Multi-spatial livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa: rural farming by urban households - The case of Nakuru town, Kenya

Multispatial livelihoods refer to households with a livelihood foothold in both urban and rural areas. Although it is well-known that multispatial households are common in sub-Saharan Africa, the phenomenon has seldom been looked at from the urban household perspective. A review of the literature indicates that rural food and/or income sources are important for urban dwellers. This chapter presents data from a survey on urban farming carried out in Nakuru town, Kenya, in 1999-2000. These data concern size and location of rural plots, ownership and use of rural plots, their importance in qualitative terms, and differences between urban households having access to rural land ('rural farmers') and those who do not ('non-farmers'). The survey shows that over 60 percent of Nakuru households can be considered as having a multispatial livelihood. Although one-adult households and low-income households are relatively underrepresented in the survey, multispatial livelihoods may be particularly important for the latter group's food security situation. However, the results also indicate that rural farming by urban dwellers should be seen mainly in terms of 'opportunity' and not, like urban farming, in terms of 'necessity'. Includes bibliographical references, notes, and summary.

[1]  M. Read.  Migrant labour in Africa and its effects on tribal life , 1943 .

[2]  J. Gugler.  Life in a Dual System : Eastern Nigerians in Town, 1961. , 1971 .

[3]  D. Lamba,et al.  Urban food production and the cooking fuel situation in urban Kenya. National report: results of a 1985 national survey. , 1987 .

[4]  J. Weeks,et al.  The Vanishing Rural-Urban Gap in Sub-Saharan Africa , 1988 .

[5]  D. Potts,et al.  Rural-urban linkages in contemporary Harare: why migrants need their land. , 1990 .

[6]  Jobs,et al.  African employment report , 1991 .

[7]  J. Gugler,et al.  Life in a dual system revisited: Urban-rural ties in Enugu, Nigeria, 1961–87 , 1991 .

[8]  R. Stren.  African Urban Research since the Late 1980s: Responses to Poverty and Urban Growth , 1992 .

[9]  A. Bigsten,et al.  Adaptation and Distress in the Urban Economy: A Study of Kampala Households , 1992 .

[10]  A. O'connor.  Poverty in Africa: A Geographical Approach , 1992 .

[11]  N. Tellegen.  Rural employment in Sub-Saharan Africa : a bibliography , 1993 .

[12]  A. Gilbert.  Third World Cities: Poverty, Employment, Gender Roles and the Environment during a Time of Restructuring , 1994 .

[13]  D. Potts.  Shall we go home? Increasing urban poverty in African cities and migration processes. , 1995 .

[14]  D. Bryceson.  Deagrarianization and Rural Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Sectoral Perspective , 1996 .

[15]  J. Baker.  Rural-Urban Links and Economic Differentiation in North-West Tanzania , 1996 .

[16]  D. Foeken,et al.  Urban Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition in Low Income Areas of the City of Nairobi, Kenya , 1996 .

[17]  C. Rakodi.  The Urban Challenge in Africa: Growth and Management of Its Large Cities , 1997 .

[18]  N. Tellegen.  Rural Enterprises in Malawi: Necessity or Opportunity , 1997 .

[19]  Robert A Obudho,et al.  National Capital and Regional Hub in Rakodi Carole (ed) The Urban Challenge in Africa: Growth and Management of its Large Cities. Tokyo: United Nations University Press , 1997 .

[20]  A. Fall.  Migrants' long-distance relationships and social networks in Dakar , 1998 .

[21]  W. Smit.  The rural linkages of urban households in Durban, South Africa , 1998 .

[22]  D. Foeken,et al.  Does Access to Land Have a Positive Impact on the Food Situation of the Urban Poor? A Case Study in Nairobi , 1998 .

[23]  A. Kamete.  Interlocking livelihoods: farm and small town in Zimbabwe , 1998 .

[24]  C. Tacoli,et al.  Rural-urban interactions: a guide to the literature , 1998 .

[25]  Fred W. Krüger.  Taking advantage of rural assets as a coping strategy for the urban poor: the case of ruralurban interrelations in Botswana , 1998 .

[26]  R. Obudho,et al.  Urban agriculture in Africa: a bibliographical survey. , 1999 .

[27]  D. Foeken.  Urban Trajectories in Rural Livelihood Strategies: Household Employment Patterns in Kenya’s Coast Province , 2019, Farewell to Farms.