Review Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Challenges and Opportunities of Urban Agriculture in Major Towns Practicing Urban Agriculture in Ethiopia: A Review

Received: 8 February 2025     Accepted: 17 April 2025     Published: 14 May 2025
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Ethiopia is experiencing a surge in urbanization as well as an increase in the cost of living and food. Consequently, urban agriculture will play a significant part in the nation's adoption of a sustainable urban development program. Ethiopia's government has also shown a great deal of interest in advancing urban agriculture, as seen by the establishment of the Farmers and Urban Agriculture Commission. However, as the sector is considered as a new initiative in most cities it has its own challenge and opportunity. This study reviewed the challenges and opportunities of urban agriculture in Ethiopia. Existing scholarly research that has been published as journal articles serves as the study's methodology. The resources (Scopus and Google customized search), eligibility and exclusion criteria, review process phases, data abstraction, and analysis are all part of the methods used. The review result shows that, in Ethiopia, there is diversity among the actors involved in urban agriculture and the tasks they carry out. There are four major performers of urban agriculture namely farm households, organized groups/cooperatives/enterprises, households and institutional practitioners. The commonly practiced forms of urban agriculture are dairy, poultry, animal fattening, bee keeping, fish farming, and vegetable production. The major challenges the urban agriculture facing are Challenges due to limitation of resources, economic and climate change factors. Farmers that are practicing urban agriculture are facing problems with resources such as access to available land, access to water supply for irrigation and livestock, high price of fertilizer and pesticides. Farmers and other organized bodies to implement urban agriculture are facing problems with access to financial institutions lending money. Variability of climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature affect yield in crops. The best opportunity for urban agriculture in Ethiopia is that creation of A better market for products (milk, chicken and eggs) with close users in towns, provides employment opportunities for jobless youths and women in the towns and generates additional income for urban agricultural producers. It needs stronger policy support and investment to enhance the contribution of urban agriculture expansion significantly.

Published in International Journal of Agricultural Economics (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12
Page(s) 95-103
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Urban Agriculture, Challenges, Opportunities, Urban Dwellers, Diary

References
[1] World Bank (2022) Ethiopia Urbanization Review: Urban growth and spatial transformation. Washington, DC: World Bank. Available at:
[2] Central Statistical Agency (CSA) (2023). Ethiopia demographic and health survey: Key indicators report. Addis Ababa: CSA. Available at:
[3] Othman, N., Mohamad, M., Latip, R. A. and Ariffin, M. H., 2018, February. Urban farming activity towards sustainable wellbeing of urban dwellers. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 117, No. 1, p. 012007). IOP Publishing.
[4] Ackerman, K., 2012. The potential for urban agriculture in New York City: Growing capacity, food security, & green infrastructure. Urban Design Lab at the Earth Institute Columbia University.
[5] Mok, H. F., Williamson, V. G., Grove, J. R., Burry, K., Barker, S. F. and Hamilton, A. J., 2014. Strawberry fields forever? Urban agriculture in developed countries: a review. Agronomy for sustainable development, 34, pp. 21-43.
[6] Alaimo, K., Packnett, E., Miles, R. A. and Kruger, D. J., 2008. Fruit and vegetable intake among urban community gardeners. Journal of nutrition education and behavior, 40(2), pp. 94-101.
[7] Gulyas, B. Z. and Edmondson, J. L., 2021. Increasing city resilience through urban agriculture: Challenges and solutions in the Global North. Sustainability, 13(3), p. 1465.
[8] Teig, E., Amulya, J., Bardwell, L., Buchenau, M., Marshall, J. A. and Litt, J. S., 2009. Collective efficacy in Denver, Colorado: Strengthening neighborhoods and health through community gardens. Health & place, 15(4), pp. 1115-1122.
[9] Zezza, A. and Tasciotti, L., 2010. Urban agriculture, poverty, and food security: Empirical evidence from a sample of developing countries. Food policy, 35(4), pp. 265-273.
[10] Mkhawani, K., Motadi, S. A., Mabapa, N. S., Mbhenyane, X. G. and Blaauw, R., 2016. Effects of rising food prices on household food security on femaleheaded households in Runnymede Village, Mopani District, South Africa. South African journal of clinical nutrition, 29(2), pp. 69-74.
[11] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), 2015. Impact of natural hazards and disasters on agriculture and food security and nutrition. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
[12] Jega, A. A., Man, N., Latiff, A. I. and Seng, K. W. K., 2018. Assessing agricultural losses of 2014/2015 flood disaster in Kelantan, Malaysia. Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 4(1), pp. 407-415.
