, health care, andreproductive management are essential.These urban and peri-urban dairy farmsare currently facing new challenges asso-ciated with intensive production systems.Availability of land, management skills,labour force, feeding resources and sys-tems, genetic improvement, control ofdiseases and parasites, udder health andmastitis, calf mortality, reproductive pro-blems, waste management, quality con-trol, processing and marketing and othersocio-economic considerations are beco-ming important factors influencing anddetermining the survival of these produc-tion systems.

REFERENCES- Azage Tegegne and Alemu Gebrewold, 1998. Prospect for peri-urbandairy development in Ethiopia. Ethiopian Society of AnimalProduction (ESAP) Publication No. 5. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.- Rey, B., Thorpe, W., Smith, J., Shapiro, B., Osuji, P., Mullins, G. andAgyemang, K., 1993. Improvement of dairy production to satisfy thegrowing consumer demand in Sub-saharan Africa: A conceptual fra-mework for research. International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA),Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.- Staal, S.J. and Shapiro, B. I., 1996. The economic impacts of publicpolicy on smallholder peri-urban dairy producers in and around AddisAbaba. Ethiopian Society of Animal Production (ESAP) Publication No.2, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.- Yoseph Mekasha, 1999. Impact of feed resources on productive andreproductive performance of dairy cows in the Addis Ababa milk shed.MSc thesis. School of Graduate Studies, Alemaya University ofAgriculture, Ethiopia.

24

Raw milk

brought

directly

to the consumer

Phot

o by

Ren

é va

n V

eenh

uize

n

umasi, the capital of theAshanti Region in Ghana, hasa population of approximate-

ly one million. Due to its strategiclocation in the national road net-work Kumasi has gained a pivotalrole in the vast and profitable dis-tribution of goods within WestAfrica. Trading and the commutertransport business are significanteconomic sectors.

There are also about 1,470 regis-tered commercial farms in thecity as well as some 30,000 back-yard farms (MOFA, 1999;KNRMP, 1999). The most strikingfeature of a recent survey onurban farming systems was thaton all plots surveyed there wassome form of food crop cultiva-tion taking place, even in areaswith high housing density

(KNRMP, 1999). Nsiah-Gyabaahand Adam (2000) concluded thatif “gardening” is synonymouswith food crop production, thenKumasi is still the “garden city” itwas once envisaged to be.

The survey by the Kumasi NaturalResources Management Project (KNRMP) also addressed urbanlivestock. This was no easy task,since it was difficult to obtainrealistic figures on urban herd sizesand cattle owners especially fromthe farmers’ side (KNRMP, 1999). This was mainly due to increasingpressure from the KumasiMetropolitan Assembly (KMA) oncattle owners to move their ani-mals outside the KMA perimeter

The study estimated that thereare up to 500 regular cattle own-ers in the metropolis and up to2000 speculators or short-termcattle owners. The VeterinaryDepartment of the Ministry ofFood and Agriculture, on the oth-er hand, counted a total numberof about 3000 cattle in the metro-politan area. In addition, thedepartment recorded about30,000 sheep and 26,000 goats inthe city (MOFA, 1999). Most live-

stock are kept for cash incomeeither on a full or supplementarybasis, and provide meat for morethan 13,000 “chop bars” (streetrestaurants) in the city. Thus theurban livestock sector provides alivelihood for many people in themetropolis, including migrantsfrom northern Ghana specializedin cattle keeping. In only a minor-ity of cases are livestock kept forsubsistence (KNRMP, 1999).

The most profitable and attractiveforms of livestock farming - espe-cially in and around the city - isprobably poultry and egg produc-tion. Between 1986 and 1995Ghana’s poultry population dou-bled from 6.4 m to 13.1 m. Poultryfarming is practised by peoplefrom all social sectors. However,the establishment of larger poul-try farms requires an initialinvestment. Data from differentfarmer associations indicate thatthere are nearly 100 registeredpoultry farms in the KMA areaand its vicinity, and about 200more which are not registered.The majority of the registeredones have 5000 - 10,000 birds,mostly layers. The bird numbersrise as high as 250,000 to 350,000

25

K

Livestock production is a vital part of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Kumasi, where many crop

farmers benefit from cheap poultry manure available inlarge quantities. However, with increasing competition

for this resource, the manure is seldom stored longenough to prevent the contamination of food and water

with pathogens. While the actual incidence of diseaserelated to this contamination has not yet been

assessed, interventions to prevent the spread of infec-tion should focus first of all on the consumer household.

Farmers’ access to clean irrigation water is anotherimportant step but only makes sense if farmers’ own

practices do not contribute to water pollution.

Increasing use of

poultry manure in Ghana

__________

Pay Drechsel, Philip Amoah,

Olufunke O. Cofie, Robert C. Abaidoo

International Board for Soil Research and Management

(IBSRAM), Kumasi, Ghana


Is farmers’ race consumers’ fate?

Cabbage farmers in Kumasi broadcasting

poultry

manure.

Rain washes

the manure

into the

hand-dug

well at the low-

est point of the

field.

Phot

o: IB

SRA

M

The most profitable formof livestock farming is

poultry and egg production

birds in Kumasi’s two largest poultryfarms at the city boundary. On the regis-tered farms, poultry are mostly kept bymen: 40% of them are specialized poultryfarmers, 60% do it as a side job (business-men, traders, teachers, accountants, etc.).Among the non-registered poultry farmsbird numbers mostly vary between 50and 1000 birds, not counting those thou-sands of households with some free-run-ning chickens.

Urban pig production is still a compara-tively small but growing sector in con-trast to the number of “urban” cattle,which are suffering from the rapiddecline of grazing land in the metropolis.Finally, there is a range of farmers spe-cialising in small animals such as grasscutter (agouti), rabbit, or snails, as well asa certain number of fish farmers

(aquaculture). However, these are mostlylocated in the peri-urban area (KNRMP,1999)

MANURE PRODUCTION AND USEThere are no data available on the quantity of manure produced in the met-ropolitan area, but estimations includingperi-urban Kumasi indicate an annual (drymatter) production of about 34,000 t poultry manure, 54,000 t sheep and goatmanure and about 12,000 t pig manure onthe basis of livestock data from 1996(Kindness, 1999). A large proportion of themanure produced in and around Kumasiis lost. This is the case not only for drop-pings of free grazing sheep and goats, butalso for poultry litter, which is dumped (and burnt) along roadsides (Drechsel,1996). This is a significant loss of a valu-able resource as poultry litter analysedaround Kumasi shows a high nitrogencontent of 2.0-3.8% (Amoah, 2000). Interms of available plant nutrients (t yr-1),the amount of poultry manure currentlywasted is larger than the total quantity ofinorganic fertiliser actually applied inurban and peri-urban Kumasi (Nsiah-Gyabaah and Adam, 2000).

There was little interest observed inmanure marketing by the livestock keep-ers surveyed by KNRMP (1999). Manypoultry farmers consider the litter aswaste and give it away for free to cropfarmers who do, however, have to pay forthe transport or litter replacement.According to KNRMP (1999), 45% of thepoultry farmers in Kumasi generallymake the manure available, as do anadditional 50% on request (otherwisethey dump/burn it: see Table 1).

Poultry manure is mostly used by vegeta-ble farmers, but also about 68% of the 94fish farmers around Kumasi manure theirponds with the poultry litter (which“closes” a separate nutrient cycle as poul-try are generally co-fed with fish meal).Different PRA studies showed that farm-

ers in and around Kumasi have a generalawareness of the benefits of organicmanures for soil improvement but lackdetailed knowledge on their applicabilityand handling for different crops. This sit-uation is peculiar to poultry manure,which, as a new source of nutrients, isinsufficiently addressed by both tradi-tional knowledge and extension material.

To improve the situation, NRI andIBSRAM have in recent years supported arange of on-farm trials around Kumasiwhich verified the fertiliser value and

profitability of poultry manure use notonly on vegetables but also on the tradi-tional cassava-maize inter-crop.Corresponding guidelines for extension-ists and farmers are being produced andimpact assessment studies showed anincreasing interest and a high probabilityof technology adoption (Drechsel andGyiele, 1998; KNRMP, 2000).

However, poultry manure has not onlyadvantages but is also a carrier of patho-gens1 and appropriate handling of themanure and crops is necessary to reduceany potential health hazard.

FOOD CONTAMINATIONUrban livestock production can affect itsenvironment in various ways. It can leadto noise, odour or uncontrolled grazing inneighbours’ gardens. A more serious dis-advantage, however, is the contaminationof food and water with pathogens if freshmanure is applied, as it is the case withpoultry manure. With increasing demand for inputs, vege-table farmers are competing for poultrymanure. They started to offer poultry-farmers fresh bedding material (usuallywood shavings) in exchange for manure-enriched litter fresh from the coop. Thus,the majority of poultry farmers who givethe litter to crop farmers do not store itbefore it leaves the farm. Also almost nocrop farmers who asked for litterenquired about its maturity. After collec-tion, about 60% apply the poultry litterdirectly without further compostingwhile 40% heap the litter for some weeksor more depending on the date they needit on their fields (Mensah et al., 2000).

REFERENCES- Amoah, p. 2000. Identification of suitability indices ofpoultry litter for cowpea and maize production. MSc thesis,Faculty of Science, Kwame Nkrumah university of scienceand technology (KNUST), Kumasi.- Armar-Klemesu, M., Akpedonu, P., Egbi, G., and Maxwell,D. 1998. Vegetable contamination in Urban Agriculture:Vegetable production using wastewater. In: Armar-Klemesu, M. and Maxwell, D. (Eds). Urban Agriculture inthe Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. Final Report to IDRC(project 003149), Legon University, Ghana.- Drechsel, 1996. Applied research for peri-urban areas.IBSRAM newsletter 42: 5-7.- Drechsel, P. and L. Gyiele 1998. On-farm research on sus-tainable land management in Sub Saharan Africa:Approaches, experiences, and lessons. IBSRAM proceed-ings No. 19. IBSRAM: Bangkok.- Kindness, H. 1999. Supply and demand for soil amelio-rants in peri-urban Kumasi. Kumasi Natural ResourcesManagement Project, KNUST/NRI/DFID.- KNRMP, 1999. Kumasi Urban Natural Resources Studies,June 1999. Kumasi Natural Resources Management Project,KNUST/NRI/DFID.- KNRMP, 2000. Report on poultry manure facilitation andextension exercise, March 2000. Kumasi Natural ResourcesManagement Project, KNUST/NRI/DFID.- Mensah, E., Amoah, P., Drechsel, P. and R.C. Abiadoo.2000. Environmental concerns of urban and peri-urbanagriculture: Case studies from Accra and Kumasi. In:Drechsel, P. and D. Kunze (Eds.) Waste Composting forUrban and Peri-urban Agriculture - Closing the rural-urbannutrient cycle in sub-Saharan Africa. CABI-IBSRAM-FAO(in press). - MOFA, 1999. Production of major crops in the AshantiRegion 1998. Ministry of Food and Agriculture, RegionalOffice Kumasi, Ghana.- Nsiah-Gyabaah, K. and M. Adam. 2000. Farming systemsand farming inputs in and around Kumasi. In: Drechsel, P.and D. Kunze (Eds.) Waste Composting for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture - Closing the rural-urban nutrient cyclein sub-Saharan Africa. CABI-IBSRAM-FAO (in press). - Westcot, D.W. 1997. Quality control of wastewater for irri-gated crop production. FAO. Water Reports no. 10. Rome:FAO, 86p.

Table 1. Disposal of animal manures by urban livestock keepers

Disposal method Respondents reporting disposal method (%)Cattle Sheep & goats Pigs1 Poultry2

Thrown away/not collected 98 100 97.5 5-55

Used as soil ameliorant 2 0 45 45-95

1 Some respondents mentioned that they used part of the pig manure for soil amelioration and part was thrown away. Also 5% said that they used it in fish ponds.2 About 45% of the farmers indicated that they give the manure regularly to vegetable farmers,and 50% do so occasionally on request (otherwise, the litter is dumped and often burnt).

Source: KNRMP 1999.

26

Farm gate samples still contain high levels of

total and faecal coliforms

There is no conscious manure heapingfor adequate composting (Amoah, 2000). The potential food contamination con-cerns leafy vegetables in particular, as eve-ry second farmer broadcasts the litter overthe already established crops (see photo).

During irrigation, the litter is largelywashed away. However, farm gate samplesof lettuce, cabbage and onions from poultrymanure treated fields still contained highlevels of total and faecal coliforms (Table 2).

All vegetable samples not treated withpoultry manure had lower coliformcounts, but were still affected due to con-taminated irrigation water. The farmsstudied used water from ponds, wells,streams or drains with up to 35 x 104

counts of faecal coliforms per 100 ml. Thetolerated irrigation water level for cropslikely to be eaten raw is 1 x 103 counts(Westcot, 1997). This source of contami-nation can be important but might be - at

least in part – homemade through exces-sive application of poultry manure.

Vegetables analysed at major markets inKumasi did not show significantly differ-ent coliform counts than the farm gatesamples, although there were significantdifferences between the various marketsin Kumasi. The presence of coliformsfrom manure application depends on thefrequency of manure application and thesurvival time of faecal coliforms on crops(<30 but usually <15 days; Westcot,1997). While many lettuce farmers applythe manure only once, cabbage andonions receive their first treatment 1-2weeks after planting and another treat-ment 3-4 weeks before harvest. In thesecases a carry-over of coliforms is possible.The finding that the market samples didnot show significantly different coliformcounts than the farm gate samples indi-cates that although there was no addi-tional contamination through market

related handling, there was also noimpact of on-market vegetable washing.In a comparable study carried out inAccra, Armar-Klemesu et al. (1998) foundslightly higher coliform contamination ofmarket samples than of farm gate sam-ples. This indicated additional contami-nation through transport/handling butthe major source of contaminationremained the farm and irrigation water.

CONCLUSIONSLivestock production is a vital part ofKumasi’s UPA and contributes signifi-cantly to its agro-industrial sector.Farmers in and around Kumasi benefitfrom the large amounts of poultrymanure generated, as this offers themaccess to a high quality fertiliser for littlemoney. The potential of this resource isincreasingly being realised. There arereports of trucks transporting the manurefrom Kumasi to the northern parts of thecountry and even to Burkina Faso.

With regard to the accompanying poten-tial health hazard through the use ofinsufficiently composted manure and/orirrigation water, corresponding extensionguidelines for vegetable farmers areneeded. Many more epidemiologicalstudies are also required to determine theactual incidence of disease occurring as aconsequence of this transmission route.Prevention of the possible spread of gas-tro-intestinal infections should focus onthe consumer household, its awarenessof the problem of food contaminationand access to piped water because a cer-tain part of the population does not washvegetables regularly and/or has no accessto in-house piped water. In a further step,farmers’ access to clean water has to beassured, also paying attention to the con-tribution of urban and peri-urban agri-culture to water contamination throughmanure application or the hazardous dis-posal of animal waste.

1) Poultry manure can also be a carrier of pesticides: 65% of thepoultry farmers in urban and peri-urban Kumasi, confirmed thatthey spray their birds and the litter with pesticides or dip the birdsin pesticides when pests are detected on them (Amoah, 2000).

