Does Urban Agriculture Enhance Dietary Diversity? Empirical Evidence from a Sample of Developing Countries

Urban agriculture (UA) is defined as the production of crop and livestock goods within city and town boundaries. According to some statistics, 200 million people are employed in UA, contributing to the food supply of 800 million urban dwellers [1]. In African countries, 40 per cent of urban dwellers are said to be engaged in some sort of agricultural activities and this percentage rises to 50 per cent in Latin American countries [2]. If such numbers are accurate UA may play a role in addressing urban food insecurity problems. This paper attempts to fill some of the key research gaps in this area using survey data for 15 developing or transition countries. The paper analyzes in a comparative perspective the importance of UA for the poor and food insecure households located in urban areas.