International Journal of Sustainable Development Research

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Sustainable Urban Agriculture Land Use Practice for Thika Town

Received: 06 March 2019    Accepted: 16 April 2019    Published: 15 May 2019
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Abstract

This paper looks at the residents of Ngoingwa Estate on their attitudes towards sustainable urban agriculture land use practice within their urban set up. The pursuit of food security, alternative food systems, employment, fresh food, the unpredictable food prices, enhanced communal ties among others are the basic benefits of urban agriculture. A mixed method (purposive and non-probability) approach was adopted and both qualitative and quantitative data was collected from primary and secondary data sources by the use of questionnaires, photography, and sketches. A total of 196 questionnaires were administered analyzed by the use of SPSS and Microsoft Excel programs. The results are presented in percentages and deductions done against them. It was found out that 60% of the residents are willing, and 39.3% are actually practicing some forms of urban agriculture. It was found out that the current urban development plan for Thika and the Kiambu County Spatial Plan have not handled matters of urban agriculture, there have not been change of users to agriculture (2016-2017), land subdivision continue to eat into into former agricultural parcels, there was no data on sustainable urban agriculture land use practices within Ngoingwa, Thika Water and Sewerage Company prohibits residents from utilizing their water mains for agricultural purposes as well as the county/neighbourhood regulations and policies that prohibit urban agriculture. The study recommends that an integrated land use framework that involves building designs, appropriate building materials, exploration of vertical and rooftop farms, revision of existing plans to include urban agriculture and hiring of extension officers to guide farmers on urban agriculture.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20190501.14
Published in International Journal of Sustainable Development Research (Volume 5, Issue 1, March 2019)
Page(s) 24-29
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Food Security, Land Use, Sustainable Practices, Urban, Urban Agriculture

References
[1] Ackerman, K., Conard, M., Culligan, P., Plunz, R., Sutto, M. P., & Whittinghill, L. (2014). Sustainable food systems for future cities: The potential of urban agriculture. The economic and social review, 45 (2, Summer), 189-206.
[2] Altieri, M. A., Companioni, N., Cañizares, K., Murphy, C., Rosset, P., Bourque, M., & Nicholls, C. I. (1999). The greening of the “barrios”: Urban agriculture for food security in Cuba. Agriculture and Human Values, 16 (2), 131-140.
[3] Bereson, M. L., Levine, D. N., & Szabat, K. (2013). Estimation and Sample Size Determination for Finite Populations. Basic Business Statistics: Global Edition. London. UK.
[4] Eriksen, N. H., & Danso, G. (2011). ‘Agronomic considerations for urban agriculture in southern cities’. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. [Online] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3763/ijas.2009.0452
[5] Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Evanston, IL: Row and Peterson.
[6] Fredrich, L 2013. Grazing the roof: Rooftop farmer’s market comes to walker’s point. OnMilwaukee, [online] http://www.onmilwaukee.com/dining/articles/rooftopmarket.html
[7] Glavan, M., Istenič, M. Č., Cvejić, R., & Pintar, M. (2016). Urban Gardening: From Cost Avoidance to Profit Making—Example from Ljubljana, Slovenia. In Urban Agriculture. In Tech.
[8] Kamau C. N. (2013) Kenya’s Agricultural Reforms Sector. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Global Agricultural Network. Nairobi. Kenya.
[9] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2009). Kenya Population Census. Government Printers. Nairobi. Kenya.
[10] Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research. (2010). Realising the Big 4 Agenda. Kippra. Nairobi.
[11] Mougeot, L. J. A. (2000). Urban Agriculture: Definition, Presence, Potentials and Risks, and Policy Challenges. Published thesis. International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Ottawa, Canada.
[12] Mwangi, K. W. (2015) Factors Influencing Urban Agriculture Practices in Kenya. A case of Nairobi County. UoN. Nairobi. Kenya.
[13] Samer, M. (2010). Urban Agriculture. Giza. Egypt.
[14] Stanton, K. M., Weeks, S. S., Dana, M. N., & Mickelbart, M. V. (2010). Light exposure and shade effects on growth, flowering, and leaf morphology of Spiraea alba Du Roi and Spiraea tomentosa L. HortScience, 45 (12), 1912-1916.
[15] Taylor R. J & Lovel T. S (2013). Urban home food gardens in the Global North: research traditions and future directions. Springer Science & Business Media Dordrecht.
[16] Thika Physical Planning Department (2018). Development Control Section. Technical Meetings Agenda Items for February to July 2018. Kiambu. Kenya
[17] Urban Design Lab (2012). The Potential for Urban Agriculture in New York City. Growing Capacity, Food Security, & Green Infrastructure. [online] http://urbandesignlab.columbia.edu/files/2015/04/4_urban_agriculture_nyc.pdf
[18] UNDP, (2001). Urban Agriculture: A Neglected Resource for Food, Jobs and Sustainable Cities. UNDP, New York.
[19] World Bank (2016) Kenya Urbanisation Review. Republic of Kenya.
Author Information
  • Centre for Urban Studies, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Centre for Urban Studies, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Centre for Urban Studies, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

