With its multiple dimensions and functions, urban agriculture has the potential to contribute to a sustainable urban development process, depending on how it is executed and who is included. In this study, we promoted multi-stakeholder dialogue about the outlook of urban agriculture in Maputo and Cape Town in form of interviews, meetings, field visits, farmers’ meetings and scenario-building workshops. The goal was to create a common vision with the different actors – farmers and gardeners, non-governmental organizations, social movements, enterprises, scientists and policy makers – and to develop strategic measures for positive change that served as the basis for formulating recommendations. In Maputo, thousands of smallholder farmers are well-organized and there are many actors who have the will to promote agriculture within the city. However, the political institutions that deal with urban agriculture lack commitment to address urban agricultural issues. Therefore, we propose a set of strategies that range from the creation of multidisciplinary working groups to the mapping of available arable land in the city. On the other hand, although the level of political institutionalization is much higher in Cape Town – a city with a big variety of different urban gardens and fields, we found that the focus of most stakeholders on resilient urban food systems is not well approached. The recommendations build on a range of strategies from the conduction of workshops about logistics for small-holder farmers to the creation of awareness on ecological issues, fair food production and conscious consumption.