The Sustainable Niche for Urban Vegetable Production within Producer Setups and Attributes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Rapid urbanization places great pressure on the food supply as well as urban agriculture practices at the global level. In Ethiopia, vegetable production serves as a unique opportunity to diversify employment, income, and food security for urban households. Various socioeconomic factors play important roles in the adoption of vegetable farming that are crucial in enhancing the low rate of production in Addis Ababa. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the sustainable niche for urban vegetable production within producer setups and attributes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In this research, data were collected using questionnaire surveys and focus group discussions. A probability sampling technique was employed to select the respondent households. Household data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression. The findings show that vegetable production activities were dominated by young (31–40 years) male participants with primary and secondary level education. Most vegetable producers were married and owned their own private houses, and most participants held small plots of land. The multinomial regression analysis results show that sample households' vegetable production was statistically significantly affected by access to river water. We argue that ensuring policy interventions includes enhancing farmers’ education and strategies to promote land management, reducing gender inequality, and improving resource availability.

Keywords: Food security, vegetable production, urban agriculture, sustainability, Addis Ababa

DOI: 10.7176/JESD/14-9-02

Publication date:May 31^st 2023