Farmers at the edge: property formalisation and urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

In light of the recent debate on the merits of formalising property rights in developing countries, this paper explores recent efforts to combine property formalisation and urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The paper is based on a close examination of the formalisation consultation process that was carried out by a ‘western’ NGO in Dar es Salaam between 2010 and 2012. It uses discursive analysis of documents produced by relevant parties, including the NGO, governments and others. Additional insights were gained through attending the consultation workshops among stakeholders, conducted by the NGO in 2011. The paper argues that formalisation in Dar es Salaam was not conducted in the democratic, pro-poor manner envisioned by many of its advocates. Instead, the process was largely driven from the top-down, with the vast majority of urban farmers excluded from the consultation process. While poor urban farmers could benefit from having their land rights clarified and secured in places like Dar es Salaam, formalisation seems to have reinforced their relegation to the edge of society, physically and ideologically.