[13] Ogwuche, J. A., Christopher, O. and Muhammed, D. K., 2018. Environmental issues and food insecurity in Africa. International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources, 12(5), pp. 140-147.
[14] Milan, A. and Ruano, S., 2014. Rainfall variability, food insecurity and migration in Cabricán, Guatemala. Climate and Development, 6(1), pp. 61-68.
[15] Generoso, R., 2015. How do rainfall variability, food security and remittances interact? The case of rural Mali. Ecological Economics, 114, pp. 188-198.
[16] Solaymani, S., 2018. Impacts of climate change on food security and agriculture sector in Malaysia. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 20(4), pp. 1575-1596.
[17] Makuvaro, V., Walker, S., Munodawafa, A., Chagonda, I., Murewi, C. and Mubaya, C., 2017. Constraints to crop production and adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers in semi-arid central and western Zimbabwe. African Crop Science Journal, 25(2), pp. 221-235.
[18] Pourjavid S., Sadighi H., Shabanali Fami H., 2013. Analysis of constrains facing urban agriculture development in Tehran, Iran. International Journal of Agricultural Management & Development 3(1): 43-51.
[19] Valk V. V. D., 2012. Food planning and landscape in the “gastropolis” of New York. In: Paper presented at the Presentation WUR Conference Multifunctional Agriculture and Urban-Rural Relations. April 1st, 2012.
[20] Dimitri, C., Oberholtzer, L. and Pressman, A., 2016. Urban agriculture: connecting producers with consumers. British Food Journal, 118(3), pp. 603-617.
[21] Cabannes, Y., 2012. Financing urban agriculture. Environment and Urbanization, 24(2), pp. 665-683.
[22] Kutiwa, S., Boon, E. and Devuyst, D., 2010. Urban agriculture in low income households of Harare: an adaptive response to economic crisis. Journal of Human Ecology, 32(2), pp. 85-96.
[23] Adedayo, A. and Tunde, A. M., 2013. Challenges of women in urban agriculture in Kwara State, Nigeria. Sustainable Agriculture Research, 2(3).
[24] UNDESA [United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs]. (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision [online]. Available at:
[25] Amegnaglo, C. J. (2018) ‘Urban agriculture and food security in West Africa: Evidence from Ghana’, Journal of Agricultural Economics, 12(3), pp. 45-60.
[26] Nicholls, E., Ely, A., Birkin, L., Basu, P. and Goulson, D. (2020). The contribution of small-scale food production in urban areas to the sustainable development goals: A review and case study, Sustainability Science, 15(6), pp. 1585-1599.
[27] Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G. and PRISMA Group*, T., 2009. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Annals of internal medicine, 151(4), pp. 264-269.
[28] Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E. and Chou, R., 2021. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. bmj, 372.
[29] Ahmed, J., Woubishet, D. and Semereab, E., 2024. The role and potential of urban agriculture: Exploratory research.
[30] Yalew, A. W., 2020. Urban agriculture in Ethiopia: An overview. Regional Economic Development Research, pp. 85-92.
[31] Mekonnen, D., Gerber, N. and Matz, J. A. (2021) 'Effects of urban agriculture on dietary diversity in Ethiopia', Agriculture & Food Security, 10(1), pp. 1-12.
[32] Dubbeling, M., Zeeuw, H. and Veenhuizen, R. (2016) Cities, poverty and food: Multi-stakeholder policy and planning in urban agriculture. Rugby, UK: Practical Action Publishing.
[33] Wubneh, M. (2020) ‘Urban farming and income generation in Ethiopia’, African Development Review, 32(2), pp. 234-247.
[34] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2014) Growing greener cities in Africa: First status report on urban and peri-urban horticulture in Africa. Rome: FAO. Available at:
[35] FAO. (2019). Urban Agriculture in Ethiopia: Practices and Prospects. Food and Agriculture Organization.
[36] Assefa, S. (2018) 'Urban agriculture as a climate resilience strategy in Ethiopia', Journal of Environmental Management, 220, pp. 183-191.
[37] Cofie, O., Drechsel, P. and Veenhuizen, R. (2016). Cities and agriculture: Developing resilient urban food systems. London: Routledge.
[38] Tiwari, S. (2021) The role of urban farming in Ethiopian cities. Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Urban Development Institute. Available at:
[39] Smit, J., Ratta, A. and Nasr, J. (2001) 'Urban agriculture: Food, jobs, and sustainable cities', Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 127(1), pp. 1-15.
