Governance of Urban Agricultural Space: Struggle for Land in Kinshasa (DRC)

In many rapidly growing African cities, urban agriculture is of increasing importance for the provision of food for the population. At the same time, the larger a city grows, increasingly fewer areas of land are available for agriculture. This is a contradiction many African cities are struggling with. Also, in Kinshasa (our area of study), a struggle exists between agricultural and residential land uses in the city (Nzuzi, 2009). Because of the growing population and the lack of empty land, there is a movement towards the periphery of the city, consequently threatening urban agricultural space (the former ‘green belt’1 around the city). Yet, at the same time, population growth makes urban agriculture even more of a necessity. As in Kinshasa, leaf vegetables are greatly consumed, especially those vegetables which perish rapidly, their production within the city is of great importance. In addition, urban vegetable gardening is one of the coping strategies of a population that faces a lack of employment. So, on the one hand, urban agriculture is an important and much executed urban activity for the growing urban population. On the other hand, rapid population growth creates a lack of space for cultivation. In fact, two needs come into conflict with one another: the need to produce food and the need to have a place to live.