An exploratory study on barriers to implementing household-scale vertical food production in Plastic View, Pretoria East

Abstract

South Africa and the rest of the world are not making satisfactory progress in addressing many of the issues listed by the United Nations in their 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, namely those relating to hunger and malnutrition. These are particularly prevalent issues in South Africa, where many households do not have access to adequate foods to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The Plastic View informal community – situated in Pretoria East, Gauteng – is one such community battling poverty and food insecurity. Urban agriculture has become a “knee-jerk” reaction to the need for household-scale food production. However, ground space is scarce in dense cities and informal communities and is considered more valuable for basic living requirements than crops by communities. A possible solution to this challenge may be food production through living wall systems. This would provide a range of ecosystem services in cities and allow households with spatial limitations to engage in small-scale food production for personal or economic gain. Through an exploratory and interpretivist approach, this study seeks to understand barriers to using living wall systems to support household- scale food production in the Plastic View informal community, and how residents currently view household-scale food production and associated barriers. The study concludes that, while the advantages of living wall systems are acknowledged by residents, affordability, and skill to build or maintain the systems were notable factors of concern.