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  • APA Style

    Onguso Malitinus Maina, Munala Gerryshom, Mugwima Bernard Njuguna. (2019). Sustainable Urban Agriculture Land Use Practice for Thika Town. International Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 5(1), 24-29. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20190501.14

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    ACS Style

    Onguso Malitinus Maina; Munala Gerryshom; Mugwima Bernard Njuguna. Sustainable Urban Agriculture Land Use Practice for Thika Town. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. Res. 2019, 5(1), 24-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20190501.14

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    AMA Style

    Onguso Malitinus Maina, Munala Gerryshom, Mugwima Bernard Njuguna. Sustainable Urban Agriculture Land Use Practice for Thika Town. Int J Sustain Dev Res. 2019;5(1):24-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20190501.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsdr.20190501.14,
      author = {Onguso Malitinus Maina and Munala Gerryshom and Mugwima Bernard Njuguna},
      title = {Sustainable Urban Agriculture Land Use Practice for Thika Town},
      journal = {International Journal of Sustainable Development Research},
      volume = {5},
      number = {1},
      pages = {24-29},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsdr.20190501.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20190501.14},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsdr.20190501.14},
      abstract = {This paper looks at the residents of Ngoingwa Estate on their attitudes towards sustainable urban agriculture land use practice within their urban set up. The pursuit of food security, alternative food systems, employment, fresh food, the unpredictable food prices, enhanced communal ties among others are the basic benefits of urban agriculture. A mixed method (purposive and non-probability) approach was adopted and both qualitative and quantitative data was collected from primary and secondary data sources by the use of questionnaires, photography, and sketches. A total of 196 questionnaires were administered analyzed by the use of SPSS and Microsoft Excel programs. The results are presented in percentages and deductions done against them. It was found out that 60% of the residents are willing, and 39.3% are actually practicing some forms of urban agriculture. It was found out that the current urban development plan for Thika and the Kiambu County Spatial Plan have not handled matters of urban agriculture, there have not been change of users to agriculture (2016-2017), land subdivision continue to eat into into former agricultural parcels, there was no data on sustainable urban agriculture land use practices within Ngoingwa, Thika Water and Sewerage Company prohibits residents from utilizing their water mains for agricultural purposes as well as the county/neighbourhood regulations and policies that prohibit urban agriculture. The study recommends that an integrated land use framework that involves building designs, appropriate building materials, exploration of vertical and rooftop farms, revision of existing plans to include urban agriculture and hiring of extension officers to guide farmers on urban agriculture.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Sustainable Urban Agriculture Land Use Practice for Thika Town
    AU  - Onguso Malitinus Maina
    AU  - Munala Gerryshom
    AU  - Mugwima Bernard Njuguna
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    T2  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    JF  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    JO  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    SP  - 24
    EP  - 29
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1832
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20190501.14
    AB  - This paper looks at the residents of Ngoingwa Estate on their attitudes towards sustainable urban agriculture land use practice within their urban set up. The pursuit of food security, alternative food systems, employment, fresh food, the unpredictable food prices, enhanced communal ties among others are the basic benefits of urban agriculture. A mixed method (purposive and non-probability) approach was adopted and both qualitative and quantitative data was collected from primary and secondary data sources by the use of questionnaires, photography, and sketches. A total of 196 questionnaires were administered analyzed by the use of SPSS and Microsoft Excel programs. The results are presented in percentages and deductions done against them. It was found out that 60% of the residents are willing, and 39.3% are actually practicing some forms of urban agriculture. It was found out that the current urban development plan for Thika and the Kiambu County Spatial Plan have not handled matters of urban agriculture, there have not been change of users to agriculture (2016-2017), land subdivision continue to eat into into former agricultural parcels, there was no data on sustainable urban agriculture land use practices within Ngoingwa, Thika Water and Sewerage Company prohibits residents from utilizing their water mains for agricultural purposes as well as the county/neighbourhood regulations and policies that prohibit urban agriculture. The study recommends that an integrated land use framework that involves building designs, appropriate building materials, exploration of vertical and rooftop farms, revision of existing plans to include urban agriculture and hiring of extension officers to guide farmers on urban agriculture.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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