As the city grows, where do the farmers go? Understanding Peri-urbanization and food systems in Ghana - Evidence from the Tamale Metropolis

The world continues to battle food insecurity due to persisting constraints with food production, distribution, storage, processing, consumption and waste management. The recent global food crisis redirected investment in new paradigms of food research to find innovative strategies of food production including urban and peri-urban agriculture. In the urbanised regions of Ghana, uncontrolled urbanisation and non-compliance with land use plans have further worsened the potentials for food production in the urban corridors. The effectiveness of urban food systems depends on efficient spatial and infrastructure planning mechanisms for spatial allocation to various land uses including green and agricultural zones. Using qualitative data and narratives, this paper studied urban farmers’ production systems in the Tamale Metropolis in Ghana. The study observed that as urbanisation increases, farmers are being pushed unto less favourable locations, farther villages or restricted to unauthorised public spaces in order to continue production. The absence of urban green belts reduces farming to flood plains and along public drains where wastewater is used for irrigation. The existing customary land ownership system makes it extremely difficult for urban planning institutions to preserve green spaces due to pressure from landowners for re-zoning into urban land infrastructure. To protect urban and peri-urban agricultural lands, there is the need for an urban agricultural policy and the mapping potential production areas.