Philippi Horticultural Area takes legal action to protect farmland from Oakland City development
Located above the Cape Flats Aquifer – a vast underground water source – the PHA supplies nearly half of Cape Town’s fresh produce.
Picture: Pixabay.com
CapeTalk's Clarence Ford interviews Nazeer Sonday, a farmer and campaigner for the preservation of the Philippi Horticultural Area.
Listen below:
At a time when food security is a growing concern for many communities, the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) remains a crucial lifeline.
This semi-urban region, nestled between Ottery, Hanover Park, Mitchells Plain, and Manenberg, is not only agriculturally significant but also rich in cultural heritage and biodiversity.
Sonday explains that around 60% of produce from the PHA is sold through informal markets, making it more affordable and accessible to low-income communities.
The remaining 40% enter formal markets.
"What a lot of progressive cities have done over the last 20 years is that they have actually identified farmlands around the city and they have gone out of their way to protect that land to support farmers."
- Nazeer Sonday, farmer
Despite its value, the PHA has faced repeated legal threats from proposed developments.
One major concern was the Oakland City project, which included plans for housing 15,000 families, along with schools, commercial and industrial zones, and limited conservation space.
In February 2020, the Western Cape High Court instructed Anton Bredell, the MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, to re-evaluate the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Critics feared the development would destroy arable land, deplete the aquifer, and further undermine food security.
Although five additional development proposals have since been put forward, none have progressed until now.
Sonday warns that the legal battle isn’t over, as the developers behind the Oakland City project are appealing the 2020 court ruling.
"We are now going to court, again," says Sonday.
"Oakland City was the first development proposed for the area, so it became a cascade of other developments following."
- Nazeer Sonday, farmer
To learn more, the Capturing Water documentary will be screened for free at The Castle on Saturday at 9 am, hosted by the Western Cape Water Crisis Coalition.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.