[40] Halle, M., Admassie, A. and Hoddinott, J. (2020). Urban agriculture and household food security in Ethiopia', Food Policy, 95, 101938.
[41] Alemu, T., Teshome, D., Mebratu, T., Demelash, M., Tadele, M., Tabor, G., Wendatir, Z. and Diro, S., 2024. Assessment of urban agriculture in addis ababa potentials, practices, challenges, and intervention options.
[42] Nigus, G., Ketema, M., Haji, J. and Sileshi, M., 2024. Determinants of urban agriculture market participation decision and intensity in eastern Ethiopia. Discover Food, 4(1), p. 41.
[43] TAYE, H., 2014. A socio-economic impact of urban agriculture the case of Addis Ababa (Doctoral dissertation, St. Mary's University).
[44] Minten, B., Habte, Y., Tamru, S. and Tesfaye, A., 2020. The transforming dairy sector in Ethiopia. Plos one, 15(8), p. e0237456.
[45] Dessie, T., Zewdie, Y., Yilma, Z., Ayalew, W. and Haile, A., 2023. Yelemat Tirufat: An Overview of the initiative and lessons of experience from selected livestock development interventions in Ethiopia.
[46] Belachew, M. M., 2019. Beef cattle fattening practices, constraints and future potentials in Ethiopia: a review. Animal Research International, 16(2), pp. 3401-3411.
[47] Tekeba Eshetie, K. H. a. A. M. 2018. Meat production, consumption and marketing tradeoffs and potentials in Ethiopia and its effect on GDP growth: a review. Journal of Nutritional Health & Food Engineering, 8(3).
[48] Tesfaye, G. and Wolff, M. (2014) ‘Urban aquaculture for food security in Ethiopia’, Food Policy, 45, 36-44.
[49] Abera, L., Hailu, Y. and Getahun, A. (2020) ‘Role of urban aquaculture in food security: Evidence from Addis Ababa’, Aquaculture Reports, 18, 100456.
[50] Kassahun, A., Bogale, A. and Melaku, S. (2019) ‘Economic analysis of urban fish farming in Bahir Dar’, Aquaculture Economics & Management, 23(4), 412-430.
[51] FAO (2018) Urban and peri-urban aquaculture development in Ethiopia. Rome: FAO.
[52] Ethiopian Urban Agriculture Association (EUAA) (2021) Employment trends in urban aquaculture: A case study of Adama and Dire Dawa. Addis Ababa: EUAA.
[53] Degen, P., van der Werf, H. and Lemma, B. (2021). Circular economy in urban fish farming, Journal of Cleaner Production, 320, 128803.
[54] Lemma, B., Hussen, A. and Desta, A. (2022) ‘Integrated aquaculture-agriculture in Addis Ababa’, Agricultural Systems, 198, 103389.
[55] Drechsel, P., & Keraita, B. (2014). Irrigated Urban Vegetable Production in Ghana: Characteristics, Benefits, and Risks. IWMI.
[56] Haileslassie, A. et al. (2016). Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Ethiopia: A Socio-Economic Study. ILRI.
[57] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2019) Growing greener cities in Africa: Status and trends of urban and peri-urban horticulture. Rome: FAO.
[58] Mengistie, D., et al. (2020). "Urban Irrigation and Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia." Agricultural Water Management, 237, 106-118.
[59] Keraita, B., et al. (2015). On-Farm Treatment Options for Wastewater Use in Urban Agriculture. IWMI.
[60] WHO. (2016). Guidelines for Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture. World Health Organization.
[61] World Bank. (2021). Ethiopia Climate-Smart Agriculture Report.
[62] UNEP. (2020). Green Cities Initiative: Urban Agriculture in Africa.
[63] Awulachew, S. (2021). Water Resources and Irrigation Development in Ethiopia. IWMI.
[64] Ambelu, A., et al. (2018). Heavy Metals in Urban Irrigation Water: A Case Study in Addis Ababa. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 190(5).
[65] FAO. (2020). Affordable Irrigation Technologies for Urban Farmers.