Table 2 Faecal coliform counts of vegetable

samples from various farms in Kumasi (MPN 100 ml-1)

Sample Average (x 104) Range (x 104)

Lettuce 22.7 2.9 - 50.0

Cabbage 8.8 1.9 - 17.5

Onion 4.1 1.5 - 7.8

MPN=Most probable number

Article contributions in the UA Magazine number 1

❖ Urban Agriculture, Concepts

and Definitions

Luc Mougeot

❖ Urban Food Security; urban

agriculture a response to crisis

Petra Jacobi, Jürgen Amend and

Axel Drescher

❖ Urban Agriculture and

Biodiversity

Jac Smit

❖ The Integration of Agriculture

in Urban Policies

Henk deZeeuw, Sabine Gündel and

Hermann Waibel

❖ Living with Livestock in Town

Ann Waters-Bayer

❖ Dynamics in Tropical

Homegardens

Raul Boncodin, Dindo Campilan,

and Gordon Prain

❖ The Greening of Ahmedabad

Liliana Marulanda

❖ The Urban Farmers of

St. Petersburg

Oleg Moldakov

❖ Urban Agriculture in Havana

Martin Bourque and Kristina

Cañizares

These articles can be found on the RUAF website: www.ruaf.orgOr you can request a copy of the first issue.

27

his survey was undertaken in 1999with the aim of characterising urbanlivestock keeping in Kumasi and

identifying the problems encountered bylivestock keepers. The survey was carriedout in association with the Institute ofRenewable Natural Resources, Universityof Science and Technology, Kumasi. Thefollowing criteria were used to define the‘urban’ setting: high density housing withfew undeveloped areas remaining; pipedwater supply with few wells or boreholes;electricity supplied from the nationalgrid; regular transport to and from thecity centre; and presence of many smallkiosks selling everyday items such asbread, sugar etc. Two urban areas wereselected – Anloga and Aboabo, approxi-mately 4km from the city centre. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire viaan interpreter was used to gather infor-mation from 30 randomly selectedhouseholds in each of the two areas – atotal of 60 interviewees.

SURVEY FINDINGSTwenty-eight (47%) of those interviewedmentioned that they were livestock keep-ers. Almost all owned their own houseswhilst for non-livestock keepers only halfwere in this fortunate position. Of thelivestock keepers 68% were male. Half of those keeping livestock had chick-

ens whilst only one person kept ducks.Eighty-six percent of livestock enterpris-es were on-plot, i.e. at the house of theowner. Whilst income generation andhousehold food production were themain reasons given for livestock keeping,only 14% of livestock keepers securedmore than half their total income fromlivestock. The majority of animals hadoriginally been purchased locally in andaround Kumasi.

The major types of food used to feed live-stock in descending order of popularitywere: kitchen waste (cassava and plan-tain peelings), animal scavenged food,brewers’ grains, maize chaff, maizegrains, fishmeal, cut grass, pito mash (-local beer making by-product) rice grains,and fodder tree leaves. Ninety-six per-cent of livestock keepers disposed of ani-mal waste on the local refuse tip and thecarcasses of dead animals were in evi-dence on these same tips.

The problems reported by the urban live-stock keepers interviewed in Kumasi, indescending order of importance, areshown in Table 1. The data in Table 1suggest that animal keepers are keen toincrease both their number of animalsand the productivity of these animals.Thirty-nine percent of livestock keepersreported that they used the governmentveterinary service for animal health prob-lems but they also carried out many treat-ments themselves.

Half the livestock keepers accepted thatlivestock were a cause of conflict with non-livestock keepers as a result of food (when

laid out for drying) and property damage.Livestock owners also accepted that live-stock were associated with problems suchas pollution, risks to human health, ‘cattlemauling people’ and traffic accidents.

Not surprisingly perhaps over 80 % of thenon-livestock keepers saw livestock as aproblem and a cause of conflict. The low-est level of objection was associated withthe keeping of chickens and the use of con-finement methods of housing as comparedto freely roaming goats and cows.

DISCUSSIONIt is clear that urban livestock keeping is an important activity in Kumasi.Roughly half of the poorest urban house-holds in Kumasi appear to keep sometype of livestock in either confined orfree-ranging systems. Chickens were byfar the most numerous, both in terms of

28

__________

Geoffrey Poynter and Denis Fielding

University of Edinburgh, UK


The survey reported here was undertaken

as an MSc project by the main author

Kumasi is Ghana’s second largest city afterAccra and is the capital of the Ashanti Region.

Kumasi is located in the south-central part of the country 100 miles inland

from the coast and the Kumasi MetropolitanAssembly (KMA) is responsible for a

population of some 700,000 to 1 million people.

Findings of a Survey into Urban livestock in Kumasi, Ghana

T

Table 1: Problems of urban livestock

keepers in Kumasi

ProblemsNumber of

%respondents

Animal diseases 11 39

No money to buy more animals 10 36

Insufficient space for animals 8 28

Theft 7 25

High cost of veterinary

assistance/drug 3 11

KMA harassment 3 11

Animals eating plastic bags 1 3

No problems 1 3

Total 44* 156*

* multiple response

Small

cattle farm

in Accra

Phot

o by

D. F

ield

ing

29

ne of the survival strategiesdeveloped by the residentsof urban settlements in the

department of Montevideo, is thecollection and sorting of house-hold solid waste (organic and

inorganic). While inorganic wasteis sorted and sold to the localrecycling industry, organic wasteis used in most cases as animalfeed (mainly for pigs). Amongurban solid waste sorters, pig

breeders constitute a distinctgroup. This explains the highincidence of health problems(transmission of diseases fromanimals to people) and environ-mental impacts (people livingnext to pigsties, inadequate finaldisposal of waste, food preparingsystems) that are worse in thecase of pig farming in urban andperi-urban areas. Due to severalfactors, including the socio-economic conditions of breedersand the urban status of the neigh-bourhoods where the practice iscarried out, pig farming in urbanareas is one of the most remark-able aspects of Urban Agriculturedeveloped in our country.

PIG RAISING IN THE DEPARTMENT OFMONTEVIDEOPig raising is a widespread prac-tice in the Department ofMontevideo. The importance ofpig farming in the peripheral areas of the city of Montevideohas increased consistently partic-

At the end of the 19th century, Sansón Carrasco (nom de plume of Daniel Muñoz, 1849-1930),reported on pigs being bred with household

wastes. His chronicles are still valid today. Forinstance, in his article “Trash” (1883), he writes

“...and in the depressions, and on the beach, pigsand more pigs, and always pigs everywhere youlook, some of them feeding, some stretched out

without a care in the world, others grunting as theyget a glimpse of me, as if upset by my intrusion in

their domain...”.

households keeping them and in actualnumbers. The presence of cattle, sheepand goats was strongly correlated withowners who were Muslim. Sheep, andgoats in particular, are required for vari-ous Muslim festivals and this explainstheir relatively high number amongst theMuslim community.

Surprisingly this survey did not find evi-dence of urban-rural linkages.Respondents mentioned little or no inflowof food or animals from rural areas and nooutflow of manure to even peri-urbanfarmers. However, the encouragement ofsuch links e.g. providing peri-urban marketsites could be beneficial for all concerned.

‘Trespassing’, the uncontrolled movement of animals into other people’shouses was the main cause of conflictbetween livestock and non-livestockowners.

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly doesnot object to chickens but does object tofree roaming larger animals such as sheep,goats and cattle. Some owners of largelivestock reported harassment by theauthorities, who were trying to relocatetheir animals outside the city area.Although the authorities claimed that theywould impound large animals found wandering in the streets the authorsbelieve that such an act would lead to significant civil unrest in the survey areas.

Urban livestock farming in Kumasi is acommunity-tolerated phenomenon.Rules and regulations relating to livestockwill only work with community accep-tance and if this is not present then people will do whatever is necessary totry to secure their livelihoods.

It is difficult to imagine that the Ghanagovernment or the Kumasi Authority willever see the promotion and support ofimproved urban livestock keeping as ahigh enough priority to justify financialinvestment. Any changes that do occurare likely to result from changes in theoverall level of poverty and availability ofalternative employment opportunities. If people secure employment and becomeless poor then livestock keeping will tend to reduce as a result of communitypressure from non-livestock keepers. Ifpoverty increases for whatever reasonthen urban livestock keeping is likely tocontinue and even increase.

__________

Alain Santandreu, ✉ [email protected]

Gustavo Castro, ✉ [email protected]

Fernando Ronca, ✉ [email protected]

Veterinary Faculty, University of Montevideo

Urban pig farmingin irregular settlements in Uruguay

OPig raising in the

peripheral areas of the cityof Montevideo is significant

Livestock at

dumpsite

in Nakuru,

Kenya

Phot

o by

D. F

oeke

n

29

ne of the survival strategiesdeveloped by the residentsof urban settlements in the

department of Montevideo, is thecollection and sorting of house-hold solid waste (organic and

inorganic). While inorganic wasteis sorted and sold to the localrecycling industry, organic wasteis used in most cases as animalfeed (mainly for pigs). Amongurban solid waste sorters, pig

breeders constitute a distinctgroup. This explains the highincidence of health problems(transmission of diseases fromanimals to people) and environ-mental impacts (people livingnext to pigsties, inadequate finaldisposal of waste, food preparingsystems) that are worse in thecase of pig farming in urban andperi-urban areas. Due to severalfactors, including the socio-economic conditions of breedersand the urban status of the neigh-bourhoods where the practice iscarried out, pig farming in urbanareas is one of the most remark-able aspects of Urban Agriculturedeveloped in our country.

PIG RAISING IN THE DEPARTMENT OFMONTEVIDEOPig raising is a widespread prac-tice in the Department ofMontevideo. The importance ofpig farming in the peripheral areas of the city of Montevideohas increased consistently partic-

At the end of the 19th century, Sansón Carrasco (nom de plume of Daniel Muñoz, 1849-1930),reported on pigs being bred with household

wastes. His chronicles are still valid today. Forinstance, in his article “Trash” (1883), he writes

“...and in the depressions, and on the beach, pigsand more pigs, and always pigs everywhere youlook, some of them feeding, some stretched out

without a care in the world, others grunting as theyget a glimpse of me, as if upset by my intrusion in

their domain...”.

households keeping them and in actualnumbers. The presence of cattle, sheepand goats was strongly correlated withowners who were Muslim. Sheep, andgoats in particular, are required for vari-ous Muslim festivals and this explainstheir relatively high number amongst theMuslim community.

Surprisingly this survey did not find evi-dence of urban-rural linkages.Respondents mentioned little or no inflowof food or animals from rural areas and nooutflow of manure to even peri-urbanfarmers. However, the encouragement ofsuch links e.g. providing peri-urban marketsites could be beneficial for all concerned.

‘Trespassing’, the uncontrolled movement of animals into other people’shouses was the main cause of conflictbetween livestock and non-livestockowners.

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly doesnot object to chickens but does object tofree roaming larger animals such as sheep,goats and cattle. Some owners of largelivestock reported harassment by theauthorities, who were trying to relocatetheir animals outside the city area.Although the authorities claimed that theywould impound large animals found wandering in the streets the authorsbelieve that such an act would lead to significant civil unrest in the survey areas.

Urban livestock farming in Kumasi is acommunity-tolerated phenomenon.Rules and regulations relating to livestockwill only work with community accep-tance and if this is not present then people will do whatever is necessary totry to secure their livelihoods.

It is difficult to imagine that the Ghanagovernment or the Kumasi Authority willever see the promotion and support ofimproved urban livestock keeping as ahigh enough priority to justify financialinvestment. Any changes that do occurare likely to result from changes in theoverall level of poverty and availability ofalternative employment opportunities. If people secure employment and becomeless poor then livestock keeping will tend to reduce as a result of communitypressure from non-livestock keepers. Ifpoverty increases for whatever reasonthen urban livestock keeping is likely tocontinue and even increase.

__________

Alain Santandreu, ✉ [email protected]

Gustavo Castro, ✉ [email protected]

Fernando Ronca, ✉ [email protected]

Veterinary Faculty, University of Montevideo

Urban pig farmingin irregular settlements in Uruguay

OPig raising in the

peripheral areas of the cityof Montevideo is significant

Livestock at

dumpsite

in Nakuru,

Kenya

Phot

o by

D. F

oeke

n

ularly since 1970 (Moreira, 1997). Thereare two types of pig farming: in the ruralareas, both allowed and regulated by theMunicipal Intendency of Montevideo (-IMM) and in the urban areas, carried outin settlements and not controlled by the municipality. Both types are clearly dif-ferentiated and have distinctive features.

Ninety percent of plots dedicated to pigfarming in rural areas are managed bysmall farmers. The largest environmentalimpacts caused by raising pigs in therural environments are the final disposalof liquid and solid effluents typical of thepractice, and to a lesser degree the finaldisposal of solid inorganic, non-saleablewaste gathered during food sorting(Barlocco et al., 1998).

In urban areas, pig farming is mainly con-centrated in the so-called slums or cante-griles, which are located in marginal are-as, and are characterised by sub-standardhousing and the lack of urban services.Here the sorters-breeders and their fami-lies carry out their activities. In this sensepig raising in urban areas is a peculiartype of urban agriculture, although similarities are shared such as socio-economic circumstances (poverty) anddependency of intermediaries.

THE SORTERS OF URBAN SOLIDWASTESMarginal neighbourhoods are a growingphenomenon in Latin America. Knownby many different names in Spanish(tugurios, villas miserias, favelas, callam-pas, pueblos jóvenes or cantegriles), theseurban settlements are located on the

periphery of cities and concentrate largecontingents of labour that the productivesystem cannot absorb.

By definition, the marginal neighbour-hoods include a large variety of humansituations concerning origin, land tenure,infrastructure, quality of housing andpopulation density. According to datafrom the Ministry of Housing, TerritorialManagement and the Environment,towards the end of 1995 there were 111 irregular settlements in theDepartment of Montevideo, with a totalof 53,803 residents. The background ofthe residents of these settlements hasshifted. In the 1950s, 65% were of ruralorigin, while by the 1980s 76% of the residents were born in Montevideo.

In the city of Montevideo, sorters live inslums and squatter settlements. Althoughthe term “settlement” is used in manycases as a synonym for slum, each termrefers to a different urban phenomenon.The slow and fairly logical growth ofslums differs from the spontaneous andexplosive emergence of squatter settle-ments. Particularly dramatic is the speed

at which the phenomenon of squattersettlements is growing, shifting towardsthe metropolitan area and other secon-dary cities, the result of a strategy of largesegments of the population for securing aplace to live.

As the inhabitants of these settlementshave problems finding jobs, many devel-op other strategies for family survival.The most widespread is the collectionand sorting of household solid waste.Many sorters divide their time betweenanimal husbandry activities and perform-ing other occupations, as street vendorsor in the construction sector. Sorting is aneconomic activity based on the collectionof household solid waste (organic andinorganic) which is then sorted and soldto the local recycling industry.

Typically, the sorting is performed by several members of the family who scourthe city’s middle- and upper-class neigh-bourhoods, gathering household solidwastes in hand- or horse-drawn carts. Ifthe sorters do not raise pigs, organic

waste is used to feed the horses, or dis-carded along the river banks or publicroads, while inorganic waste is sold asraw material to the local recycling indus-try (mainly paper, cardboard and metal).

