Urban Agriculture in Ethiopia: An Overview

Abstract

Urban agriculture has recently gained attention in many developing countries following their rapid urbanization. This paper attempts to give an overview of urban agriculture in Ethiopia. It particularly synthesizes the existing evidence on the role of urban agriculture in the overall agricultural sector, urban economy, and urban employment based on data from official reports and statistical surveys. Albeit being scant, the available evidence shows that urban agriculture makes considerable contributions, particularly, seen in light of the low level of urbanization in the country. The review however reveals there exist gaps in terms institutional and policy support for urban agriculture. The paper, therefore, tries to shed lights on the current and expected socio-economic trends that will raise the relevance of the sector. Future research, especially, on the macroeconomic aspects of the sector are highly needed. Such research and evidence will help decision-and policy-makers to embrace the concept of urban agriculture in formulating sectoral, regional, and national economic policies.