A remarkable urban agriculture movement is radically transforming Nairobi’s cityscape, with everything from high-rise rooftops to roadside verges being converted into productive food gardens. This grassroots revolution, driven by a combination of food security concerns, economic necessity, and environmental awareness, has seen the establishment of over 50,000 urban farms across the city in the past three years alone. The movement represents a fundamental reimagining of urban space in one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities, where previously vacant lots, building setbacks, and even repurposed shipping containers now produce vegetables, fruits, herbs, and in some cases, fish and poultry for local consumption.
The operational models of these urban farms demonstrate impressive innovation and adaptation to Nairobi’s unique urban environment. Vertical farming systems using hydroponics and aquaponics allow maximum production in minimal space, with some high-rise buildings now producing tons of vegetables annually from their rooftops. Community cooperatives have transformed unused public land into collective farms that both feed members and generate income through sales to local markets and restaurants. Perhaps most creatively, sack gardens—filled with soil and planted with vegetables—have become ubiquitous in Nairobi’s informal settlements, where space is most limited but food insecurity most acute. These low-tech solutions have proven particularly valuable, enabling families to grow significant quantities of kale, spinach, and onions in less than one square meter of space.
The long-term sustainability of Nairobi’s urban farming revolution depends on institutional support and integration into city planning. The county government has begun incorporating urban agriculture into development regulations, requiring new buildings to include food production spaces and protecting existing community gardens from commercial development. As climate change and supply chain disruptions make food security increasingly precarious, these decentralized food production systems offer resilience against external shocks. The movement also addresses multiple urban challenges simultaneously—reducing food transportation costs, recycling organic waste as compost, mitigating the urban heat island effect, and creating green jobs. Nairobi’s experience demonstrates that cities in the global South can pioneer sustainable food systems that not only feed growing urban populations but also create greener, more livable urban environments for all residents.