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Urban households' engagement in agriculture : Implications for household food security in Ghana's medium sized cities

Ayerakwa, Hayford Mensah LU (2017) In Geographical Research 55(2). p.217-230
Abstract

Urban and peri-urban agriculture plays an important role in meeting the food and nutrition needs of those living in the increasingly urbanised cities in Africa. The extent and scope of the practise of urban and peri-urban agriculture differs from one city to another depending on the economic, environmental, socio-political, and contextual conditions at play. Using household data drawn from urban Techiman and Tamale in the Brong Ahafo and Northern regions of Ghana respectively, this paper descriptively analyses the contribution of households' engagement in agriculture on urban households' food security. The results show that, nearly half (43%) of urban residents are involved in the production of food either in the urban or rural areas or... (More)

Urban and peri-urban agriculture plays an important role in meeting the food and nutrition needs of those living in the increasingly urbanised cities in Africa. The extent and scope of the practise of urban and peri-urban agriculture differs from one city to another depending on the economic, environmental, socio-political, and contextual conditions at play. Using household data drawn from urban Techiman and Tamale in the Brong Ahafo and Northern regions of Ghana respectively, this paper descriptively analyses the contribution of households' engagement in agriculture on urban households' food security. The results show that, nearly half (43%) of urban residents are involved in the production of food either in the urban or rural areas or both, primarily for household consumption and sale of surplus produce. Households who do not engage in agriculture raise their cash incomes through engagement in informal businesses. The picture is however different for households that engage in urban and rural agriculture. For such households, income raised from agriculture (rural and urban combined) is the highest in both cities contributing nearly half (43%) and about a third (33%) of total cash incomes in Techiman and Tamale respectively. The results underscore the need to place the discussion on the contribution of urban agriculture to urban food security in the broader context of the different food production arrangements available to urban households, both in urban and rural areas.

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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Food security, Ghana, Medium sized city, Rural agriculture, Tamale, Techiman, Urban agriculture
in
Geographical Research
volume
55
issue
2
pages
217 - 230
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • wos:000400785300009
  • scopus:85010726068
ISSN
1745-5863
DOI
10.1111/1745-5871.12205
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6fdc12e4-bced-486c-8e85-64226eaa9a51
date added to LUP
2017-02-24 10:04:26
date last changed
2024-09-16 19:53:51
@article{6fdc12e4-bced-486c-8e85-64226eaa9a51,
  abstract     = {{<p>Urban and peri-urban agriculture plays an important role in meeting the food and nutrition needs of those living in the increasingly urbanised cities in Africa. The extent and scope of the practise of urban and peri-urban agriculture differs from one city to another depending on the economic, environmental, socio-political, and contextual conditions at play. Using household data drawn from urban Techiman and Tamale in the Brong Ahafo and Northern regions of Ghana respectively, this paper descriptively analyses the contribution of households' engagement in agriculture on urban households' food security. The results show that, nearly half (43%) of urban residents are involved in the production of food either in the urban or rural areas or both, primarily for household consumption and sale of surplus produce. Households who do not engage in agriculture raise their cash incomes through engagement in informal businesses. The picture is however different for households that engage in urban and rural agriculture. For such households, income raised from agriculture (rural and urban combined) is the highest in both cities contributing nearly half (43%) and about a third (33%) of total cash incomes in Techiman and Tamale respectively. The results underscore the need to place the discussion on the contribution of urban agriculture to urban food security in the broader context of the different food production arrangements available to urban households, both in urban and rural areas.</p>}},
  author       = {{Ayerakwa, Hayford Mensah}},
  issn         = {{1745-5863}},
  keywords     = {{Food security; Ghana; Medium sized city; Rural agriculture; Tamale; Techiman; Urban agriculture}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{217--230}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Geographical Research}},
  title        = {{Urban households' engagement in agriculture : Implications for household food security in Ghana's medium sized cities}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1745-5871.12205}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/1745-5871.12205}},
  volume       = {{55}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}