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Bulawayo - Zimbabwe | Ndola - Zambia | Cape Town - South Africa. The city of Cape Town was one of the RUAF CFF cities in the eastern and southern Africa region. This is a city at the southern tip of South Africa. It is a coastal city whose climate is influenced by the sea. The city receives winter rains and has dry summers. The soils are sandy and therefore any agriculture entails heavy investment in soil feeding. The CFF project focussed on training emerging farmers in order to equip them with production and processing skills that prepare them for the market. The project also sought to influence the farmers to adopt organic farming methods in order to promote better urban environmental management. Selecting the NGO-FSTT and the Farmers The NGO partner implementing the project in Cape Town is know as Abalimi Bezekhaya which means farmers of home gardens. Abalimi was one of the partners in the CFF project and have a rich history in mobilizing community groups to produce organ food for themselves. The group was already implementing a similar market focussed project. The thrust of the FSTT project in Cape Town is therefore different in that it does not seek to introduce marketing, but it seeks to grow the project. The Abalimi project known as ‘Harvest of Hope’ had its own challenges. Consultants designed the project with no farmer involvement in the processes of planning and market identification. There are therefore challenges associated with quality control and targets since farmers do not fully appreciate their importance. Abalimi have therefore taken advantage of the FSTT project to bring their farmers to full understanding of the processes. Farmer Training and the Diagnostic Process The farmer training in Cape Town worked backwards. Even farmers that were already producing were involved in the training in order to get them to understand how the project was formulated, how the market was identified, and the details of market expectations. The selection of the most promising option (MoPO) was different in that they are already supply a basket of products. This was therefore not done for Cape Town. The farmers were however exposed to the tools of planning and analysis such as seasonal calendar and product chain mapping. The farmers found the experience extremely helpful and enriching.
Business and Project Planning The Cape Town team was also part of the regional group that went to Ndola, Zambia for the regional training. The team was happy to be learning how to do business planning because they were in the midst of doing their business plan for their project. The experience gained during the training helped them successfully conclude their plan. They also were particularly happy with planning for Urban Producer Field Schools (UPFS). The MSF and Strategic Agenda A multi-stakeholder forum was established in the city under the CFF project. The forum was not doing well in terms organizing activities and meetings. The coordination was given to one of the NGOs, MJC since the beginning of the year. The individual who was responsible for coordination was found to be too busy. The stakeholders therefore decided that the city council assists the MJC with coordination. The individual responsible for coordination was also changed and replaced with one who would come in with renewed energy. This should bring new life into the forum. New UA Officer for Cape Town The City of Cape Town scored a first by appointing a full time Professional Officer responsible for Agriculture. The regional RUAF team was happy to be introduced to the new officer by the head of the Unit, Stanley Visser. Stanley was equally happy since his office had been constrained by the limited capacity. The regional RUAF team will lobby with other cities to also consider appointing staff dedicated to urban agriculture.
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