Geography and Resource Development Using Remote Sensing/Gis for a Study of Agricultural Land Use Change in Akwapim South District

Abstract

This thesis examined the changes in land use in the Akwapim South District where agriculture has undergone significant changes since the 1930s when cocoa farms were destroyed as a result of the invasion of swollen shoot disease. The methodological approach explored Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as tools for investigating the phenomenon. Aerial photographs of 1972/74 and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite images of 1985 and 1991 supported the analysis of changes in the land use pattern. ‘Ground truthing’ was then conducted to validate the findings. The analysis showed that the change in agricultural land use have not been uniform over the entire landscape during the period under study. They are more pronounced towards the central, north, and northeast where most commercial farms are sited. To unravel the causes of the changes in land use, field investigation was conducted as a supplement to the remotely sensed data. Among the demographic, cultural and socio-economic variables examined, it was found that some indicators, such as changes in tenancy arrangements and profit maximisation as one engages in cash crop production, have put undue pressure on land resources. Among the poor farmers, continuous cultivation has resulted in soil fertility depletion, low yield and, above all, poverty. Deforestation and soil erosion are also part of the environmental threats in the Akwapim South District. The GIS approach has also created a relational

database, stored in a computer memory, which can be manipulated for the purposes of decision making in the district. It is recommended that similar research be carried out in other districts not only in environmental resources, but also natural resources to help agricultural extension officers in planning effectively for sustainable agricultural land use in the country.