Urban farming associations, youth and food security in post-war Freetown, Sierra Leone

As skyrocketing global food and energy prices have recently triggered a stream of riots in urban centres across sub-Saharan Africa, underscoring the desperation of urban residents as food becomes unobtainable, cities in the West African country of Sierra Leone face a series of new challenges as the country emerges from a decade of civil war during the 1990s. Focusing on the question of urban food security in and around Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown, this paper explores the proliferation of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) as a response to the rising demand for food and employment. In this context, the paper examines a recent upsurge in cooperative activity associated with UPA in Freetown, drawing upon the knowledge and perceptions of those involved in urban farming associations. In seeking to better understand the associational and livelihood strategies of urban residents in the post-war era, the paper highlights how UPA activities are currently driving a resurgence in community-based cooperation, a development which could play an important role in safeguarding livelihoods and urban food security during a particularly critical point in the country’s post-conflict recovery trajectory.

► In Freetown, urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) has increased considerably.
► UPA makes a valuable contribution to both household food security and income.
► Our survey revealed that 62% of UPA farmers were under the age of 35 years.
► UPA associations can help to overcome production and marketing constraints.
► UPA associations can rebuild social capital networks destroyed during the civil war.