"There are many types of crops that can be grown in home gardens on the outskirts of cities for a short period of time." He noted that with the continued migration trend in Africa from rural to urban areas, small farms of indigenous crops around cities could be an important source of food for populations in expanding slums and marginalized communities. Dilemmas and Challenges But Ziwinger recognizes that there are many obstacles to boosting homegrown crop production.
Smallholder farmers who grow these crops have limited access to fertilizers, making them less productive. They also lack the means to process industry email list and sell their products. And fresh, unprocessed food requires fast shipping, which is difficult to do in most local African markets. Furthermore, when it is more profitable to export cash crops to rich countries, it is difficult for African countries to simply switch to producing indigenous food. "Most people in these countries face a dilemma," says Bockelman.
"Large-scale production of crops for export - which brings them more income - by supporting small-scale farming of native crops To support themselves, they need to make choices.” “Some say that larger single-crop farms are easier to manage and mechanize, and therefore produce higher yields,” Zewinger said. “Another argument is that this mass production is easier to sell and transport.”