Effects of Urbanization on the Availability of Land for Crop Farming: A Case Study of Ga East Municipality

Abstract

The city of Accra currently accommodates about four million people. The city has now expanded to the fringes that were previously rural settlements. Most of these rural settlements were farming communities that provided food for the city. However, urbanization has affected agricultural production and farmlands are being lost to other land uses. This study examines the effect of urbanization on the availability of land for crop farming in the Ga East Municipality. The study used a mixed method approach involving a survey of 100 farmers, in-depth interviews and focused group discussions conducted in selected communities in the Ga East Municipality in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Regression analysis was used to examine the association between farmer income and size of cultivated land. As expected, the results of the study show that the Ga East Municipality is undergoing rapid urbanization. Agricultural lands have been converted into residential estates. The change in land use, mainly from agriculture to housing, has had some negative effects on agricultural production, incomes, and employment. The study revealed that the rate of loss of arable land has intensified in the last fifteen years as a result of urbanization as showed by NDVI data. The survey revealed a positive association between size of land cultivated and income. This suggests that the decreasing size of farmland, due to land use change, has implications for livelihoods in an area where half of the sample reported that farming is their main employment activity. The study also identified alternative jobs, alternative farmland, and intensive farming as coping strategies adapted by farmers. Given that the urban plan of the Ga East Municipality has not allocated space for farming, it is recommended that some land be demarcated for agriculture to ensure sustainable agricultural livelihoods and food security.