Abstract:
This paper argues that the degree to which urban farming associations organize is related to the
rate of urbanization, specifically demographic changes, the institutional landscape in which
they operate, the environmental context, as well as underlying economic structure or local
economic base. These structural conditions in turn impact the characteristics of urban
agricultural associations: specifically, their membership, how they relate to other institutions,
the issues they face, and the economic and social roles they play. We utilize semi-structured
interviews of farmer associations and interviews with government officials in Moshi and Dar
Es Salaam, Tanzania, two cities that differ in terms of their urbanization patterns and economic,
environmental and institutional context, to better understand the nature of the relation ship
between urban agricultural organizations and the context in which they operate. We find that
the manner in which groups organize, the economic role they play, the issues they are concerned
with, and the degree to which they collaborate are quite variable. These differences are
exacerbated by urbanization patterns that impact the role and functioning of urban agricultural
organizations by placing pressure on resources such as available land and water and increasing
demand for the products of urban farmers.
