Environmental and Social Sustainability of Urban And Periurban Agriculture (UPA) In Selected Towns Of Ethiopia

Abstract

Today nearly a billion of world population makes their daily bread from UPA, the sector that has received only little attention. This paper tries to assess the sustainability of urban agriculture from social and environmental point of view. The paper used a combination of primary and secondary data.  The primary data is collected through questionnaires and structured interview specially designed for this study. About 280 households are selected using proportionate-stratified sampling techniques, the stratification being the size of urban farmers in each of the town. The study shows that the environmental and health aspect of sustainability is closer to the yellow line mainly due to extensive use of chemical inputs. From social and political point of view, UPA is inclined to be unsustainable. Thus, city municipalities and national policy makers have provide the necessary support and grant legal recognition that matches the contribution of UPA to the national economic development.

Key words: sustainability, urban and peri-urban, agriculture, Ethiopia