Soil management for resource-constrained urban agriculture: An ABCD approach in Cape Town

Abstract

Maintaining soil health is essential for urban agriculture, as space in urban centres is limited. This challenge is exacerbated by resource limitations when urban agriculture is used for promoting sustainable livelihoods. This study assessed the appropriateness of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model for addressing soil management issues of economically marginalised urban farmers. The study is structured as a case-study, using purposive selection of exemplary cases of urban agriculture in Cape Town and in-depth interviews with key informants. The findings indicate that good practice for soil management in this area includes agro-ecological methods drawing on locally sourced biodegradable waste products. Key aspects of the methods applied in this case include: digging a trench bed one meter wide; using organic waste to refill the bed as well as to compost; mulching; zero-tillage; intercropping and crop rotation. These methods are taught by four local non-governmental organisations. The present study demonstrates the usefulness of the ABCD approach for analysing urban agriculture studies, and in so doing contributes to a limited body of literature on this subject. While the case study methodology results in findings that are not statistically representative of the broader population, the lessons learned from this study may be usefully interpreted for other contexts, provided that such an application is informed by an adequate understanding of the local context to which it may be applied.