Assessment of urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy a case of Mbeya City, Tanzania

Urban agriculture is regarded as an important source of income and food to urban residents globally and Tanzania in particular. Despite the valuable contribution to urban livelihoods, urban agriculture in Mbeya city has been regarded as not important livelihood strategy, ignored or treated as having marginal contribution on livelihood of urban farmers. The main objective of this study is to assess urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy to the urban residents in Mbeya city. Specifically, the study aims at examining the factors influencing the practice, management strategies and contribution of urban agriculture to the livelihood of urban farmers. The methodological approaches used were the case study design (involving mixed approach) which includes qualitative and quantitative approaches to collect data from 123 respondents. The findings reveal that majority urban farmers responded that they are practicing urban agriculture because it acts as a source of income, food and employment. The study finds that there are management strategies for the practice such as accesses to resources including water, labour and land. The findings reveal that majority urban farmers responded that urban agriculture has a great contribution to the livelihood of urban farmers in Mbeya city such as income generations, source of employment, food security and nutrition. The study recommends that the government and decision makers should integrate urban agriculture into broader national and regional development plans