Farming and the city the changing imaginary of the city and Maputo’s irrigated urban agriculture from 1960 to 2020

Irrigated urban agriculture using various water sources has been consistently present throughout Maputo’s history. Grounded in Infulene Valley, we delve into how urban planning has evolved since 1960 and trace the implications of these policies on urban farming and the livelihoods dependent on it. Documenting the imaginaries of the city over four eras of Maputo’s development, we find that agriculture occupied a prominent place in the post-colonial city, and continues to be significant, despite its vague recognition within urban planning, after the shift to neoliberalism. We advocate for acknowledging urban irrigated agriculture as an intrinsic feature of the city.