SORTERS–BREEDERSWithin the group of sorters of urban solidwaste, pig breeders represent a groupwith distinctive characteristics. Many ofthe more than 2,900 sorters raise pigs inurban areas to supplement their house-hold income. Sorting household solidwaste is the main activity for the sorters-breeders (50% considered sorting themain source of income), while pig raisingis a supplementary activity. Studies showthat only 8% of surveyed sorters considerpig raising as their only source of income,others being fruit markets (18%) and con-struction work and pensions (both 8%).For most sorters–breeders, animals fillthe role of a “piggy-bank”, to which theycan have access in order to cope withunforeseen expenses (Vitale et al., 1996;Moreira, 1997; Tommasino et al., 1998).

The development of this activity isstrongly linked with strategies aimed atlowering the costs charged by cold stor-age houses and pork butcheries. Theprocess whereby a sorter becomes abreeder can be outlined as follows.Typically, a supplier provides a sorterwith pigs to fatten up. By selling them thesorter earns extra income, and this moti-vates him to continue production; gradu-ally, he becomes a sorter-breeder.

MAIN FEATURES OF THE PIG RAISING SYSTEM IN URBAN SQUATTER SETTLEMENTSAccording Vitale et al. (1996) most sorters-breeders are small producers who areresponsible for the full cycle. In this case,it is not only the actual breeding but alsothe selling of the pigs that supplementstheir household income. The term fullcycle encompasses the process from birthto fattening prior to slaughtering.Sorters–breeders who perform this prac-tice typically have 1 or 2 sows. On theother hand, raising refers to practice ofraising the animal from its birth until it isweaned from the mother and sold to fat-teners, slaughtered, or sold as sucklingpigs. Finally, finishers or fatteners onlyfatten the animals until they are sold forslaughter (Vitale et al. 1996).In third-party production forms, “capital-ists” (term used by sorters–breeders to

30

REFERENCES- Anchieri, D., Rodríguez Palazzi, D., Tommasino, H.,Vitale, E., Castro, G. Lozano, A. and López, C. 1998.Treatment of household solid waste as pig feed in order toprevent possible zoonosis. In: 2nd Congress of Zoonosis inArgentina, 1st Congress of Emerging Diseases inArgentina, and 1st Latin American Congress of EmergingDiseases. Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Moreira, R. 1997. Converting waste sorters into pig breed-ers. Extension Area, Veterinary Faculty, University of theRepublic, Uruguay.Ghirotti, M. 1999. Making better use of animal resources ina rapidly urbanizing world: a professional challenge. In:Revista Mundial de Zootecnia, FAO, n° 92.- Rodríguez Palazzi, D. 1996. Project for the development ofthe Pig Production Unit of the Veterinary Faculty. Universityof the Republic, Uruguay.- Vitale, E., Moreira, R., Castro, G. and Tomassino, H.1996. The hidden production. Problems faced by pig breedersin the slums of Montevideo. Extension Area, VeterinaryFaculty, University of the Republic. Edición GrupoAportes-Emaús, Uruguay.- Tommasino, H., Vitale, E., Moreira, R., Castro, G.,Aguirre, E. and Lozano, A. 1998. Situation analysis of pigraising in peripheral neighborhoods of the city of Montevideo.Final report. Project financed by the Sectoral ScientificResearch Commission, University of the Republic,Uruguay.

Pig farming implies a significantreuse of household

solid waste as feed

refer to intermediaries or suppliers) pro-vide the pigs to be fattened. Typically the“capitalist” provides sorters–breederswith pigs weighing between 20 and 50kg. As this is an illegal activity carried outby the low-income population in margi-nal areas, the suppliers often lend moneyor help the breeders in the event of healthor other problems. This leads to animplicit relationship of fidelity that mayhinder the regularisation of this practice.

After the pigs enter the squatter settle-ment, the entire process of raising andeventually slaughtering, processing andselling them takes place within the city.Pig farming in squatter settlementsimplies a significant reuse of householdsolid waste as feed, although commercial(bakery leftovers) and industrial waste(remnants of slaughtered animals fromcold storage houses) are also used. Mostsettlement breeders buy their animals inthe town of Canelones, or in the ruralarea around Montevideo.

The final product sold by the breedersdepends on the productive cycle theydevelop. Thus, breeders sell suckling pigs(both alive and slaughtered) to intermedi-aries, to slaughterhouses, or directly toconsumers. Fatteners sell fattened pigs(90-120 kg) to be slaughtered or slaughterthem themselves. Those who perform thefull cycle may sell both categories of ani-mals. Thus, consumers (who may be peo-ple from the same settlement) have accessto the various types of products (cured orfresh meat) from several sources.

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTALPROBLEMS CAUSED BY PIG FARM-ING IN URBAN SETTLEMENTS Pig farming in the city is a survival strategy developed with the efforts of theentire family, and performed in the placewhere they live. For this reason, trans-mission of diseases from animals tohumans (see Table 1) and the environ-

mental impacts (houses located next topigsties, inadequate final disposal ofwaste and food preparation systems) ofthis activity are significant.

Health problems are ranked among theprimary concerns of those who workwith sorters-pig breeders. Squatter settle-ments where pig farming is carried outare faced with problems such as over-crowding and lack of services (sewageand potable water). It should be remem-bered that pig farming still is a clandes-tine activity.

Most sorters–breeders gather bothorganic and inorganic waste. Ninety-twopercent of sorters–breeders surveyed sellpart of the inorganic waste collected andthrow away refuse in areas located closeto the settlements, on the banks of thestreams and/or along public roads (Vitaleet al., 1996). Organic waste, on the otherhand, is composed by remnants of foodsdiscarded by households and commercialestablishments such bakeries, supermar-kets, restaurants, fish scraps, fruits andvegetables. According to a recent study,96% of sorters–breeders do the sorting athome (Vitale et al., 1996). Although the organic matter is perish-able, 83% of urban pig breeders do nottreat the food they feed their animals inany way, and only 28% add some type offood supplement, while the percentage of

sorters–breeders who store food is signifi-cant. If any form of treatment occurs it isusually cooking, using part of the wastethat cannot be sold (e.g. car covers, plastic remains and wood to light fires)and causing high levels of environmental pollution. To make matters worse, aslarge amounts of food are involved, thetemperature reached is not high enoughto ensure uniform cooking, leaving partof the mass untreated. The transmissionof diseases from animals to humans, forexample trichinosis or cysticercosis, canoccur when pigs are fed with untreatedwaste (Anchieri et al., 1998).

CONCLUSIONSPig farming in urban areas constitutes asignificant practice developed within thecity of Montevideo. Pig raising in urbanareas is a family-type activity, involvingchildren, youngsters and women in a permanent fashion. The role of women ishighly relevant, both in sorting house-hold waste and in taking care of the pigs.Although the practice is mainly a family activity, organised groups such as co-operatives are starting to develop andare worth considering.

Although no cost-benefit studies havebeen made, pig raising in squatter settle-ments allows households to generatesupplementary income to cope withunforeseen expenses. However, the activity poses serious food safety andhealth problems, as many sorters-breeders share the food they collect withtheir pigs and raise them in their homes.

The activities of sorters-breeders gener-ate significant adverse environmentalimpacts, both in the sorting of inorganicsolid waste and organic solid waste. Foodstored in unstable conditions can causeproblems with rodents and insects; this iscompounded by the urban characteristicsof the squatter settlements where theactivity is developed. These characteris-tics form a limitation to the possible ben-efits arising from the re-use of householdsolid waste as pig feed.

31

Table 1 – Main diseases that humans can catch from pig farming

Bacterial Viral Parasitic Mycotic

Anthrax (Carbuncle) Vesicular stomatitis Trichinosis Dermatomycosis

Brucellosis Cysticercosis

Erysipelosis Toxoplasmosis

Leptospyrosis Sarcotic scab

Tuberculosis

Salmonellosis

Staphilococcia

Source: Prepared by Castro, G. (1999) based on Ghirotti, M. (1999).

Health problems are rankedamong the primary concerns

n general, little attention is paid to ani-mal-connected problems in developing

countries, unless they are linked with theexport of animals or animal products. Forexample, brucellosis is widespread inmany countries, but it is often overlookedwhen it affects humans (confused in the“malaria complex”), or not consideredimportant in animals unless they have tobe exported to other countries that donot accept positive animals, or because

they have controlled brucellosis, orbecause brucellosis is absent. Other zoo-noses that are sometimes of economicimportance include anthrax, bovinetuberculosis, glanders, taeniasis/cysticer-cosis and trichinellosis. Infections whichcause important pandemics in animals,such as foot and mouth disease and rin-derpest, are not considered zoonoses inthe classical sense, but must be consid-ered important public health problemsbecause of their consequences on humannutrition, economy and quality of life.

LOCAL FACTORSLocal factors, including cultural back-ground, economic conditions and relig-

ious beliefs influence specific conditions,especially in developing countries.Consequently, a list of the zoonoses,which may be important in an urban areamust take different factors into consider-ation, for instance: ❖ Close proximity of humans to differ-ent species of animals kept together withlittle or no distinction between compan-ion or utility functions (dogs, cats, farmand barnyard animals).❖ Trade and barter of animals facilitatesthe exchange of pathogenic agents withpoor surveillance over the provenanceand health status of individual animalsand stocks.❖ Pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, horses, cam-els and poultry may be left to graze freelyalong the roadsides and any suitableplace, feed on available vegetables, gar-bage and drinking water.❖ Animals or large groups of animalsoften cross or rest in urban areas and maydisseminate their pathogens and vectors.Pigs, cattle, dogs and other animals mayhave free access to human faeces and feedon them, while humans and other animals

32

ZoonosisZoonoses have been defined by WHO (1959) as “Those disease

and infections (the agents of) which are naturally transmittedbetween (other) vertebrate animals and man”. Recently the con-

cept has been enlarged with the following proposal: “Any detri-ment to the health and/or quality of human life deriving from

relationships with (other) vertebrate or edible or toxic inverte-brate animals”, Mantovani 2000).

__________

Adriano Mantovani

WHO/FAO Collaborating Centre

in Veterinary Public Health


Veterinary urban hygienein developing countries

I

Phot

o by

A. M

anto

vani

are often exposed to dog and cat faeces.❖ Animal waste and possibly infectedmaterials are left to dogs, cats, pigs,domestic ruminants and scavenger spe-cies which roam among dwelling placesand human communities.❖ Small or family abattoirs are oftenlocated close to human dwellings.Slaughtering is often carried out in theopen air in the absence of controls; butch-ers and abattoir workers are exposed tozoonoses and occupational accidents.❖ In some towns there are large flocks ofpigeons, starlings, seagulls, vultures andother birds that are in close contact withthe population. The same applies torodents, monkeys and other animals.❖ Lack of inspection of meat and otherproducts.❖ The use of animal manure for cooking(fuel source) is risky as it may introducepathogens into the cooking area such assalmonellae, and create the same prob-lems as solid fuel.❖ Where human malnutrition, AIDS andother immunodepressive conditions arewidespread, these constitute a predispos-ing factor for zoonoses.❖ Where (urban) rabies is present, itgenerally constitutes the first priority forveterinary public health and influencesthe relationship between persons anddogs and sometimes with animals in gen-eral. Stray and free roaming dogs consti-tute a potential danger for the transmis-sion of zoonoses (leishmaniasis, echino-coccosis/hydatidosis etc.) and otherproblems (e.g. bites).

Conditions such as very hot and/or damp (or dry) climates, and emergencies(famine, drought, etc.) may favour the circulation of infections throughincreased virulence of pathogens andactivity of vectors, and decreased resis-tance of human and animal populations.These factors may also result in the trans-mission of infection becoming continuousthroughout the year without any seasonalresting spells.

Another crucial issue is the removal anddisposal of animal waste from cities.Whenever possible and convenient, recy-cling should be recommended. Too manymaterials which could be used as fertiliz-ers, animal feed or in other ways are lostas a result of lack of organization and/orof public education. On the other hand,any sort of garbage that is left to animalsfacilitates the lifecycle of zoonoses (e.g.echinococcosis/hydatidosis, taenia-sis/cysticercosis, salmonellosis).

VETERINARY URBAN HYGIENEThe World Health Organization (WHO)and its branch, Veterinary Public Health(VPH) started to show specific interest inthe problems of urban areas in 1977, anddeveloped a series of activities under thetitle Veterinary Urban Hygiene (VUH).These activities have evolved mainly indeveloped countries, as they require con-siderable resources, adequate veterinaryorganization and political support. Indeveloping countries the VUH activitiesare often very limited, performed by gov-ernmental agencies (ministries of health,agriculture, interior) and sometimes sup-ported by international organizations (WHO, FAO, OIE: World Animal HealthOrganisation, etc.) by foreign govern-ments (bilateral and multilateral agree-ments) and by non governmental organ-izations. In the Mediterranean theseactivities are co-ordinated by theMediterranean Zoonoses Control Centre.The activities of VUH may be divided intodifferent categories, which to some extentoverlap: ❖ Rabies control and connected activities (dog population control, etc.);❖ Control of other infections transmittedby animals (e.g. leishmaniasis, brucellosis,etc.);❖ Control of economically important ani-mal diseases (e.g. rinderpest, foot andmouth disease, sheep pox, parasitoses etc.);❖ Hygienic control of food of animal origin (“from the farm to the table”) inslaughterhouses, markets, food stores,restaurants etc.;❖ Control of economically importantanimals in urban areas (situation rus inurbe: countryside in the city);❖ Controls in rural areas which haveacquired characters (and problems) ofurban areas (situation urbs in rure: city inthe countryside);❖ Control of populations of synanthropicanimals (e.g. pigeons, cats, rodents,

monkeys) creating problems in urbanareas.International and national agencies inter-ested in health, nutrition, the environ-ment and economies of developing coun-tries are inclined to employ the modernmethods which are applied in highincome countries, such as HACCP (HealthAnalysis Critical Control Points) and HSR(Health System Research). Often, howev-er, the local technical and economic basesare not strong enough to permit theapplication of these methods. In almostall cases it is necessary to pay attention tonumerous prerequisites concerning appli-cability of VUH to the local situation.Priority establishment is unavoidable.Where political support and adequateresources are provided, research andtraining will furnish the cultural andhuman background needed.Collaboration with the medical and otherexisting services has to be established, asVUH is a multidisciplinary practice,encompassing all sectors involved inurban policy and management.

