Irrigated urban agriculture: a mixture of farming scales, water flows and actors in Nairobi, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Irrigated urban agriculture (IUA) is important for urban food systems and livelihoods but has many unknown socio-technical configurations. This article examines the dynamics of farm irrigation and associated sociotechnical arrangements in the Nairobi catchment. The research shows that there are five principal forms of IUA, differentiated according to land sizes, water sources and suitability, technicality, actors, and market orientation. The city service does not provide arrangements for hydraulic infrastructure or agricultural extension, and state agencies do not take IUA practices into account. The complexity of the socio-technical configurations calls for flexible governance arrangements that go beyond the established models.

KEYWORDS:

• Irrigated urban agriculture
• urban water
• irrigation water suitability
• actors
• modernized mixtures
• Nairobi city

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Supplementary Information

Supplementary data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2024.2320002

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as part of the “In Country – In Region PhD scholarship programme” at Kenyatta University in Kenya [Reference Number 91744410].