URBAN EXPANSION AND ITS EFFECTS ON PERI URBAN AGRICULTURE IN THE WA MUNICIPALITY OF GHANA

Abstract

From a small district capital in the early 1980s, Wa the capital of the Upper West Region has grown to the status of a municipality. The phenomenal urban growth and its accompanying expansion have had a profound effect on the peri-urban communities. These communities have had their livelihood activities negatively affected but the extent to which the urban expansion has affected agricultural output and peri urban farmers’ coping strategies has not attracted much academic attention. The main objective of this study was to examine how the urban expansion of Wa has impacted peri-urban agricultural activities. The study used GIS (Landsat images) to trace the extent of urban growth from 2000 to 2016. Heads of 370 farming households were sampled thorough simple random sampling for questionnaire survey. This was supplemented with in-depth interviews with key stakeholders connected with land-use management in the municipality, focus group discussions, and (non-participant). The results show that since 2000, the extent of expansion has engulfed many of the peri urban communities including Bamaho, Kpongu, and Kperisi. The results further indicated that farm sizes and crop output had drastically been reduced with mean differences of 7.988 and 13.225 respectively. Farmers have been forced to adopt alternative livelihood activities such as weaving of smock, sand weaning, and some formal sector jobs such as cleaners while others cope within agriculture by applying organic and inorganic fertilizers, tree cropping and crop rotation. The study concludes that if the current rate of expansion is not managed properly, it could have a dire effect on food security in the municipality in particular and the region in general. The study recommends that stakeholders should have collaborative management approaches on land decision-making and increase extension programs to assist peri urban farmers to address the challenges that come with urban expansion.