33

Modified from:

A. Mantovani and

V. Caporale: Zoonosis

- in G. Carosi, F. Castelli

and F. di Nola: Manuale

di Malattie Infettive

e Tropicale, Vol. 1,

Piccin Nuova Libraria,

Padova, 2000

the problems of urban areas in 1977, anddeveloped a series of activities under thetitle Veterinary Urban Hygiene (VUH).These activities have evolved mainly indeveloped countries, as they require con-siderable resources, adequate veterinaryorganization and political support. Indeveloping countries the VUH activitiesare often very limited, performed by gov-ernmental agencies (ministries of health,agriculture, interior) and sometimes sup-ported by international organizations (WHO, FAO, OIE: World Animal HealthOrganisation, etc.) by foreign govern-ments (bilateral and multilateral agree-ments) and by non governmental organ-izations. In the Mediterranean these

activities are co-ordinated by theMediterranean Zoonoses Control Centre.The activities of VUH may be divided intodifferent categories, which to some extentoverlap: ❖ Rabies control and connected activities (dog population control, etc.);❖ Control of other infections transmittedby animals (e.g. leishmaniasis, brucellosis,etc.);❖ Control of economically important ani-mal diseases (e.g. rinderpest, foot andmouth disease, sheep pox, parasitoses etc.);❖ Hygienic control of food of animal origin (“from the farm to the table”) inslaughterhouses, markets, food stores,restaurants etc.;❖ Control of economically importantanimals in urban areas (situation rus inurbe: countryside in the city);❖ Controls in rural areas which haveacquired characters (and problems) ofurban areas (situation urbs in rure: city inthe countryside);❖ Control of populations of synanthropicanimals (e.g. pigeons, cats, rodents,

monkeys) creating problems in urbanareas.International and national agencies inter-ested in health, nutrition, the environ-ment and economies of developing coun-tries are inclined to employ the modernmethods which are applied in highincome countries, such as HACCP (HealthAnalysis Critical Control Points) and HSR(Health System Research). Often, howev-er, the local technical and economic basesare not strong enough to permit theapplication of these methods. In almostall cases it is necessary to pay attention tonumerous prerequisites concerning appli-cability of VUH to the local situation.Priority establishment is unavoidable.Where political support and adequateresources are provided, research andtraining will furnish the cultural andhuman background needed.Collaboration with the medical and otherexisting services has to be established, asVUH is a multidisciplinary practice,encompassing all sectors involved inurban policy and management.

hen talking with people in the vil-lage of Punata, near Cochabamba,one notices that ‘triquina’ is some-

thing that they are worried about. Thisparasite, that one can see as small nod-ules, or cysts, on the pig’s tongue, isrenowned for its ability to cause diseasein humans. The exact symptoms of thisdisease are not generally known, whereaseveryone knows that the price one canfetch for a pig with ‘triquina’ is consider-ably lower than the price of one withoutcysts. In the weekly Punata market thereis a specific site where every pig on sale isreviewed by traditional ‘triquina

controllers’, usually older women, whoreceive a small fee for each pig. Withgreat skill, these women immobilise eachpig and check its tongue.

There is less general knowledge aboutthe ways to prevent the pig from gettingthe ‘triquina’, and even professional peo-ple are often confused, though many ofthem know that the name ‘triquina’ is notright. The parasite is actually called ‘-cysticercus’. Triquina is another, muchsmaller, zoonotic parasite in the meat ofpigs and other animals (Triquinella espir-alis). Some pig owners indicate that, inorder to prevent cysticercosis, it is betterto buy white pigs from the larger farms;others assume that one should give thepig special food before taking it to themarket. Most people know, however, thatonce a pig has the cysts in its muscles, nomedicine can get it out.

The municipality, responsible for themarket, does not really know what to do

33

Modified from:

A. Mantovani and

V. Caporale: Zoonosis

- in G. Carosi, F. Castelli

and F. di Nola: Manuale

di Malattie Infettive

e Tropicale, Vol. 1,

Piccin Nuova Libraria,

Padova, 2000

Cysticercosis is one of the most dangerous diseases caused by a para-site that passes from animals to human beings. It is most prevalent in therural areas of developing countries, from where it can become a threat inurban areas too. Cysticercosis is closely related to economic standards,

culture and aspects of hygiene. Latin America, non-Islamic parts of Africaand South East Asia and especially India face major problems with this

disease. In this article the author describes cysticercosis that originatesfrom pigs (Cysticercosis cellulosae) in Bolivia, South America.

__________

Katrien van’t Hooft

ETC Ecoculture, The Netherlands


The control of Cysticercosisin rural and urban areas

W

about the problem, and leaves the controlto the traditional structures, withoutenforcement. There is no compensationfor the pigs found ‘positive’, so these ani-mals are used for meat anyway. Most pigsin the region are slaughtered in back-yards without formal meat inspection.Traditional pork dishes, however, usuallyinclude deep frying or long cooking ofthe meat, which considerably diminishesthe danger of transmission of the parasite.

REAL PROBLEMOne of the reasons for the confusionabout cysticercosis is that the life cycle ofthis parasite is very complicated.Cysticercosis occurs in both pigs and cat-tle, and represents a problem for humans.

Studies indicate that the incidence of cys-ticercosis is quite alarming, especially ofCysticercosis cellulosae, which derives frompigs. It affects, to varying degrees, some 19countries in Latin America and is of realsignificance in 15 of them. In someregions, between 15 and 60 % of the pigskept in traditional systems have antibodiesagainst the parasite, indicating that theyhave been in contact with it during theirlifetime. Other studies have indicated thataround 30% of the pigs have cysticercusnodules on their tongues. In Boliviabetween 1.4 and 2% of the people in ruralareas have the Taenia solium parasite intheir intestines; the WHO considers it aserious problem when the level of peopleinfected with Taenia solium is above 1%.

LIFE CYCLE OF CYSTICERCOSISThe parasite’s primary host is the humanbeing. In humans it is found as a whitetapeworm, up to several metres in length,built up of small segments, called pro-glottides. The person generally is notaware of the tapeworm, other than smallwhite spots (the proglottides that havebeen released) in the excrement. The pro-glottides are full of eggs, that can infectthe animal. The tapeworm that can infectpigs is called Taenia solium; the one thatcan infect cattle is considerably longer –up to 12 metres – and is called Taeniasaginata.

When human excrement is consumed bypigs, the cysts of the intermediate para-site, called Cysticercus cellulosae, areformed in the meat and other parts of thepig. These cysts are transparent/white,between 0.5 and 1 cm. in diameter. Onlyin the case of intensive infection the cystsare found in the tongue. The cysts gener-ally do not result in any other visualabnormalities in the living animal. Again,when people eat meat containing thecysts, which is uncooked, or under-cooked, and get infected, the Taenia soli-um tapeworm develops in their intestines.This general life cycle of the tapeworm issimilar in bovines, but it is far more dan-gerous in pigs because a parallel cycleoccurs.

Where human excrement containing theeggs of Taenia solium infects waste water,which is then used to grow vegetablesand other products for human consump-tion, the situation becomes very danger-ous. If a person drinks this water or con-sumes raw vegetables (e.g. lettuce) orfruits that are not peeled (e.g. strawber-ries), he or she can ingest the Taenia soli-um eggs. In this case the cycle that nor-mally takes place in the pig, now starts inthe human body. The cysts are formed indifferent parts of the body, in some casesin the eye or the brain. In this latter casethe disease is called neurocysticercosis,and symptoms are severe, similar tothose of a brain tumour or epilepsy. InBolivia many cases diagnosed as epilepsyare, in fact, neurocysticercosis. There isno cure for this once the cysts have beenformed, and the impact on the patientand the family is enormous.

URBAN AND RURAL SETTINGThe problem of cyst infection from pigmeat is closely related to the way the pigs

34

The third issue of the Urban AgricultureMagazine will focus on “Health related

aspects of urban agriculture”. The publica-tion is planned for February 2001.

City authorities have often been reluctantto accept urban agriculture because of perceived health risks. Nevertheless, urbanagriculture can have both negative and positive effects on the health and environmental conditions of an urban population.

We invite you to report and discuss bothpositive and negative relationshipsbetween urban agriculture and health.

Article contributions could be in the form of integrated case-studies or morespecifically deal with a certain issue. The following issues are suggested: 1. Clarification of concepts and definitions; Debunking of persistent mythsregarding the relation between urban agriculture and health 2. Strategies to enhance the positive effectsof urban agriculture on health of the urbanpopulation (enhanced access to food,improved food security, better nutrition)3. Strategies to mitigate effectively thehealth risks associated with urban agriculture, like:

❖ communicable diseases associatedwith urban agriculture (e.g. malaria)

❖ health risks associated with the reuseof (untreated or poorly treated) wasteand waste water in agriculture

❖ health risks related with keeping live-stock in densely populated areas

❖ health risks related with the agricul-tural use of water and soils that havebeen contaminated by industry andurban traffic (e.g. heavy metals)

❖ health risks related with the intensiveuse of agrochemicals

4. Gender and Poverty aspects 5. Institutional aspects

You and/or your colleague(s) are invitedto contribute to this issue of the UrbanAgriculture Magazine with an article, further suggestions, description of best (or bad) practices in general, photo’s andinformation on interesting publications,websites, and forthcoming events.

Your article should give a clear descrip-tion of the experiences gained in practice with certain aspects of the relationbetween urban agriculture and health,either positive or negative aspects or both.The article should address the policy implications of your experiences and includerecommendations for local policy makersand planners. Articles should be written insuch a way that those working with farmerscould readily understand them.

If you are interested in writing an article, please send a full draft before 1 January 2001, to: The Editor of Urban Agriculture Magazine, RUAF, fax: + 31 33 4940791, P.O. Box 64, 3830 AB Leusden, The Netherlands, [email protected]

Call for Contributions

are kept. It does not occur in intensivepig-keeping, where the animals are raisedin an enclosed space. The problem ariseswhen the pigs are raised in small-scaleextensive systems, where contactbetween humans and animals is far moreintense. Free roaming pigs, in combina-tion with absence or non-use of latrines,are the major conditions under whichhumans become infected with the tape-worm. These conditions occur most fre-quently in the marginal rural and urbanareas. The infected pigs live in, or can betransported from rural to urban areas.People with a tapeworm in their bodymove bach and forth from rural to urbanareas and can infest the waste waters.The possibility of consuming water, orproducts contaminated with infectedhuman excrement, is far higher in urbanthan in rural areas. Hence, the control ofthis parasites requires activities in boththe urban and rural settings.

CONTROL METHODSThe control of this parasite is extremelydifficult. In the case of pigs it involves forexample personal hygiene, waste waters,latrines, meat control, cooking traditionsand the way the pigs are kept. Cysticercosis is related to the most burn-ing problems in the world today: povertyin the marginal rural regions, and migra-tion from rural to urban areas. Simplysuggesting that the pigs should be lockedup does not provide the answer. Althoughthe life cycle of the parasite can be suc-cessfully broken by eliminating the con-tact between human excrements and pigs,this is not that easily achieved. Extensive

pig keeping has been part of ruralpeople’s survival strategy for ages, andwill continue to remain so.

An interdisciplinary approach is neces-sary, which involves farmers, representa-tives from the medical field and the vete-rinarian/zootechnical field, as well aspeople from both rural and urban munic-ipalities.

The control methods mentioned mostfrequently in literature are listed here.In people: Emphasis is placed on educa-tion and general awareness about thezoonosis: the ways to prevent excrementfrom being deposited in places wherepigs can gain access to it; to use latrinesand general hygiene measures, especiallyrelated to washing hands; to cook or fryall pig meat before consumption; to usean anthelmintic treatment wheneverwhite spots are noticed on excrement.Treatment with iodine or another disin-fectant, of raw vegetables and fruits thatcannot be peeled, should happen when-ever there is doubt about the origin of thefood. For pig keepers: Education and generalawareness on the role of pigs in main-taining the life cycle of the parasite; tokeep pigs in a separate place; not to usepigs as cleaners of human dirt. For municipalities: The traditional controlmethods in the markets are not enough,

they should be complemented andenforced; introduce strict measures relat-ed to meat control, especially in backyardslaughtering. Control of the use of wastewater.

THE WAY AHEADThe problem is considerable and thequestions arise: who is responsible andwho controls? An increased generalawareness in both urban and rural set-tings about the problem may well be oneof the keys to this issue, as well as meas-ures from the municipalities. NGOs,school teachers and extension workersshould all be well aware of the problemand methods of prevention. Radio pro-grammes can involve women, one of themost important groups where awarenessneeds to be improved.

An interdisciplinary approach is needed,that includes the efforts of the medicaland veterinary scientists, as well asmunicipalities and farmers’ organisations.Government commitment to controllingthis disease is also a major factor. As longas the legislative basis for enforcing thework of the veterinary inspectors is lack-ing, it is not possible to set up a reliablemeat control system. Both the ministriesof health and agriculture should beinvolved. The control of cysticercosis istruly a methodological challenge!

35

REFERENCES- Acha, P. y B. Szyfres, 1986.Zoonosis y enfermedades transmis-ibles comunes al hombre y a los ani-males. Panamerican HealthOrganisation (OPS), Scientific publi-cation no. 503.- Arroyo Bareto, O., 1990.Diagnóstico de la explotación de lascrianzas familiares en el Perú;Principales lineamientos de políticapara su investigación. Serie técnica2.3 no 2 1990, Instituto Nacional deInvestigación Agraria yAgroindustrial (INIAA).- Unepca, 1995. Memoria del I sim-posium internacional sobre treszoonosis: Sarcocystiosis,Cysticercosis y Triquinosis, Oruro,Bolivia 30-31 de octubre 1995.- Valle Zarate, A., et al., 1987.Condiciones actuales y potencial dela producción porcina para mejorarla situación del pequeño productoren la provincia Gran Chaco, Bolivia.Instituto de Economía Social delDesarrollo Agropecuario,Universidad Técnica de Berlín.

The problem of human infectionwith cysticercosis is related

to the way the pigs are kept

Traditional

cisticercosis

control

on the weekly market

in Punatra, Bolivia

Phot

o by

Kat

rien

van

’t H

oogt

36

project was started in 1991in the neighbourhood ofEmpalme Graneros, in

Rosario City. It is an area wheresome 1,300 poor families havebuilt their houses, of differentmaterials, on the banks of theLudueña stream, which for yearshas been subject to flooding. The project focused on organicwaste recycling for red-earth-worm production (Eisenia foetida)and vermicompost used as a ferti-liser on family and communityfarms. Vermiculture has a highpotential for organic waste degra-dation, while at the same timeproviding by-products for immediate and commercial use.

The project was designed as anexperiment to set up vermiculturalproduction at the family and com-munity level in urban areas. Theaim was to commercialise the pro-duction of earthworms, enablingthe humus (vermicompost, VC)produced by them to be used as afertiliser on organic vegetablefarms. (Biasatti et al, 1999).

VERMICULTUREVermiculture uses the “redCalifornian” (Eisenia foetida)earthworm species as a “biologi-cal machine” to metabolise com-plex compounds and transformthem into simpler chemicals andmuch more stable forms. Twomain products can be obtained:earthworm meat and earthwormhumus or vermicompost (Schuldt,1994; Rivero Hernández, 1993).Earthworm meat productionoffers some commercial opportu-

nities to this social sector whereincome levels are generallyextremely low. Its commercialvalue is derived from its suitabil-ity as fishing bait, and its highprotein content makes earth-worm meat an excellent supple-mentary feed source, which canbe integrated into farm animaldiets, e.g. in poultry feed.

Vermicompost has also becomean interesting prospect during thecourse of the project as it is ahigh-quality fertiliser, which isstable and has excellent physical-chemical organic fertiliser prop-erties. Its potential has still to berealised in its application to localcrops. The conditions for vermi-compost production are relativelysimple: inputs are low cost, andmaintenance requirements arealso low.

DEVELOPMENTThe work that has been carriedout is part of a urban agriculturecommunity development pro-gramme, aimed at providingsocial training and organizationto promote and spread produc-tive activities and self-manage-able resources.

Vermiculture training was givento a group involving 50 families.After completion of the trainingthe participants were providedwith genetic material, consistingof modules of about 5,000 earth-worms together with substrate.Further field training was thengiven to individuals, family orcommunity groups, and after this

the “pioneer” producers thenbecame the “multiplying agents”of the project.

RESULTSThe project succeeded in obtain-ing a high degree of training invermiculture techniques, whichenabled family and communityearthworm breeding to becomewell established. Producers wereable to earn income from the ver-miculture products: fish bait andearthworms for animal feed. Thehumus produced was used toimprove soil conditions wherevegetables are grown, both fordomestic consumption and forselling. After 18 months, 26 peo-ple had been trained, and 15 pro-duction modules had been estab-lished. There is also continuedinterest of newcomers to theneighbourhood, who wish to jointhe enterprise.

