University of Florida Homepage

Changes in Official Attitudes Towards Urban Agriculture in Accra

by Kwaku Obosu-Mensah Introduction Urbanization is increasing in African countries. In 2000 the United Nations reported that 38% of Africans lived in urban areas. This figure is expected increase to 55% by 2030. [1] Urbanization presents both opportunities and challenges, but indications for Africa are that the challenges outweigh the opportunities.  Unlike many other parts of the […]

Gender-Sensitive LP Models in Soil Fertility Research for Smallholder Farmers: Reaching De Jure Female Headed Households in Zimbabwe

by Maxwell Mudhara, Peter. E. Hildebrand, and Christina. H. Gladwin Introduction Zimbabwe faces a challenge in meeting food requirements of its 12 million people. The population is growing at three percent per annum compared to 1-1.5 percent per annum growth in agricultural production. Therefore, per capita food production is declining. To meet its food requirements, the […]

Gender and Soil Fertility Management in Mbale District, Southeastern Uganda

by Abe Goldman and Kathleen Heldenbrand Introduction This paper explores gender-related aspects of agriculture and agricultural change in a densely populated, high potential area in eastern Uganda, particularly in relation to declining productivity in the region.  Much recent literature has investigated the impacts of specific agricultural policies and projects on women farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.  […]

Globalizing Land and Food in Zimbabwe: Implications for Southern Africa

by Carol Thompson Abstract For political and economic crises as severe as Zimbabwe, domestic causes are central, but the conflict in Zimbabwe is not simply internal; it is regional and international and in that sense, it is a post (political) apartheid struggle. Taking an international perspective, this article delineates the context and the constraints on […]

At Issue: More Ominous than Climate Change? Global Policy Threats to Africa Food Production

by Andrew Mushita and Carol Thompson Abstract In international fora, climate change discussions center on how farmers can “mitigate” and “adapt” to weather variability to increase food production. Instead, African smallholder food producers are employing ways to “resist” and “sustain,” for international policies in the name of climate change threaten their farming systems, biodiverse genetic wealth, […]