Assessment of the adoption and determinants of food garden initiative by peri-urban dwellers in Ray Nkonyeni Municipality, South Africa

Food gardening is gaining popularity in urban areas, primarily to meet food security challenges. Hence, a descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted to determine participation and analyze the factors that determine participation in food gardening in peri-urban areas. A total of 360 respondents were selected using systematic random sampling. Most respondents were females (69.2%), middle-aged (49.1%), with a high school education (55.8%) and high employment (47.8%). The results also revealed that gardening was prevalent (72.5%) in the study area. The majority of respondents used garden produce for their own consumption. The binary logistic regression model indicated that marital status, education, household members, access to land and agricultural experience are significant determinants of food gardening. In the light of these findings, support in the form of agricultural information and resources is recommended to improve the impact of food gardening. Furthermore, to promote food gardening in peri-urban areas, it is crucial to target marital status, education, household members, access to land and agricultural experience. Further studies on seasonal production patterns and the actual contribution of the garden produce to household food consumption should be explored.