Vermiculture has shown to be apractice that is quickly adopted.After adequate training, a firstharvest of products was obtainedwithin three months. The worknot only provides an opportunityto learn management techniquesfor a specific animal species butalso introduces a practice of inte-grated resource management. Inother city sectors it has beenwidely adopted on balconies and terraces. In the future this processmay contribute to a decrease inthe amounts of domestic organicwaste for disposal as families pro-cess their own waste.

Rosario City in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina is an urbancentre of more than 1,200,000 inhabitants. Over 20% of the popu-

lation live in conditions of extreme poverty. Unemployment andmarginality leads them to live in the marginal areas, without ade-

quate sanitary services and under limited social and economicconditions. There are many examples of social welfare interven-

tions which can help to alleviate these conditions of dire poverty.

A

Vermiculturefor organic waste processing

Mini-livestock in Rosario Argentina

REFERENCES- Biasatti, N., Krug K., Latucca, A., Lemos C.,Middleton J., Spiaggi, E., Montero, A., 1999.“Desarrollo sustentable: diseño de una estrategiade agricultura urbana considerando su impactosocio-ambiental”. En UNR-Ambiental. ComitéUniversitario de Política Ambiental, Secretaría deCiencia y Tecnología-UNR.- Hardouin, J. 1992. ”Minilivestock in rural tropicaldevelopment”. Cahiers Agricultures; 2 196-9,Belgium.- Rivero Hernández, R. 1993. “La lombricultura ysus fundamentos”. S.A.P.T. Publicaciones Técnicas,Madrid. - Schuldt, M. 1993. “Lombricultura Práctica”.Instituto de Limnología Dr. Raúl Ringuelet(ILPLA-UNLP-CONICET). Contribución técnica Nro. 3. - Spiaggi, E., Biasatti, R., Marc L., Mansilla, Y., DiMasso, R. 1995. “Implementación de un sistemaproductivo integrado nutrias-lombrices en el marcode un desarrollo agropecuario sustentable”. UNR-Ambiental. Comité Universitario de PolíticaAmbiental, Secretaría de Ciencia y Tecnología-UNR.

Phot

o by

M. D

ubbe

ling

__________

Spiaggi, E.P.

Biasatti, N.R. and Marc, L.B.

Universidad Nacional de

Rosario, Argentina.


ig-raising in urban areas hasbecome important in meet-ing the growing pork

demand. Meat production inVietnam is constrained by short-ages of feed (local or imported).The profitability of the currentpig-raising practice of feeding

farm crops in an unsystematicmanner is low. This presents aserious constraint to the farmers,because pigs often provide theonly source of cash income.

Sweetpotato (pomoea batatas) isa valuable pig feed: and bothroots and leaves can be usedfresh, dried or fermented intosilage (Woolfe, 1992). It is a com-mon feed for pigs, and other live-stock, in many countries in Asia.In Vietnam, feeding sweetpotatoroots and vines to pigs, alongwith rice bran, corn and some-times cassava roots, is common inthe north and central parts of thecountry.

The main constraints to usingsweetpotato vines as pig feed arelabour and storage. Regardless ofhow they are fed to the animals,the vines must first be choppedinto small pieces, a daunting andtime-consuming task, mainlyundertaken by women. If thevines are fed fresh, the women

must allocate time each day forthis task, even during the busyfield season.

SILAGE OF SWEETPOTATOVINESSilage offers a potential alterna-tive. Use of vine silage overcomesboth main constraints: the women are able to process thevines during the off-season whenlabour is more abundant, andstore the silage for use when feedis limited. Moreover, there is alsothe economic advantage of processing and storing the vinesduring the harvest season whenthey are relatively cheap andfeeding them to pigs during theoff-season when the vines areexpensive. Furthermore, ensilingmay increase nutritional valueand feed efficiency if it involves a

In recent years, as incomes have risen, meat has become a much more importantpart of the diet in Asia, particularly in urban centres (Pezo et al, 2000). In Hanoi,Vietnam, total meat production increased

from 31,000 t in 1997 to 33,000 t in 1999. This production meets only 50% of the total demand of the city and the other half is produced in neighbouringprovinces and rural areas (Tinh, 2000). Meat demand is expected to increase to a further 119,600 t by 2010, with 80% of the production comingfrom peri-urban farmers close to the city market (Anh, 2000).

__________

Dai Peters

CIP-Hanoi, Vietnam


Nguyen Thi Tinh (NIAH) and

Tran Than Thuy (VASI), Hanoi, Vietnam

P

Small

scale

piggery

in Hanoi

Phot

o by

J.B.

Sch

iere

37

Meat production in Vietnamis constrained by

shortages of feed

Improved feedfor pig raising

in Vietnam

38

fermentation process, which converts nitrogen into protein.

A trial with 12 fermented mix-tures of sweetpotato vines andvarious combinations of additiveswas conducted in a village in Ha Tay Province in the Red RiverDelta (details are available fromthe author and will be publishedelsewhere). The combinations of additives included corn meal, cassava meal, rice bran, and sun-dried chicken manure, alllocally available and affordablematerial. The results showed thatfermenting sweetpotato vineswith chicken manure increasedthe crude protein content.However, because high crude pro-tein content does not necessarilyguarantee better quality feed(Gerpacio et al, 1967), a subse-quent on-farm pig-feeding trialwas conducted to examine theeffects of sweetpotato vines

fermented with chicken manureon pig growth and economic efficiency.

This trial showed that a treatmentof the sweetpotato vines withchicken manure achieved thehighest feed and dry matter conversion rates (i.e. lowest feedor DM input for per kilo weightgain), and consequently, the

lowest cost of feed per unit of gainin weight. In other words, replac-ing fresh vines with chickenmanure-fermented vines will leadto improved growth, but theextent of the growth depends onthe combination of the base feed.

It also became clear that, based onthe current market price of pigs,farmers would suffer a loss byfeeding fresh vines and wouldmake only a small profit by feed-ing with non-chicken-manuretreated vines. The chicken manuretreatment would provide farmerswith a substantial profit, as well asthe highest weight gain.

CONCLUSIONSFermentation is a simple processthat requires little investment orequipment. Chicken manure isreadily available and cheap espe-cially since only small quantitiesare required. The only equipmentneeded is a set of scales for weigh-ing the ingredients, and bags forstoring the ferment. The chickenmanure treatment would providefarmers with a substantial profit,as well as the highest weight gain

The fermentation method caneasily be adopted, or even adapt-ed, by farmers. During the meeting held soon after the trial,forty women showed great inter-est and enthusiastically copied thesuggested method. Along with theprofitability, these women consid-ered the labour-saving and stor-age potential very significant. These results may be disseminatedand experimented with widely

among pig farmers in north andcentral Vietnam where sweet-potato vines are an importantcomponent of the pig feed. TheDepartment of Agricultural andRural Development of the districtand organisations at communitylevel should be encouraged to disseminate the information anddemonstrate the processing andfeeding method to farmers. Insteadof encouraging the use of commer-cial protein supplement, which ismainly imported, favourable conditions should be created forfarmers to experiment and uselocally available materials toincrease the necessary protein forpig feed.

REFERENCES- Anh, M.T.P., 2000. Current status and prospective planning upon agricultural development in Hanoi.Paper presented at the "CGIAR Strategic Initiative on Urban and Peri-urban Action Plan" developmentworkshop for South East Asia pilot site, Hanoi, Vietnam. 6–9 June 2000. Hanoi, Vietnam. CIP-Lima,Peru.Gerpacio, A.L., Aglibut, F.B., Javier, T.R., Gloria, L.A. and Castillo L.S., 1967. Digestibility and nitrogenbalance studies on rice straw and camote vine leaf silage of sheep. Philippine Agriculturist. Vol. 51 (3):185–195.- Pezo, D., Li-Pun, H.H. and Devendra C., 2000. Crop-animal system in Southeast Asia: ILRI researchagenda. Paper presented at the "CGIAR Strategic Initiative on Urban and Peri-urban Action Plan"development workshop for South East Asia pilot site, Hanoi, Vietnam. 6–9 June 2000. Hanoi,Vietnam. CIP-Lima, Peru.Tinh, N.T., 2000. Pig-raising in peri-urban Hanoi. Paper presented at the "CGIAR Strategic Initiativeon Urban and Peri-urban Action Plan" development workshop for South East Asia pilot site, Hanoi,Vietnam. 6–9 June 2000. Hanoi, Vietnam. CIP-Lima, Peru.- Woolfe, J.A., 1992. Sweet Potato: An Untapped Food Resource. New York, NY: Cambridge UniversityPress.

The fermentation methodcan easily be

adopted and adapted by farmers

38

ince 1974 the AutonomousMetropolitan University,Xochimilco Campus (UAM-X),

has offered a four-year veterinary medical-animal husbandry degree programme, in which students relatepractice to theory. The modular-integratededucational system, or programme-

based-learning research assists teachersto determine areas of knowledge thatshould be taught and services that pro-fessionals will need to offer in the future.Students are made aware of problemsand needs of Mexican producers, espe-cially marginal livestock producers. Each academic quarter terminates withstudent-team presentations in which pro-ducers participate. Since the start, otherknowledge areas have been incorporatedi.e. protection against disease, parasitismand clinical cases on the veterinary medi-

cal-biological side and history, cultureand family on the social side.

Mexico City’s southern edge is an extensive semi-rural/semi-urban agricul-tural zone, having a large number ofbackyard-rooftop family livestock units.Such peri- urban livestock may includevarying populations of animals rangingfrom two to nine animal species perhousehold. Interestingly and despite live-stock activity in the marginal sector, neither local, nor national censuses have shown interest in urban livestockproducers. This lack of interest is unfortunate as family urban livestockproduction means self-reliance and support to the general economy.Producers do not beg, do not wait forhandouts or subsidies, and hunger is nota menace.Experiences of the training programme

A model for integrated higher education for training veterinary medical-animalhusbandry students is discussed. In this model, students analyse local sea-

sonal foodstuffs and immunisation and parasitism, while learning about mar-ginal livestock producer needs. Both the University and the livestock produc-

ing families benefit. The former because it uses local resources, and the latterbecause they increase their knowledge, and use of foodstuffs, and reduce

parasitism and, presumably, public health problems too.

__________

Emil Arias

Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico


S

Linking students to urban livestockproducers in Mexico City

make only a small profit by feed-ing with non-chicken-manuretreated vines. The chicken manuretreatment would provide farmerswith a substantial profit, as well asthe highest weight gain.

CONCLUSIONSFermentation is a simple processthat requires little investment orequipment. Chicken manure isreadily available and cheap espe-cially since only small quantitiesare required. The only equipmentneeded is a set of scales for weigh-

ing the ingredients, and bags forstoring the ferment. The chickenmanure treatment would providefarmers with a substantial profit,as well as the highest weight gain

The fermentation method caneasily be adopted, or even adapt-ed, by farmers. During the meeting held soon after the trial,forty women showed great inter-

est and enthusiastically copied thesuggested method. Along with theprofitability, these women consid-ered the labour-saving and stor-age potential very significant. These results may be disseminatedand experimented with widelyamong pig farmers in north andcentral Vietnam where sweet-potato vines are an importantcomponent of the pig feed. TheDepartment of Agricultural andRural Development of the districtand organisations at communitylevel should be encouraged to disseminate the information anddemonstrate the processing andfeeding method to farmers. Insteadof encouraging the use of commer-cial protein supplement, which ismainly imported, favourable conditions should be created forfarmers to experiment and uselocally available materials toincrease the necessary protein forpig feed.

REFERENCES- Anh, M.T.P., 2000. Current status and prospective planning upon agricultural develop-ment in Hanoi. Paper presented at the "CGIAR Strategic Initiative on Urban and Peri-urbanAction Plan" development workshop for South East Asia pilot site, Hanoi, Vietnam. 6–9June 2000. Hanoi, Vietnam. CIP-Lima, Peru.Gerpacio, A.L., Aglibut, F.B., Javier, T.R., Gloria, L.A. and Castillo L.S., 1967. Digestibility andnitrogen balance studies on rice straw and camote vine leaf silage of sheep. PhilippineAgriculturist. Vol. 51 (3): 185–195.- Pezo, D., Li-Pun, H.H. and Devendra C., 2000. Crop-animal system in Southeast Asia: ILRIresearch agenda. Paper presented at the "CGIAR Strategic Initiative on Urban and Peri-urban Action Plan" development workshop for South East Asia pilot site, Hanoi, Vietnam.6–9 June 2000. Hanoi, Vietnam. CIP-Lima, Peru.Tinh, N.T., 2000. Pig-raising in peri-urban Hanoi. Paper presented at the "CGIAR StrategicInitiative on Urban and Peri-urban Action Plan" development workshop for South EastAsia pilot site, Hanoi, Vietnam. 6–9 June 2000. Hanoi, Vietnam. CIP-Lima, Peru.- Woolfe, J.A., 1992. Sweet Potato: An Untapped Food Resource. New York, NY: CambridgeUniversity Press.

The fermentation methodcan easily be

adopted and adapted by farmers

have offered opportunities to direct stu-dents towards local foodstuffs and alsotowards theoretical and practical nutri-tional and anatomical differences in theanimals kept in urban areas. Findingsshowed up to nine animal species perhousehold for self provisioning, sale andspecial events, which form excellentniches for a variety of forms of training.

Table 1 shows species and purposes forkeeping them. The dog, for instance, orig-inally eliminated from the programmebecause it was not considered a food-pro-ducing animal, resulted as an exceptionalspecies because of: i) high family esteem;ii) its role as transmitter of disease. Urban livestock production in the back-yard and on rooftops has been character-

ised as inefficient, making little use ofmodern technology and having littleinterest in profit. Factors like space, time,protection, family economy, whether theanimals are to be consumed or sold, areconsidered before animals are purchased.Vaccination is rare, only carried out ifgovernment deems it necessary to vacci-nate all animals within a certain area andagainst a specific disease. Worming iscarried out occasionally and veterinaryservices are sought only as a last resort.Backyard animals are fed with locallygrown feeds, tortillas and other leftoversfound to be the most common. Interestlies more in energy than in nutritivevalue.

The producing family consists of up tothree generations, each member havingspecific farm chores depending on age,gender, and off-farm activities. Plots varyin size from 50 to 200 m2 with additionalland rented as needed. Where the man ofthe family is absent, the wife handlesboth family and farm activities. Livestockproduction is a family activity keepingfamily members busy and united until

children get married, and start to earn anincome and/or leave the homestead.Formal schooling among adults does notpresently exceed primary level, althoughyounger generations are now givenopportunities to advance to higher educational levels.

The modular-integrated educationalsystem has made students aware of

Mexican marginal urban livestock producer needs in Mexico City’s southernedge, while being trained in the use ofavailable feedstuffs and future problemsthe professionals will have to face. Urban livestock families benefited from acontinuous university connection and,some, if not all, their questions areresponded to.

The educational integrated system iscomplicated, but worth all efforts, needing nevertheless a balance betweenteacher and student autonomy, and creativity balanced with a degree of consensus and supervision.

Photographs have been taken by theauthor of this article and have beenexhibited in eleven photo expositions inpublic and private institutions, as well asin the communities where the studentswere being trained. To the author thephotographs represent an extension ofwhat he has observed, a pedagogical toolso-to-speak to make his students andaudiences a little more conscious of aneglected Mexican sector located in theperiphery of one the most populous cities in the world.

