Street Food: Urbanization and Agriculture in Africa

Despite the plethora of literature on urban agriculture (UA), an analysis of the reasons why many urban residents in Africa rarely engage in the practice remains incipient. This review examines the irony between large arable land and persistent hunger in African cities. It was inspired by the rising food insecurity driven by the heavy reliance on market-based food, high poverty, and rapid urbanization. The study conducts a systematic review to clarify the debate on why, in the midst of these setbacks, a disproportionate percentage of urban residents do not produce their own food. Through the PRISMA method and five inclusion benchmarks, the paper identified 38 peer-reviewed book chapters and journal articles that provide the underlying rationale for why UA is not prevalent in African cities. The paper found economic, environmental, governance, and prevailing sociocultural conditions as primary barriers. To that end, it suggests avenues for empowering urban residents to transition from simply being consumers to producers. It concludes by identifying the limitations of the paper and new lines of study that ought to be conducted to fully realize the potential of UA across the continent.