The politics of climate change and urban agriculture in South Africa

Urban agriculture has increasingly gained global recognition as a strategic approach for simultaneously addressing food security and climate change through mitigation and adaptation interventions. However, its potential remains constrained in South Africa, where climate change exacerbates the country’s persistent challenges of food insecurity, poverty, unemployment, inequality, and the triple burden of malnutrition. The study explored the politics of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures for urban agriculture in South Africa. It also identified the fragmentation of related policies and programmes, and the factors that contributed to it. The article examines the nature, causes, and consequences of policy fragmentation by drawing on the available literature. The study systematically reviewed the literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 framework. The review used multiple electronic databases, including Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science, to maximise the retrieval of relevant studies and minimise publication bias. The findings reveal that the separation of climate, agriculture, food security, and urban development governance has resulted in systemic governance failures that hinder policy coherence, resource allocation, and implementation capacity. The study concludes that South Africa will not realise the transformative potential of urban agriculture for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable food systems unless it shifts from fragmented, sector-specific governance to integrated, coherent, and multi-level policy approaches that recognise the interdependence of climate action, food systems, and urban development. The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge by providing the first comprehensive synthesis of governance fragmentation affecting climate-responsive urban agriculture in South Africa. It also offers evidence-based recommendations for strengthening policy integration, institutional coordination, and adaptive governance.