Contribution of Urban Vegetable Production to Household Food Security in Peri-Urban Area: Case Study in Ilala Municipality

Food insecurity is a persistent challenge in urban areas, where rapid urbanisation and limited land access threaten households’ ability to secure adequate and nutritious food. Despite the potential of urban agriculture to strengthen food security, there is limited empirical evidence on determinants of household food security among urban vegetable producers in Tanzania. This study assessed factors influencing household food security and coping strategies among urban vegetable producers in Ilala Municipality, Dar es Salaam. A cross-sectional design was employed, and data were collected from 90 households through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression were used to analyse the data. Results showed that 63.3% of households were food secure, while 36.7% were food insecure. Chi-square analysis indicated significant associations between food security and land ownership (χ² = 7.41, p = 0.025), farming experience (χ² = 4.45, p = 0.035), and spinach production (χ² = 6.69, p = 0.01). Logistic regression further identified household size (OR = 5.00; p = 0.013), market access (OR = 4.63; p = 0.023), irrigation use (OR = 4.87; p = 0.034), and farming experience (OR = 0.052; p = 0.012) as significant predictors of food security. Households with larger family sizes, access to markets and irrigation, and more farming experience were significantly more likely to be food secure compared to their counterparts, that is, households with smaller family sizes. The study concludes that strengthening urban agriculture requires addressing structural challenges such as land tenure security, irrigation access and market linkages, interventions that promote affordable irrigation technologies, enhance market infrastructure, and build farmers’ capacity. These strategies could improve resilience and reduce vulnerability to food insecurity among urban households.