ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter examines the relationship between poverty and the use of land for food production in the townships of South Africa, with special reference to the City of Tshwane. The chapter starts with a brief history of African urbanization in South Africa. This history was shaped by segregation (prior to 1950) and apartheid (1950-1990), both of which restricted the movement from the rural to urban areas of African people in search of new livelihood opportunities and also largely determined where they settled or were settled in the urban areas. The withdrawal of racially discriminatory policies during the final decade of the twentieth century brought about varying degrees of racial integration in those parts of the cities that were previously reserved for white people. Nevertheless, the layout of South African cities still largely reflects the results of past political interference in the urbanization process of black people, in general, and Africans, in particular. The second part of the chapter deals with the phenomenon of urban agriculture. Globally, the strong links that have been established between poverty and food insecurity have brought about efforts to support the small-scale farming activities of poor people, including those living in urban areas. To an extent, this is also the case in South Africa, where non-governmental organizations have been actively promoting and supporting small-scale urban agriculture as a poverty alleviation and food security enhancing strategy. The phenomenon of South African urban agriculture is explored in the context of poverty, using a selection of case studies from different metropolitan municipalities, with the main focus on the City of Tshwane. Three main forms of urban farming occur in this city, namely field crop production on vacant land, community gardening and the growing of food on residential plots. This chapter examines the connection between land, poverty and food production in relation to each of these forms of urban farming.
