Práticas e representações sobre a agricultura urbana na Cidade de Maputo-o caso da Associação Marcelina Chissano de Bagamoyo AMVB.

Abstract

The present research report deals with urban agriculture in the city of Maputo. To the carry out this study, we intend to fill a gap that the literature on this topic features. Throughout our readings, we found that authors who write about the urban agriculture, mainly in Africa, say that agriculture should not be practiced in the cities, because it causes a series of constraints. So it only occupies spaces that should be used for the development of other economic activities and for building residences. As a way of capturing the practices and perceptions about agriculture that develops in the city of Maputo, we carried out a study on urban agriculture, at the Marcelina Chissano Association in the Bagamoyo neighborhood. For this purpose, we resorted to social constructivist theory, to ascertain how the farmers of that association see their activity and we also made comparisons with other contexts. In methodological terms, we use observation and unstructured interviews. The study concluded that urban agriculture in the city of Maputo faces difficulties that it is only able to overcome thanks to associativism. All farmers are required to be part of an association so that it can control all farmers working on the banks of the Malaúze river. In effect, the associations use as a strategy to secure land for the practice of agriculture, the obtaining of property titles.