Adaptation of Urban Vegetable Farmers to Urban Change in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area
Date
2018-07
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Ghana
Abstract
Ghana’s urban change has been intense and rapid on several fronts over the past years.
This has affected several economic activities within the urban space of which one is urban
agriculture. Urban agriculture has over the years attracted attention in research due to its
significance in the urban space. Notwithstanding the attention given in research, the
assessment of urban farmers’ adaptation to the effect of the rapid urban change has not
been given a detailed attention in literature. This study, which had an overarching question
of how urban farmers are adapting to the effects of urban change on their farming activities
within the context of institutional frameworks and roles, was situated in change, resilience
and behaviour theories. Using a collective case study design and pragmatist research
approach, the study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed method, which had
qualitative as the leading research approach and with quantitative following. The sources
of the qualitative data used were interviews from farmers, interviews from institutional
representatives, and institutional policy documents that influence urban agriculture. The
quantitative data was from a survey of 251 farmers, and rainfall, humidity and temperature
data from the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA). In examining the importance of
institutional frameworks and roles in urban agriculture, the effect of urban change on urban
farmers’ activities and the adaptation strategies farmers use with respect to urban change,
content and thematic analyses of the interviews conducted and government policy
documents were mainly used, with some descriptive statistics supporting. In estimating
the factors that determine urban farmers’ adaption to urban change, a quantitative
approach, which combined principal component analysis and ordinary least squares was
used. The following findings were made based on the analyses. Institutional actors are
involved in urban agriculture promotion through the training of farmers, provision of
logistics and land for production, notwithstanding the fact that the changing urban
environment makes it difficult for them to help the farmers. The institutions, which provide
lands to the farmers do not have any official agreement with the farmers and sometimes
abuse them even though they are a tremendous source of support to farmers. While some
of the urban changes have brought only positive or only negative effects to urban farmers,
others have brought both to them. The study could not conclude on which set of effects of
urban change was more significant. While some adaptation strategies targeted an effect,
others targeted more than one effect, which was positive or negative. The ordinary least
square estimates proved that production adaptation can be predicted more than marketing
and finance adaptation, by personal and farm characteristics of urban farmers in the context
of urban change. The study recommends the drafting of a comprehensive urban agriculture
policy in Ghana, which focuses on the provision of land and water for urban agriculture,
training of urban vegetable farmers and the strengthening of the institutions whose
operations affect urban agriculture in the area of coordination, cooperation and promotion
of urban agriculture. In the absence of a comprehensive UA policy, MMDAs should
consciously make room for UA especially in their spatial planning decisions. Government
and urban dwellers as well should also see urban expansion as an opportunity to create
urban employment and a way to improve the welfare of city dwellers and this should be
integrated into city planning. Institutions must use multi-faceted and targeted strategies in
helping farmers to adapt to the positive and negative effects of urban change, and farmers
must be encouraged to transfer their knowledge and skill in adaptation to other farmers.
Description
PhD. Development Studies
Keywords
Urbanisation, Urban Agriculture, Vegetable Farming, Urban Farmer