Wayde van Niekerk’s world record run this week was a burst of light in South African news, but it should be overshadowed by the Western Cape government’s announcement to support urban agriculture.
This is not a greenie movement to help free-spirited individuals get in touch with their inner gardener. It is the kind of forward thinking government policy that can truly detach South Africans from their reliance on outside support and create opportunity beyond subsistence activities.
There is nothing more important in life than what we eat. Variances in food systems change employment, land usage, road congestion, pollution, imports, exchange rates, biodiversity and income inequality.
The Western Cape government announced that it would provide funding and in some cases, training and extension services, to individuals who were interested in starting home or community food gardens. Beneficiaries can apply for assistance at any local department office.
The programme’s core objective is to improve food security among the province’s vulnerable families but the benefits of such an initiative go far beyond that.
Job creation
Urban agriculture leads to higher employment. Due to the fragmented nature of small farming lots in urban settings, methods are more labour intensive and hardly make use of automated technology. Employment per tonnage produced is higher than conventional farming.
Urban agriculture makes use of human aptitude rather than machinery and develops skills that can be applied to other industries in the long run. The skills developed are greater than growing - household and community gardens often develop into small businesses and encourage entrepreneurship in trade. Basic business skills such as return on investment, stock control, production management, distribution and marketing are transferable beyond small farming lots.
Urban agriculture has quicker returns and a more flexible response to market conditions. The investment costs on a small domestic food garden are low and allow for easy entry and exit to the market. Due to the low capital requirements, urban farmers are able to respond within one season to changes in tastes and supply shortages. Community food growers typically have personal contact with their clients and are able to get first-hand information on changes in demand.
Urban agriculture increases the risk for the individual, but is more resilient for the system. Individual farmers are vulnerable to crop failure or poor business decisions and are unlikely to have sufficient insurance. However, on a systems level, the food security of a city remains strong due to the diversity of planting and decentralisation of decision-making.
Urban agriculture reduces the burden of transport logistics. Urban food producers live close to their clients and there is no need for complex and costly cold chains to keep the food fresh until delivery. On a systems level, urban agriculture results in less fuel and emissions and reduces the load on the city’s roads.
Urban agriculture leads to healthier diets and better nutrition as processed foods and carbohydrates are partly replaced with fruit and vegetables.
Initially the provincial programme will help households to bolster their income and diversify their dinner table. But thereafter the number of small farming operations will conglomerate into a larger economic system. Resellers and wholesalers will appear, possibly co-ordinating the production of small farmers and collectively marketing and selling their produce. The economy will grow from the bottom.
Urban agriculture is not a replacement for traditional farming; it is a complement. Traditional, large-scale farming is necessary - at least at the moment - to ensure a steady supply of high quality food at an affordable price. Harvests, such as wheat, are not economical in backyard lots.
But in a country where hands are idle, mouths are hungry, skills are lacking and prices are volatile, decentralised, labour-intensive food production is a brilliant support system to the economy. The Western Cape's minister in charge of agriculture, Alan Winde, and his team should be congratulated for this initiative.
* Pierre Heistein is the instructor of UCT’s applied economics for smart decision making course. Follow him on Twitter @PierreHeistein.
* The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Independent Media.
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