3939

Table 1. Findings concerning principle purposes of backyard animal species

in Milpa Alta, Tláhuac and Xochimilco, Mexico City´s Federal District (1995-2000).

Animal species Principle purposes

Beef For sale and/or special family events

Cats To maintain mice and rat population low

Chickens The principle food item on the table

Dairy Sale of milk to supplement daily income and/or family diet

Dogs Protectors of family members, livestock and the homestead

Donkeys Transport

Horses Transport, work, rent-out and sale

Pigs Fattened for special family events, reproductive stock, sale

Rabbits Food for the family, reproductive stock and/or sale

Sheep Fatten for special family events and/or sale

Turkeys Raised for special holidays and for sale

REFERENCES- Bojalil, L.F., 1992. Vinculación,investigación y docencia, Reencuentro , N.4.Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 1995.Geografía e Informática, AnuarioEsatadístico del Distrito Federal.Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana,1976. Unidad Xochimilco, Documento Xochimilco.

Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana,1991. Unidad Xochimilco, Bases conceptu-ales de la Universidad Autónoma

Metropolitana, Unidad Xochimilco, Consejo Académico.

Ysunza, M., 1997. El grupo de trabajoacadémico en la educación modular, In: La UAM-X y el sistema modular, pp.21-37.

Phot

os b

y E

.Ari

as

The integrated educationalsystem has made

students aware

Books

FARMING INSIDE CITIES: ENTREPRENEURIAL URBANAGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATESKaufman, J. and M. Bailkey. 2000 Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The report investigates the nature and characteristics of ‘for-market-city-far-ming’, obstacles to such activities, and ways of overcoming these obstacles. Italso offers proponents of urban agriculture suggestions for advancing thecause of city farming in environments where many are either uninformed ofthe multiple benefits of entrepreneurial urban agriculture disinterested, orsceptical about its durability and longer lasting significance. It describes 70entrepreneurial urban agriculture projects in cities in the USA, of which 25are described in detail. Cases in Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia are presen-ted in which the obstacles to entrepreneurial urban agriculture, or ‘for-mar-ket-city-farming’, and ways to overcome this are discussed. The study foundboth supporters and critics of entrepreneurial urban agriculture. Obstacles tosuch activities were identified from the interviews conducted. These are dis-cussed under four broad categories - site-related, government-related, proce-dure-related and perception-related. Among the more prominent obstaclesmentioned were site contamination, site vandalism, government and non-profit community development group scepticism, inadequate financing, andstaffing problems. Ways of overcoming these obstacles are discussed, basedon the possibility that governments at all levels, local and national philanthro-pic foundations, and community development corporations can offer strongersupport for entrepreneurial urban agriculture. Actions are presented that spe-cific groups could initiate to be more proactive towards the nascent move-ment of for-market urban agriculture (abstract by authors).

ANALYSING FOOD SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS OF CITIESIN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. METHODOLOGICAL ANDOPERATIONAL GUIDE Aragrande, M. and Agenti, O: Food into Cities Collection (DT/36-99E), FAO, Rome. It is also available in French and will soon also be available in Spanish. This document can be freely downloaded from the website:http://www.fao.org/ag/ags/agsm/sada/pages/dt/dt3699e.htm

It is estimated that by 2025, between 60 and 85 per cent of the population ofdeveloping countries will be concentrated in cities. Urbanisation brings chan-ges in consumption patterns and urban consumers’ location. The problem isthat the food supply and distribution systems in cities are often poorly organi-zed and inefficient. The situation with regard to food availability and accessi-bility in cities is growing alarmingly, mainly as a result of increasing povertylevels. The challenge is to improve the efficiency and dynamism of food sup-ply and distribution systems, bearing in mind that the rapidity with which theproblems arise and grow calls for quick, effective and concerted action. Thisguide is aimed at researchers, technicians and administrators concerned withthe food security of urban populations. It proposes an interdisciplinary appro-

40

VEGETABLE PRODUCTION ON OPENSPACES IN DAR ES SALAAM: SPATIALCHANGES FROM 1992 TO 1999Dongus, Stefan. 2000. Urban Vegetable Promotion Project : Ministry ofAgriculture and Cooperatives (MoA&C) and DeutscheGesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ).32, 12 p.This paper can be found athttp://www.cityfarmer.org/daressalaam.html

Until recently only estimates have been availableabout the extent of agricultural open spaces in theurban areas of Dar Es Salaam. The author descri-bes the results of a research project, in which aninteresting method was developed using existingmaps, other information and GeographicalInformation Systems (GIS), to assist planners andto provide decision-makers with more accuratedata. Aerial photographs dating from 1992 wereanalysed to identify productive open spaces. Theresults of this exercise were used as a base for fieldvisits to compare the size and current use. Theresults then were processed using GeographicalInformation Systems (GIS), to finally present a fullinventory of agricultural open spaces includinglocation and size for planning purposes (RvV).

FOOD PRODUCTION IN URBAN AREASKwaku Obosu-Mensah. 1999 University of Toronto, Canada. 246 pages. Ordered atAshgate, www.ashgate.com or [email protected].

This book explores the emergence of contempora-ry urban agriculture as well as official attitudestowards it. Using three theoretical models, theauthor explains which group in Accra, Ghana ismore likely to become involved in urban agricultu-re. In line with this, he explains why, contrary toexpectations, in Ghana there are more males thanfemales involved in urban agriculture. The authoralso addresses issues such as the influence ofsocial inequality and the effects of social networkson urban agriculture. Furthermore, he identifiesthe problems urban cultivators encounter as cityfarmers and how they cope with such problems.Finally the author predicts the future trend.

NEW PUBLICATIONSon Urban Agriculture

You will find here a selection of recent publications on urban agriculture.A bibliography on urban agriculture, partly annotated, can be found at

www.ruaf.org. Please send information on new publications to us. The next issue will focus on Urban Health. Suggestions and descriptions of related books and articles, are welcome and can be sent to the editor.

Bo

oks

41

ach to the analysis of complex food supply and distribution systems, the iden-tification of their present and expected constraints as well as sustainable solu-tions, and shows how this approach can be used in practical terms. The guidealso deals with the preparation of a case study and ends with a framework forformulating urban FSD policies, strategies and action plans. (FAO).

URBAN LIVELIHOODS AND FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY IN GREATER ACCRA, GHANAMaxwell, Daniel et al. 2000. IFPRI Research Report no. 112. 172 p.International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 2033 K Street, N.W.,Washington, DC 20006-1002, USA

This report is the outcome of the Accra Urban Food and Nutrition Study, acollaborative effort of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research in Accra, and the WorldHealth Organization. It examines the nature of urban poverty and how it rela-tes to food insecurity and malnutrition in Accra, Ghana, especially amongchildren. By exploring the major determinants of food security and nutritionalstatus, it develops indicators that are appropriate in an urban context, identi-fies vulnerable groups within the city, and suggests policies and programmesto improve the lives of the urban poor. With regard to the importance ofurban agriculture in food security strategies of the poor in Accra, the authorsfound it to be less important than in some other African cities, but it is of criti-cal importance in the peri-urban areas around the city. Agriculture as a sourceof livelihood is increasingly vulnerable as the city physically expands,destroying farmland. Street vendors in Accra play an important role in fooddistribution: their role should be acknowledged by city authorities. This majorstudy has important consequences for policy making: governments have toaccept the fact that urban poverty is real and must be addressed, especiallywhere vulnerable groups, such as female-headed households, are concerned.(WB - adapted from the original summary).

URBAN FORESTRY IN EUROPE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OFCONCEPTS, POLICIES AND PLANNING FOR FORESTCONSERVATION, MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN ANDAROUND MAJOR EUROPEAN CITIESKonijnendijk, Cecil C. 1999. University of Joensuu Research Notes no. 90. 182 p.Faculty of Forestry, University of Joensuu, Finland

Analyses the role of urban forestry in and around 16 cities in 9 Europeancountries, focusing on the conservation, management and development offorests as a central element of urban green structures. There is an interestingsection on the emergence of urban forestry in and around cities, revealing theclose relationship that always existed between city inhabitants and localforests. The author presents a typology of urban forests setting these apartfrom forestry at large, by highlighting ownership, location and level of recre-ational facilities, the latter overriding their importance for wood production.The study specifically examines the existing variety in concepts, policies, pro-grammes, plans, processes, networks of actors, conflicts and problems relatedto urban forests. The rapidly changing and often conflicting demands onurban forestry in Europe place considerable pressure on urban forest plan-ners and managers. To meet these challenges, the author argues, an innovati-ve mix of policy and management approaches is required, including an emp-hasis on extension and social participation. (WB - adapted from original sum-mary)

BRIEFING GUIDE FOR MAYORS, CITYEXECUTIVES AND URBAN PLANNERS –FOOD FOR THE CITIES. FOOD SUPPLY ANDDISTRIBUTION POLICIES TO REDUCEURBAN FOOD INSECURITYFAO (2000): Food into Cities Collection (DT/43-00E),FAO, RomeAlso available in French, Spanish and Arabic and canbe freely downloaded from the website:http://www.fao.org/ag/ags/AGSM/SADA/pages/dt/dt4300e.htm

This guide is intended to brief mayors, city execu-tives and urban planners, including specialists infood production, market development, publichealth, environment, forestry and agroforestry onthe compelling need for food supply and distribu-tion policies and programmes. These would lowerthe cost of access to food for low-income house-holds in their cities and stimulate private invest-ment. It reviews the role of city and local authori-ties in food supply and distribution at regional,metropolitan, urban and local level and outlinesthe key steps for the formulation, implementationand monitoring of required interventions. Thisguide stresses the need for a proper understandingof local conditions, an interdisciplinary, intersec-toral and participatory approach to finding sustai-nable solutions, forecasting urban food securityand collaboration between institutions and orga-nizations. The direct involvement of the privatesector is essential for sustainable planning deci-sions. (FAO).

ACHIEVING FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY IN THE DEVELOPING WORLDGarrett, James L.; Ruel, Marie T. (eds). 2000. 2020Vision, Focus 3International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),2033 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006-1002,USA. Collection of 10 loose sheets.If you would like to receive a hardcopy of the collectionof briefs, contact Jenna Kryszczun [email protected].

A collection of ten 2-page policy briefs on a num-ber of hot topics in connection with urban foodsecurity, presented in a convenient format. A fewfigures to map the importance and timeliness ofthis topic: by 2020, the number of people living indeveloping countries will grow from 4.9 billion to6.8 billion. Ninety percent of this increase will bein rapidly expanding cities and towns. More thanhalf of the population of Africa and Asia will live inurban areas by 2020. More than three-quarters ofLatin Americans already do. This rural-urbanmigration will go hand-in-hand with a growth inurban poverty and urban food insecurity, as isalready apparent from the increase in the urbanproportion of malnourished children. (WB)

BooksURBAN FARMERS IN NAKURU, KENYAFoeken, D. W.J. and S.O. Owuor. 2000. ASC WorkingPaper 45/2000. Afrika Studie Centrum, Leiden TheNetherlands and Centre for Urban Research,Univeristy of Nairobi, Kenya.

This report, on which an article in this Magazine isbased, contains the result of a general survey, car-ried out in 1999, on farming practices performed bythe inhabitants of Nakuru Town. The survey is thefirst part of a larger research project on farming byurban dwellers in Nakuru. Major objectives were tocollect basic data on farming and provide theMunicipality of Nakuru with adquate information.(Abstract from the publication.)

LIVESTOCK AND THE ENVIRONMENT : FINDING A BALANCEHaan, Cees (de); Steinfeld, Henning; Blackburn,Harvey 1997. 115 p. Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations (FAO); United States Agency forInternational Development; World Bank

This report, and the accompanying booklet, list findings of a multi-donor study co-ordinated by theFAO on livestock-environment interactions conducted between 1994 and 1996. Within the framework of the study, a number of activities werelaunched dealing with information gathering andexchange focusing on environmental hotspots, andwith the provision of decision-making support.(WB)

UNRULY URBANISATION ON DELHI’SFRINGE : CHANGING PATTERNS OF LANDUSE AND LIVELIHOODBentinck, Johan. 2000 190 p. Netherlands Geogra-phical Studies. ISBN 90-367-1260-2. ISSN 0169-4839.

This thesis discusses changes in land use, theactors related to the land use, the changingemployment and income situation for the villageresidents and the quality of the living environ-ment. The influence of the incorporation of villages in the city is demonstrated through a case study. The strong dynamics of the land use patternare characteristic of the rural urban fringes ofmetropoles such as Delhi. (NB)

FARMING IN THE CITY OF NAIROBIDick Foeken & Alice M. Mwangi. 1998. Leiden: African Studies Centre, ASC Working Paper 30. Also available on the website of the African StudiesCentre (http://asc.leidenuniv.nl)

An overview of urban agriculture in Nairobi,based on all the studies that have been carried outto date (45 pp).

PEOPLE AT THE CENTRE OF URBAN LIVESTOCK PROJECTSMeares Cohen, Alison.1999. In: For hunger-proof cities : sustainable urban food systems / Mustafa Koc, Rod MacRae, Luc JA Mougeot and Jennifer Welsh (eds), p. 90-94. ISBN 0-88936-882-1 : CAD 35.00. International Development ResearchCenter (IDRC), PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 3H9

Promoting urban agriculture is an important means of ensuring sustainabilityof regional community food security and human settlements. Too often thefocus is exclusively on technology and agricultural production methods. In itsurban animal-agriculture initiative in Chicago, Heifer Project Internationalpromotes a method of participatory development that enables low-incomeneighbourhood groups to reach beyond the goals of beautification and envi-ronmental improvement and become a vehicle for social and economic deve-lopment in their communities. The elements of this model include the inter-dependence of the landscape and lifescape, full participation of intendedbeneficiaries, values-based planning, and “passing on the gift”. When appro-ached as a vehicle for community development, urban agriculture can bringmultiple benefits: economic benefits, by providing opportunities to earn inco-me; educational benefits, by teaching technical and job skills; environmentalbenefits, and, finally, empowerment. (Abstract adapted from original)

PERI-URBAN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICASmith, O.B., and E.A. Olaloku, 1999. IDRC, Dakar, Senegal, ILRI, Addis Ababa,Ethiopia. http://www.idrc.ca/cfp/rep24_e.html

This paper presents statistics that demonstrate the importance of the current-ly expanding urban and peri-urban livestock production sector. It suggeststhat the observed growth is a response to market demands arising from rapidurbanization. A variety of urban and peri-urban livestock production systemsare described, and technical, institutional and policy related constraintsresponsible for the less than optimum performance of the systems as well asopportunities for alleviating the constraints are reviewed. The authors conclu-de that the many peri-urban livestock production systems contribute substan-tially to meeting the specialised food requirements of city dwellers, and havethe potential to contribute to meeting national food security goals. (IDRC)

LIVING WITH LIVESTOCK IN TOWN: URBAN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND HUMAN WELFAREWaters-Bayer, Ann 1995. 9 p. ETC International, PO Box 64, 3830 AB Leusden, the Netherlands

Small-scale raising of animals by families inside cities is often ignored or evenforbidden. However, urban livestock keeping is more widespread than mostcity authorities would like to admit. It consists mainly of low-input produc-tion of poultry, small ruminants, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs or milk buffalo orcattle, usually indigenous breeds. With deteriorating economic conditions andrapid urbanization, small-scale urban farming, including animal husbandry, isbeing practised by a growing number of families in all income groups in thetropics. An indication of growth trends, a classification of the various types of

42

SELECTEDPUBLICATIONS

on Urban Livestock

Bo

oks

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN PERI-URBANURBAN AND DENSELY SETTLED RURAL AREAS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA : A BIBLIOGRAPHYScott, James; Okali, Christine 1993. Natural ResourcesInstitute (NRI), Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime,Kent ME4 4TB, UK

Contains 45 annotated references ranging fromstudies of particular livestock enterprises andcomparative studies of the involvement of different pastoral groups in markets to historicaland systems studies of urban centres and theirhinterlands. The aim was to identify researchneeds of particular types of livestock systems.(WB)

URBANISATION: VETERINARY PUBLICHEALTH CONSEQUENCES. PROGRAMME AND ABSTRACTS OF THE 7TH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM OF THETROPICAL ANIMAL HEALTH ANDPRODUCTION GROUPEdited by J.H.A. de Gooijer and R.W. Paling. Faculty ofVeterinary Medicine. Utrecht. The Netherlands.

