Urban Farms Under Pressure: Cairo’s Dairy Producers, Egypt

Abstract

The rapid increase in population of Egypt’s Nile Valley and Delta is leading to massive urbanisation and uncontrolled conversion of agricultural land. Food security appears to be a daily challenge in cities all over the country. Greater Cairo is home to approximately 20 million inhabitants. Most of the city’s expansion is occurring on arable land, absorbing outlying farm systems and questioning their sustainability. In an exploratory study of dairy farming systems in urban and peri-urban areas of the capital, four main types have been identified by their capacity to integrate crop and livestock production, and by their structural characteristics. These farming systems are facing several primary constraints: limited space and access to fodder, increases in feed concentrate prices, and manure management. Despite this difficult context, they are maintaining their activity by serving the community and taking advantage of its proximity: They are incorporating adaptive strategies for feeding systems, breeding systems, and inputs sourcing, and providing employment, food security, and waste recycling. These strategies appear to be initiated mainly at the scale of family farming systems. Although these systems are evolving rapidly, their future survival remains questionable in a context of the evolving demands of one of the world’s largest megalopolises.