[66] Ishak, N., Abdullah, R., Rosli, N. S. M., Majid, H., Halim, N. S. A. A. and Ariffin, F., 2022. Challenges of urban garden initiatives for food security in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Quaestiones Geographicae, 41(4), pp. 57-72.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ashine, E. T. (2025). Challenges and Opportunities of Urban Agriculture in Major Towns Practicing Urban Agriculture in Ethiopia: A Review. International Journal of Agricultural Economics, 10(3), 95-103. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Ashine, E. T. Challenges and Opportunities of Urban Agriculture in Major Towns Practicing Urban Agriculture in Ethiopia: A Review. Int. J. Agric. Econ. 2025, 10(3), 95-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Ashine ET. Challenges and Opportunities of Urban Agriculture in Major Towns Practicing Urban Agriculture in Ethiopia: A Review. Int J Agric Econ. 2025;10(3):95-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12,
      author = {Etefa Tilahun Ashine},
      title = {Challenges and Opportunities of Urban Agriculture in Major Towns Practicing Urban Agriculture in Ethiopia: A Review
    },
      journal = {International Journal of Agricultural Economics},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {95-103},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijae.20251003.12},
      abstract = {Ethiopia is experiencing a surge in urbanization as well as an increase in the cost of living and food. Consequently, urban agriculture will play a significant part in the nation's adoption of a sustainable urban development program. Ethiopia's government has also shown a great deal of interest in advancing urban agriculture, as seen by the establishment of the Farmers and Urban Agriculture Commission. However, as the sector is considered as a new initiative in most cities it has its own challenge and opportunity. This study reviewed the challenges and opportunities of urban agriculture in Ethiopia. Existing scholarly research that has been published as journal articles serves as the study's methodology. The resources (Scopus and Google customized search), eligibility and exclusion criteria, review process phases, data abstraction, and analysis are all part of the methods used. The review result shows that, in Ethiopia, there is diversity among the actors involved in urban agriculture and the tasks they carry out. There are four major performers of urban agriculture namely farm households, organized groups/cooperatives/enterprises, households and institutional practitioners. The commonly practiced forms of urban agriculture are dairy, poultry, animal fattening, bee keeping, fish farming, and vegetable production. The major challenges the urban agriculture facing are Challenges due to limitation of resources, economic and climate change factors. Farmers that are practicing urban agriculture are facing problems with resources such as access to available land, access to water supply for irrigation and livestock, high price of fertilizer and pesticides. Farmers and other organized bodies to implement urban agriculture are facing problems with access to financial institutions lending money. Variability of climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature affect yield in crops. The best opportunity for urban agriculture in Ethiopia is that creation of A better market for products (milk, chicken and eggs) with close users in towns, provides employment opportunities for jobless youths and women in the towns and generates additional income for urban agricultural producers. It needs stronger policy support and investment to enhance the contribution of urban agriculture expansion significantly.
    },
     year = {2025}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Challenges and Opportunities of Urban Agriculture in Major Towns Practicing Urban Agriculture in Ethiopia: A Review
    
    AU  - Etefa Tilahun Ashine
    Y1  - 2025/05/14
    PY  - 2025
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12
    T2  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
    JF  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
    JO  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
    SP  - 95
    EP  - 103
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-3843
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20251003.12
    AB  - Ethiopia is experiencing a surge in urbanization as well as an increase in the cost of living and food. Consequently, urban agriculture will play a significant part in the nation's adoption of a sustainable urban development program. Ethiopia's government has also shown a great deal of interest in advancing urban agriculture, as seen by the establishment of the Farmers and Urban Agriculture Commission. However, as the sector is considered as a new initiative in most cities it has its own challenge and opportunity. This study reviewed the challenges and opportunities of urban agriculture in Ethiopia. Existing scholarly research that has been published as journal articles serves as the study's methodology. The resources (Scopus and Google customized search), eligibility and exclusion criteria, review process phases, data abstraction, and analysis are all part of the methods used. The review result shows that, in Ethiopia, there is diversity among the actors involved in urban agriculture and the tasks they carry out. There are four major performers of urban agriculture namely farm households, organized groups/cooperatives/enterprises, households and institutional practitioners. The commonly practiced forms of urban agriculture are dairy, poultry, animal fattening, bee keeping, fish farming, and vegetable production. The major challenges the urban agriculture facing are Challenges due to limitation of resources, economic and climate change factors. Farmers that are practicing urban agriculture are facing problems with resources such as access to available land, access to water supply for irrigation and livestock, high price of fertilizer and pesticides. Farmers and other organized bodies to implement urban agriculture are facing problems with access to financial institutions lending money. Variability of climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature affect yield in crops. The best opportunity for urban agriculture in Ethiopia is that creation of A better market for products (milk, chicken and eggs) with close users in towns, provides employment opportunities for jobless youths and women in the towns and generates additional income for urban agricultural producers. It needs stronger policy support and investment to enhance the contribution of urban agriculture expansion significantly.
    
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Sections