LAND USE/LAND COVER DYNAMICS AND URBAN AGRICULTURE IN TARKWA-NSUAEM MUNICIPALITY, GHANA

Achieving food security is now a priority of both international and national development agendas. However, this can be realised depending on measures put in place to regulate land use/land cover (LULC) activities from hampering agricultural development in rural and urban areas. This paper sought to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Theoretical and empirical researches in urban management 2021-05, Vol.16 (2), p.5-20
Main Authors: Ebenezer Nana Kwaku, Ebenezer, MENSAH, Collins Adjei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural development
Agricultural land
Agriculture
Business Economy / Management
Cities
Descriptive research
Developing countries
Economic activity
Economic development
Farming
Food security
Geography, Regional studies
Informal economy
Land cover
Land use
Land use planning
LDCs
Mineral resources
Qualitative analysis
Regional Geography
Remote sensing
Research design
Rural areas
Satellite imagery
Sustainable development
Urban agriculture
Urban areas
Urban development
Urban farming
Urban sprawl
Vegetation
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Summary:Achieving food security is now a priority of both international and national development agendas. However, this can be realised depending on measures put in place to regulate land use/land cover (LULC) activities from hampering agricultural development in rural and urban areas. This paper sought to assess the LULC dynamics of Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality (Ghana) and its implications for urban agriculture between 2002 and 2015. A descriptive research design was adopted with much emphasis given to the mixed-method approach. A remotely sensed satellite images were processed and analysed using ERDAS Imagine v.2013 and ArcMap 10.1. This was supplemented with qualitative data from key informants. The findings of the study revealed a loss of substantial cultivated and managed vegetation (agricultural lands) to artificial surfaces and associated areas (built-up) with the resultant consequences affecting urban agriculture in diverse ways. The immediate effects have been loss of over 100km2 of agricultural lands, farmers losing their jobs and for that matter diversifying into other economic activities which put the future food security of the area at risk. It is therefore recommended that the city authorities in collaboration with relevant stakeholders should reclaim the lost agricultural lands and undertake urban growth boundary strategies to protect agricultural lands.
ISSN:2065-3913
2065-3921