This symposium was organised at least a few yearsbefore the present surge regarding the role of live-stock in urban food production. The papers show,however, that the concern about animal andhuman health aspects of livestock around humansettlements is not new. In that, predominantlyveterinarian, tradition the emphasis of the publi-cation is very much on technical aspects regardingepidemiology of diseases and parasites that occurbetween men and animals. The range of topicsincludes issues such as the use of various animalproducts and installation of slaughterhouses. Little information is given however, on the organi-sational and institutional aspects of these issues.Still, the booklet provides a nice introduction tothe more general issues regarding veterinary andhuman health aspects in urban agriculture. (JBS)

THE CATTLE OF CHITUNGWIZA : CONFLICTS ON THE RURAL-URBAN FRINGEMbiba, Beacon M (1994). In: ILEIA Newsletter vol. 10no. 4 (December 1994) p. 22-23. Mexico City : DDF.Department of Rural and Urban Planning, Universityof Zimbabwe, PO Box MP 167, Harare, Zimbabwe

Expanding cities are engulfing farmland withoutproviding alternative land for the displaced ruralpeople, often peasants without land titles. Herderscontinue to use the spaces not yet built on, the“city commons”, but many residents do not appreciate the presence of cattle. Beacon Mbibalooks at this potentially conflictual situation inurban Zimbabwe. (ILEIA)

livestock systems and an outline of the functions of livestock for urban dwel-lers and for cities as a whole are presented, as well as problems associatedwith urban livestock. Lastly, suggestions for action to improve animal hus-bandry and human welfare in cities to be taken by government and develop-ment agencies are provided. (NB - abstract adapted from original)

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN PERI-URBAN AREAS OF AFRICA: an analysis of Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Shinyanga, TanzaniaSumberg, James. 1996. 79 p. Overseas Development Group, School of DevelopmentStudies, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK

Describes and characterises livestock production in and around urban areas in Tanzania, focusing specifically on dairy, broiler and egg production.Contains a bibliography with nearly 450 references. The enclosed paper critically examines the large number of publications extolling virtues of urbanagriculture for urban food security and poverty reduction. The authors stressthe importance of rural-urban linkages in resource and output markets. At thesame time, they issue a warning against attaching exaggerated weight to thecontribution of urban farming to food security of the majority of urban dwellers. Very detailed, very sound and very complete. (WB)

SUBURBAN LIVESTOCK REARING BY SMALLHOLDERS IN THE BACKYARDS OF XOCHIMILCO in the south-east of Mexico City as animportant strategy for sustainable urban agricultureLosada, Hermenegildo [et al.] 1999. http://www.cityfarmer.org/livestock.html, 8 p.Department of Biology of Reproduction, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana,Iztapalapa, Mexico

Describes backyard poultry and pig keeping in the suburban area ofXochimilco, Mexico City. Motives for rearing animals are mainly subsistenceand money saving for emergency expenses. In the case of pig raising this isalso done to supplement the household budget. Animal feed is based on household waste, stale tortilla, alfalfa and other feeds. The number of pigskept ranges from 1-5 and the number of chickens from 1-50. (NB)

PERI-URBAN LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS; PROBLEMS, APPROACHES AND OPPORTUNITIESJ.B.Schiere, Ventana Agricultural Systems A&D. FAO (Rome) and InternationalAgricultural Centre (IAC). Wageningen. The Netherlands

Some ten years ago the FAO saw the need to base livestock development ondifferences between production systems. One such a system was the peri-urban livestock system and case studies were commissioned in places rangingfrom Ho-Chi-Minh City, via Karachi and Dar-Es-Salaam to Quito and MexicoCity. This report reviews information from those case studies, additional refe-rences and interviews with consultants. It suggests ways to classify the systemsand their problems, it explains the rationale behind peri-urban livestock sys-tems and it distinguishes between so-called linear and non-linear approachesto deal with the issues. Linear approaches focus on “average” solutions and dis-ciplinary concerns (public health, efficient meat production, direct quality con-trol of the produce etc.). Non-linear approaches stress variation between stake-holders and production systems, as well as the multiple goals of livestock, par-ticularly in small systems. The report stresses that many simple technologiesare available for the benefit of urban livestock keepers and that small- to medi-um-scale systems are likely to be important in urban agriculture for some timeto come. Setting of policies and priorities in urban livestock development forthe long term has to recognise differences between systems and a broaderfunction of livestock than only for food production. (Abstract by the author)

43

Food into Citieswww.fao.org/ag/sada.htm

The website of FAO’s initiative for ‘Food Supply andDistribution to Cities’ contains information about ongoing andplanned activities and opportunities for collaboration and sponsorships. It contains the Food into Cities Collection, which provides free access to technical papers, studies andworkshop reports.

Cityfarmerhttp://cityfarmer.org/germanCfarms.html and http://www.bdja.org/oli describes German children’s city farms and playgrounds in Europe and how they contribute tosustainable urban development.http://cityfarmer.org/ibsram.html#ibsram

This page contains a description of the IBSRAM projectMunicipal Organic Waste Recycling for Urban and Peri-urbanAgriculture in Africa and Asia. It introduces the issue of recycling of organic waste to reduce the environmental pollutionpotential, increase the lifetime of landfills, and close the rural-urban nutrient cycle. The IBSRAM projects in Africa and Asiawill address the knowledge gap on the amounts, quality, andavailability of the different organic wastes to recommend loca-tion-specific (composting) technologies that match the require-ment and ability to pay of different urban and peri-urban farm-ing systems. They are part of IBSRAM’s network project‘Management of regional nutrient balances through peri-urbanagriculture (see also www.ibsram.org )

Seminar municipal waste http://www.maxpages.com/execlub

The Economics Club and The Institute for Andean Studiesdescribe here the Andea 2000 International Seminar held in thecity of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in September 2000. The Seminarfocused on the most important aspects of municipal waste disposal, environmental services, eco-technology and entrepreneurship.

Pacific Edge, Permaculture & Mediawww.magna.com.au/~pacedge

This is the address of the Pacific Edge, Permaculture & Mediawebsite. It contains lots of information on courses (organic agriculture, permaculture), events and networks. Pacific Edge isa small partnership organisation and provides permacultureeducation, design consultancy and media services in Australia,and has initiated work on urban agriculture.

PRONATURhttp://138.100.116.150/index.htm

This site (in Spanish) gives information on the Spanish organisa-tion PRONATUR, for the Promotion of Urban and Rural NaturalImprovement (Sociedad Española para la Promoción de laNaturación Urbana y Rural), including the declaration of theInternational Seminar on Urban Architecture and NaturalImprovement.

Urban Waste Expertise Programmehttp://www.waste.nl/publ.htm UWEP is the Urban WasteExpertise Programme, a six-year research and pilot project programme (1995-2001) on urban waste in the South. The mostrecent publication published under the UWEP Programme covers linkages between stakeholders. It is based on researchinto the role of the various actors in waste management. Most UWEP publications are accessible electronically, throughthe WASTE website.UWEP also publishes an e-mail bulletin. You can access, send your comments, enquiries, orders for backissues and suggestions for other organisations to e-mail: [email protected]

Community Food Security Coalitionhttp://www.foodsecurity.org/

The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) is a non-profit,membership-based national coalition of over 600 organizationsand individuals focusing on food and agriculture issues. Themission of CFSC is to bring about lasting social change by pro-moting community-based solutions to hunger, poor nutrition,and the globalisation of the food system.

Peri-Urban Interface Projecthttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu/pui/

Information here on the Peri-Urban Interface Project of theDevelopment Planning Unit of the University College London.This research project, funded by Dfid, aims to identify key com-ponents and principles of a strategic approach to planning andmanaging environmental dimensions of the rural-urban inter-face, to benefit the poor. Dissemination will be particularlydirected at overcoming the difficulties of applying new knowl-edge experienced by institutions positioned to plan and managerural-urban links.

IFPRI Policy Briefshttp://www.ifpri.org/2020/focus/focus03.htm

For the complete Policy Briefs on Urban & Periuban agriculture,food security and nutrition: Achieving Urban Food andNutrition Security in the Developing World, a collection of 10briefs edited by James L. Garrett and Marie T. Ruel. August 2000(see elsewhere in this issue).

Tree City Initiative http://www.treecity.de/

To address the increasing needs for development and improvedmanagement of urban forests in developing countries, the fol-lowing three organizations formed the Tree City Initiative in1995: GWB (Society for Forest Conservation and Management),Hesseneck/Germany; Institut fur Baumpflege (German Institutefor Arboriculture), Hamburg/Germany; and the InternationalInstitute for the Urban Environment, Delft, the Netherlands

Many websites can be found on the subject ofurban agriculture. Here you will find only a view ofthem with a short description. For comments and

suggestions, please write to us.

Web

site

s

44

45

INTERNATIONALCONFERENCE ONNATURE CONSERVATIONIN BIG CITIESPrague, Czech Republic, 27

August to 1 September 2000

For more information contact theConference Organisation: Tel.: + 420 2 8306 9291, Fax: + 420 2 2251 7144, e-mail: [email protected]

Organised by the Czech Unionfor Nature Conservation incooperation with theMunicipality of Prague, theMinistry of the Environmentand the IUCN this conferencewas held in framework of the“Europe: a Common Heritage”campaign organised by theCouncil of Europe. Sessions atthe conference were on: Plantand Animal World in Towns;Nature Management; CulturalLandscapes; Education andPublic ParticipationA wide spectrum of confer-ence materials was presented,including the book ‘Protectedareas of Prague’ (in Czech) anda CD ROM with descriptionsof nature trails, natural parksand other natural phenomenaof Prague (in English). Theconference proceedings willbe published on CD ROM.

SIUPA, URBAN HARVESTSWorkshops in Nairobi, Kenya,

October 31 – 4 November

More Information: GordonPrain, SIUPA Co-ordinator. Tel: +51 1 349 6017, Fax: +51 1 317 5326, Email: [email protected]

The Strategic Initiative onUrban and Peri-UrbanAgriculture (SIUPA) waslaunched in 1999 by theCGIAR group (see no. 1 of theUA Magazine). In collabora-tion with national and inter-national efforts, SIUPA isestablishing regional sites, aset of research activities col-lectively known as UrbanHarvest.A first stakeholder meetinglinked to the Action Plan

Development Workshop, washeld in Hanoi, Vietnam inJune 2000. A similar workshopis held early November inNairobi, Kenya. In addition tothe exchange of information,the establishment of a pilotsite in East or Central Africawas discussed.

MAKING CITIES LIVABLECONFERENCE San Francisco, USA,

December 13-17, 2000

Savannah, USA,

March 4-8, 2001

The International MakingCities Livable Conferenceswere founded in 1985, and areheld biannually in the UnitedStates and Europe. They areunique in enabling city offi-cials, architects, planners,developers, community lead-ers, behavioural scientists, art-ists and others responsible forthe liveability of their cities toexchange experiences, ideasand expertise. Discussions atthe IMCL Conferences, there-fore, range from architectureappropriate to maintaining acity’s identity, to urban designfeatures conducive to publiclife, to the description of festi-vals that energise and unitecommunities. For more information see:http://www.livablecities.-org/conferences.htm

FOOD SECURITY OFURBAN AND PERI-URBANSYSTEMS IN DEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES Vienna, Austria,

November 15 - 18, 2000

More information: ConferenceSecretariat, Gregor MendelStrasse 33, A - 1180 Vienna,AUSTRIA, Tel.: +43 1 47654 3103, Fax: +43 1 478 9110 E-mail: [email protected],or http://www.boku.ac.at/food-sec/introduc.htm

This international conferenceis a follow-up of an interna-tional conference on ‘Food

Security’ held during theGeneral Assembly of theInternational Council forScience (ICSU) in Cairo/Egyptin September 1999. Resultswill be discussed of scientificand technological research onfood security of urban andperi-urban systems in develop-ing countries. Research resultsof case studies in Cairo, Egypt,Chennai, India andKathmandu, Nepal, and fur-ther results from other scien-tists projects will be presented.Four topics will be discussed:❖ Sustainable food production; ❖ Food technology; ❖ Food markets and economy;❖ Food safety.

FIRST REGIONAL COURSEON FOOD ANDNUTRITION SECURITY INURBAN AREAS Harare, December 4-16, 2000

This course will be organisedby the Institute for Food,Nutrition and Family Sciences(IFNFS), University ofZimbabwe in Harare in collab-oration with the InternationalAgricultural Centre (IAC),Wageningen, The Netherlands.The course objective is to pro-vide participants with currentinsights into the nature andextent of urban food andnutrition problems, ways toassess and analyse, and exam-ples of interventions, specifi-cally focusing on the situationin Sub-Saharan Africa. A casestudy / field work in collabo-ration with Harare CityCouncil will be included in thecourse, and course facilitatorswill be regional with anemphasis on the region. Thecourse language is English.Participants are mid-careerprofessionals, preferablyworking in the urban environ-ment, in the field of foodsecurity and nutrition or arelated field. They should havean academic degree (at leastBSc), be proficient in theEnglish language, and have aminimum of 2 years of profes-

sional experience.For further information, con-tact the IAC at [email protected] the project co-ordinator inZimbabwe. StrengtheningFood and Nutrition Trainingin Southern Africa Institute ofFood, Nutrition and FamilySciences, University ofZimbabwe, PO Box MP 167,Mount Pleasant, Harare,ZimbabwePhone: +263 4 303211 ext. 1413/1993Fax: +263 4333 407/ 335 429, Email:[email protected]

INTERNATIONAL COURSEON FOOD SECURITY ANDNUTRITION IN URBANAREAS Wageningen, the Netherlands

April 1-14, 2001

This course will be organisedby the InternationalAgricultural Centre (IAC),Wageningen, in co-operationwith Wageningen AgriculturalUniversity.The course objective is to pro-vide participants with currentinsights into the nature andextent of urban food andnutrition problems, ways toassess and analyse, and exam-ples of interventions. Thecourse language is English.Participants are mid-careerprofessionals from developingcountries, preferably workingin the urban environment, inthe field of food security andnutrition or a related field. For more information (also forapplication):Email: [email protected] or Internet:http://[email protected].

