Typology of dairy family farming systems in the megalopolis of Greater Cairo in Egypt, constraints and opportunities

Abstract

With the growth of the world urban population, the potential roles of urban agriculture in the cities of tomorrow raise questions. Egypt, which has experienced very rapid urbanization over the last century, seems to comprise a large variety of urban and suburban farms. The megalopolis of Greater Cairo, with its 20 million inhabitants, is no exception and benefits from the presence of farms, which contribute to the city milk supply. The literature on informal economy hardly ever mentions their structural characteristics, functioning, dynamics or prospects. This article describes the main family farming systems of the informal dairy sector of Cairo to help understand their constraints and opportunities. The data collected through interviews with 73 Cairo farmers enabled us to build a typology of these systems based on their structural, technical, familial and economical characteristics. Two broad categories were identified: farming systems integrating crop and livestock production, and landless farmers. Each of these categories was divided into two types based on a gradient of size. In all cases, the food needs of the families came first. Buffalo milk was the most produced milk, and the fresh milk surplus was marketed via short supply chains. Although these farms provided many services to the city, they faced numerous constraints (e.g. high cost of agricultural inputs, land pressure, low availability of agricultural lands), which question their sustainability in the medium term, and the opportunities to integrate agriculture in the city.