SUB-REGIONAL EXPERTCONSULTATION ‘URBANAND PERI-URBANHORTICULTURE INSOUTHERN AFRICANCOUNTRIES’Stellenbosch, South Africa,

January 16-17, 2001

In January 2001, the Universityof Stellenbosch, Cape Town,South Africa under the auspic-

News & Networking

es of the Food andAgricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nationswill be hosting a SouthernAfrican Sub-Regional ExpertConsultation Meeting onUrban and Peri-urbanHorticulture. This consulta-tion will bring togetherSouthern African scientistsand researchers to review andanalyse opportunities andconstraints related to urbanand peri-urban horticulture.The participants at the expertconsultation meeting willinclude representatives fromSouth Africa, Namibia,Zimbabwe, Botswana,Swaziland, Tanzania,Mozambique and Malawi.They are expected to prepareand deliver country back-ground papers detailing thestatus of urban agriculture intheir respective countries. Allparticipants are expected tosubmit a CV and a shortrésumé of their presentationsto the address below as soonas possible. For further information pleasecontact Ms Lizl Hobson:Email: [email protected],Phone: +27 21 808 4753,Fax:+27 21 808 5670

REGIONAL SEMINAR‘FEEDING ASIAN CITIES’ Bangkok, 27 to 30 November

2000

This Seminar is organised byFAO, the Association of FoodMarketing Agencies (AFMA),and CITYNET, in collabora-tion with the InternationalUnion of Local Authorities (IULA). The organisation ofthis Seminar is part of theinformation and sensitisationeffort carried out by FAO andother partners, on the conse-quences of the rapid growth ofAsian cities and the associatedincrease in the number ofurban households living inpoverty. The objectives of thisseminar are:❖ Identify major food securitychallenges in feeding Asian cit-

ies and the role that City andLocal Authorities can play;❖ Prepare a plan of action forthe next ten years;❖ Facilitate South-South andNorth-South collaborationand technical assistance part-nerships. This seminar is especiallyaimed at mayors, city execu-tives and senior staff ofmunicipalities and localauthorities as well as for cen-tral government institutionswhich are directly or indirectlyconcerned with urban foodsecurity. Details of this event can befound on the website:http://www.fao.org/wai-cent/faoinfo/agricult/ags/-agsm/sada/asia/index.htm

REQUEST FOR PAPERS ON URBAN AGRICULTURE

The Annual Meeting of theAmerican SociologicalAssociation will organised bythe San Francisco StateUniversity and will be held inAnaheim, California, August18-22, 2001. One session is

entitled “Urban Agriculture in

Cities of the Future”, and willbe chaired by Raquel Rivera-Pinderhughes. Papers on thetheme “Urban Agriculture inCities of the Future” arerequested for review for presentation at the meetings,and can be sent before January 10th, 2001 to [email protected]

WORKSHOP ON URBANAND PERI-URBANAGRICULTURE IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA Planned for May 2001

The International Board forSoil Research andManagement (IBSRAM)would like to get in touch withpotential participants from S-E Asia who are interested inparticipating in the planned ‘-state-of-the-art-workshop’,and anticipated Consortiumon Urban and Peri-UrbanAgriculture (UPA) in S-E Asia.The focus of the work-shop/consortium will be‘Restoring the Rural-UrbanNutrient Cycle through Peri-

Urban Agriculture’. It isintended to bring togethermajor stakeholders involved inrelated Research andDevelopment. The workshopwill review and analyse coun-try reports on the status quoof UPA and organic wasterecycling and identify bottle-necks concerning research/education/awareness andinterdisciplinary collaborationin these areas from differentnational perspectives.Concerned participants arekindly requested to send (short) information on theirinstitutions and subject relat-ed activities (please no attach-ments larger than 500 Kb.) to: Pay Drechsel, ResearchCoordinator, InternationalBoard for Soil Research andManagement (IBSRAM),Africa Office c/o KN-UST,Kumasi, Ghana Tel/Fax: +233 51 60206, email: [email protected] This announcement isalso posted at: www.ibsram.-org; www.cityfarmer.org/-ibsram.html

46New

s &

Net

wo

rkin

g

ELECTRONIC CONFERENCE AND INFORMATION MARKET: URBAN AND PERI-URBAN AGRICULTURE ON THE POLICY AGENDAModerator reports will be posted at the end of November 2000. Please check http://www.ruaf.org

This conference was organised by the interdepartmental Working Group on Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture of FAO, Food for the Cities (FFC) and the Resource Centre for UrbanAgriculture and Forestry (RUAF), ETC, and focused on three themes:❖ Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture, Food Security and nutrition❖ UPA, Health and the Urban Environment ❖ UPA and Urban PlanningOn the RUAF-website you will find the Information Market where all contributions of theparticipants and other articles of interest are posted.

OPEN DISCUSSION ON TRAINING NEEDSNRI, August – September 2000

The discussion on ‘Training Needs in Urban Agriculture’ is hosted by the Natural ResourcesInstitute (NRI) as a contribution to the Electronic Conference ‘Urban and Peri-UrbanAgriculture on the Policy Agenda’ referred to in this section. The purpose of this forum is toenable participants to share information about their ongoing training activities, and contrib-ute their assessment of needs for training in issues related to urban agriculture. A discussionpaper ‘Urban Agriculture and Training Needs’, by Sabine Gündel and John Butterworth isavailable on the RUAF website as well as that of NRI: http://www.nri.org/E-Conf./ The rec-ommendations will be published soon on this site.

PARTNERS

AMENDMENT: FAO PROGRAMMEON URBAN AGRICULTUREWe received clarification on earlier news on FAO activities related to UrbanAgriculture from Mr. O. Argenti, Co-Secretary of the InterdepartmentalWorking Group ‘Food for the Cities’. The term Food for the Cities Programme,used throughout the magazine, is actuallythe title of the InterdepartmentalWorking Group. There is no programmein FAO with that title. The possible confu-sion may be due to the fact there are anumber of similar titles around at FAO.These are: Meeting Urban food Needs,Food Supply and Distribution to Cities;and Food into Cities. Meeting Urban Food Needs is a project ofthe Agriculture Support Systems Divisionof FAO. Information can be obtainedfrom the project manager: E-mail: [email protected] The FAO initia-tive for Food Supply and Distribution toCities started in 1995, and was referred toin the past as the ‘InterregionalProgramme Food Supply and Distributionto Cities’. Under this initiative FAO provides assistance to city and localauthorities in developing countries andcountries in transition to alleviate urbanfood insecurity through institutionalstrengthening to enable city and localauthorities to formulate urban policiesand programmes for the development offood supply and distribution systems aturban, metropolitan and regional levels.It now forms part of the ‘Meeting UrbanFood Needs’ Project. The Focal Point ofthis initiative can be reached at e-mail: [email protected] or you may visit: www.fao.org/AG/SADA.htm

FONSAG MAGAZINE ON URBANAGRICULTUREThe FONSAG Magazine is a quarterlypublication of the network ‘Forum onSustainable Agriculture, FONSAG’, basedin Gaborone, Botswana. FONSAG,Volume 3, Number 3 will focus on UrbanAgriculture. The editor requests articlesfor this issue, due in December 2000. You can send your comments and articlesto: Kevin George, Information Officer, Forum on Sustainable Agriculture, P/Bag Bo 136. Gaborone. Tel: +267 307 506, e-mail: [email protected].

REGIONAL NETWORK IN WESTERN AFRICAThe African Urban Management Institute(IAGU) is an international NGO based inDakar (Senegal) specialised in training,action research and technical support toAfrican municipalities in urban planningand management. IAGU is currently coor-dinating an African regional network onurban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA)and is presently conducting a jointresearch project in seven countries (IvoryCoast, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso,Mauritania, Mali and Benin). The net-work was created with the support ofIDRC (International DevelopmentResearch Centre) during the secondsemester of 1999. Its main objective is topromote durability of urban and peri-urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa.This project is supported by IDRC andUMP and scheduled for three years: from July 2000 to June 2003.The expected results of this research/consultation project are:❖ Evaluation of UPA contributions tosustainable urban development; ❖ Identification of constraints throughthe profiles and case studies; ❖ Reinforcement of the dialogue,exchange and partnership between stake-holders; ❖ Municipal Actions Plans to raise insti-tutional constraints that face UPA. IAGU has agreed to become the RegionalFocal Point on Urban Agriculture inWestern Africa for the RUAF Programme.More information: Ndèye Fatou DiopGueye, African Urban ManagementInstitute (IAGU), Tel : +221 824 44 24, Fax : +221 825 08 26, e-mail : [email protected] (or: [email protected])

MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENTPROGRAMME FOR EASTERN ANDSOUTHERN AFRICA The Municipal Development Programmefor Eastern and Southern Africa (MDP-ESA), has operated since 1991. TheProgramme is currently in its third phase,and aims to enable and support decentra-lisation, strengthen the capacity of localgovernments to deliver services and ens-ure development at local level as a vehiclefor improving the quality of life of localcommunities. The Programme is current-ly in its 3rd phase 1998-2000. MDP hasactivities on policy research and gover-nance, training and capacity building,

information exchange and networkingand gives direct support to municipalities.It is cooperating with IDRC in urban agri-culture related research and governanceactivities, and coordinates the programmeon Strengthening Civic participation inMunicipial Governance in ESA.

MDP has agreed to become the RegionalFocal Point on Urban Agriculture inEastern and Southern Africa for theRUAF Programme. MDP will, among other activities, provide information services to informcity authorities, urban planners, farmers,consumers and NGOs, technical supportorganizations and other stakeholders onurban agriculture. More information can be obtained with.Mr. Shingirayi Mushamba, MunicipalDevelopment Programme for Eastern andSouthern Africa, Tel: +263.4.724356/774385, Fax: +263.4.774387, Email: [email protected], Website: http:\www.mdpesa.co.zw

THE URBAN AGRICULTURENETWORK, WESTERN PACIFICNETWORKThe TUAN (the Urban AgricultureNetwork) has an office in Australia for theWestern Pacific Network. The news fromthis network will be published in PracticalHydroponics & Greenhouses Magazine, asix-times-a-year magazine, starting early2001. Practical Hydroponics & Green-houses Magazine has a global circulationof about 12,500, of which half of the subscribers are in Australia, NewZealand, Pacific Islands and S-E Asia.More information on the Network andthe Magazine can be obtained from Geoff Wilson, 359 Broadwater Rd,Mansfield Queensland 4122, Australia. Tel: +61 7 3349 1422 Fax: +61 7 3343 8287

AGUILA-MEXICANAMexican National Network on UrbanAgriculture has started. As part of theLatin American Network on UrbanAgriculture AGUILA, the MexicanNational Network has been officiallylaunched under the name “Red mexicanade agricultura urbana” General Co-ordinator is Francisco Arroyo.For further information, please contact [email protected]

47

News & Networking

“With great interest I have read the first issue ofthe UA Magazine. I congratulate all involvedwith the result. It clearly depicts the importanceand at the same time the complexity of urbanagriculture. After reading the articles and also the plannedcontents of the issues to follow, I see a distinctemphasis on planning, policy formulation andinter-sectoral approaches. What I don’t see emp-hasised is the place and function of the privatesector and/or private economic activities. I amespecially interested in the question where landdevelopment companies and private banks can orshould play a role in the development of UA acti-vities. I refer to the following questions/issues: ❖ Are there also cost effectiveness or commercialreasons, aside those mentioned for pursuing UAas a complement to national food supply (seearticle UA as a response to crisis?)?

❖ How do you see the place of land developmentcompanies? Are cost-benefit analyses of differenttypes of land use applied? ❖ What determines better access of urban far-mers? I think the perception of economic profita-bility is for urban farmers essential in addition toproviding supporting services to them. Not onlythe recognition of the authorities should count(article on livestock), but also the economicpotential and gains urban livestock has and cangenerate. ❖ The article on St. Petersburg reflects very wellhow in post-communist Russia is built on the for-mer USSR-practice to have small private plots forgenerating extra family income. I feel that espe-cially commercialisation and small enterprisedevelopment could have been more highlighted.

So far my comments, I very much appreciated theset-up and content of the Magazine and I amlooking forward to the next issues.

Warm regards, Eric Kamphuis Programme Support Group, Sri LankaEmail: [email protected]

Reaction on the Urban Agriculture Magazine No. 1

The enthusiasm on the appearance and set-up of the UA-Magazine in the

letter underneath, reflects most reactions we received on the first issue.

UA Magazine Subscription Policy

Urban AgricultureMagazine

Volume 1, No 2October 2000

The UA-Magazine is published bythe Resource Centre for UrbanAgriculture (RUAF), a Programmeexecuted by ETC Netherlands andfinanced by DGIS, The Netherlandsand IDRC, Canada.

The UA-Magazine is published 3 times a year, and is also available on: www.ruaf.org. In the future, the UA Magazine willbe published in French andSpanish, and distributed, possiblyin separate editions, throughregional networks.

Editorial Board- Marielle Dubbeling, UrbanManagement Programme-LatinAmerica and the Caribbean,Ecuador - Ndèye Fatou Gueye, IAGU,Senegal - Mrs. Dagmar Kunze, FAORegional Office for Africa, Ghana- Mr Luc Mougeot, IDRC, Canada - Mr Shingirayi Mushamba,Municipal DevelopmentProgramme - East and SouthernAfrica Zimbabwe - Mr Gordon Prain, CIP- SIUPA,Peru- Mr Frits Penning de Vries, IBS-RAM, Bangkok - Mr Jac Smit,TUAN, Washington- Mr Henk de Zeeuw, ETC-RUAF,The Netherlands

Editors No. 2This issue has been compiled byRené van Veenhuizen (responsibleeditor), with Hans Schiere,Ventana, Agricultural Systems,A&D, The Netherlands and AzageTegegne, of ILRI, Ethiopia (guesteditors). Further inputs have beenreceived by Willem van Weperen,Sheila Oparachoa, Katrien van ’tHooft and Ann Waters Bayer ofETC-Urban Livestock.

AdministrationBernie Coenders

SubscriptionsThe [email protected]

Design and LayoutJan Hiensch, Leusden

Language EditorSara van Otterloo, Wageningen

PrintingKoninklijke BDU, Barneveld

AddressUrban Agriculture MagazineP.O. Box 64, 3830 AB Leusden, The NetherlandsVisitors address:

Kastanjelaan 5, Leusden.

Tel: +31.33.4943086Fax: +31.33.4940791Email: [email protected]: www.ruaf.org

So far the UA-Magazine has been sent to youfor free, and we will continue to do this

until we have developed a subscription policywith the RUAF partners.

To cover expenses made for produc-tion and charges of the hardcopy,but also to support the developmentof regional versions of the UA-Magazine, we have proposed tointroduce paid subscriptions. Most of you indicated to support uswith this policy, in the questionnaireyou sent to us, and to be able andwilling to pay a yearly subscriptionon the hardcopy version of the

UA-Magazine ofEuro 15,– or US$ 15,– .

Of course, theInternet version (at www.ruaf.org)will continue to beavailable free ofcharge .

We are currentlyinvestigatingarrangements forlocal currencyand/or regionalpayments, to facilitate paymentswithout heavy bank charges.During the RUAF partner meeting in November 15-17,regional ideas and options for anoptimal system will be discussed.We will inform you on this in the next issue. As long as thisissue is not clear for the differentregions, you will receive the UA-Magazine for free. Meanwhile,you can continue to send us feed-back and new contacts.

RegardsThe Editor.

MAGAZINE - RUAF Urban Agriculture and Food Systems · 2020. 1. 20. · ume of organic wastes. Mexico city has neighbourhoods that actively recycle their waste through urban dairies

Documents