Accra | Multi stakeholder action planning | City strategic agenda | Implementation |Key results |Contact | Resources
URBAN AGRICULTURE IN ACCRA
There are two major categories of urban agriculture in Accra. Backyard gardening takes place in and around homes. Open-space farming in Accra is estimated to take place on about 680 ha under maize, 47ha under vegetables (rain fed) and 251 ha under mixed cereal-vegetable systems. Irrigated vegetable production takes place on a 100 ha land area in the dry season. It was estimated in the RUAF exploratory survey that about 1000 farmers were involved in rain-fed and irrigated urban agriculture, who produce exotic vegetables, like lettuce, cabbage, spring onions, cucumber, green pepper and cauliflower, or the more traditional vegetables as tomatoes, okra, eggplant and hot pepper. Plot sizes range between 0.01-0.02 ha per farmer, and reach 20 ha in peri-urban areas. Other components of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Accra are poultry, small ruminants, dairy farming, aquaculture, and other short-cycle species such as mushroom and Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) a leading source of bush meat in the guinea savannah.
There are different tenure arrangements for the use of the urban open spaces. In general, no farmer owns the land that is cultivated and very few of them pay a fee. Most of the open spaces belong to public or private institutions. The farmers use various sources of water. Most of the open-space farmers use water from drains, streams/rivers, and if available, pipe borne water and from hand-dug wells. In spite of its benefits, such as employment and access to food in Accra, urban and peri-urban agriculture is faced with challenges, such as limited access to land and insecurity; limited access to water resources; contamination of crops from poor quality water and improper use of pesticides; lack of an institutional framework; and lack of farmer organisations to facilitate advocacy and lobbying.
Urban and peri-urban agriculture (related issues) in Accra currently fall under the jurisdiction of different levels and types of authorities. Although there is no specific policy on urban agriculture, smallholder agriculture development is highlighted almost in all major policies, programmes and projects such as Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, Modernization of the Capital City and Decentralisation Policy. There are thus opportunities for better integration of it in the overall city development policies and programmes and this is being explored.
ACCRA, GHANA
Accra is the capital city of Ghana and covers an area of about 170 km². and has an estimated population of about 1.66 million. The population growth rate is estimated at 3.4 percent per annum in the city itself but up to 10 percent in its peri-urban districts. The city receives low annual rainfall averaging 810 mm distributed over less than 80 days. The Odaw River is the main river that flows through Accra. Accra’s main water supply is from the Weija Dam on Densu River with some water being pumped from the Akosombo dam in the Volta River.
Accra is the most urbanised city in Ghana. Most industry, manufacturing, commerce, business, culture, education, political and administrative functions are based in the conurbation Accra-Tema, attracting migrants from all over the country and from neighbouring countries. This has contributed a great deal to the urbanization of Accra.
Primary agricultural production is the smallest economic sector of Accra, with main activities marine fishing and urban agriculture. Urban farming in Accra is typical done along water bodies and drains, and in backyards. Produce from the sub-sector is basically varieties of vegetables including okra, eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce and livestock keeping. The main urban agriculture activities are horticulture and livestock keeping.
MULTI STAKEHOLDER ACTION PLANNING
RUAF Cities Farming for the Future Programme (RUAF-CFF) facilitates participatory and multi-stakeholder policy formulation and action planning (MPAP) on urban agriculture in Accra. This MPAP approach is well adapted to the decentralisation and multi-stakeholder processes in local governance in Ghana.
| Participatory and Multi-stakeholder Policy formulation and Action Planning (MPAP) is a process of collaboration between the urban authorities with citizens, farmers, civil organisations, private sector companies and other governmental entities in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of policies and related action plans. This approach brings together major UPA stakeholders in the form of communication, dialogue, co-determination of issues, joint decision making, planning and implementation of projects. The main output of a MPAP is the joint development of a City Strategic Agenda on urban and peri-urban agriculture in Accra. |
The Accra Working Group on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture, AWGUPA, was constituted at the multi-stakeholder forum organised by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly-Ministry of Food and Agriculture (AMA-MoFA) and IWMI-RUAF in 2005.
AWGUPA presently has a membership of fifteen institutions:
- Accra Metropolitan Authority: - Department of Food and Agriculture, - Planning and Coordination Unit, - (Public)Health Department, and - Town and Country Planning unit.
- University of Ghana: - College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences and - Department of Geography and Resource Development;
- CSIR-STEPRI, IWMI-Ghana, Environmental Protection Agency-Accra, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Directorate of Extension, Enterprise Works, Ghana (NGO), Ghana Agriculture Workers Union, New Times Corporation, Crop farmers Association, Livestock Farmers Association.
AWGUPA coordinated the implementation of a joint situation analysis on urban agriculture in Accra metropolitan area and the multi-actor preparation of a City Strategic Agenda on urban and peri-urban agriculture.
CITY STRATEGIC AGENDA
The City Strategic Agenda on urban agriculture (CSAU) includes the agreed key issues on urban agriculture, the possible strategies and courses of action regarding each issue, the main actors involved and responsible for each action, and actual or potential funding.
In the CSAU, policy issues and strategies are defined for specific areas:
| Policy and legislative support for urban agriculture; Education and public awareness on urban agriculture and urban food safety; Standards and quality assurance of products; The promotion of urban agriculture (micro-)enterprises; Capacity building of farmers and farmer associations: the formalisation of farmer associations; Development of collaborative projects and programmes among key actors in Accra; Improvement in post-harvest handling and in marketing; Improved access to land, (temporal arrangements). |  |
The CSAU will continue to guide the work in Accra on urban agriculture, supported by RUAF under the From Seed to Table programme (2009-2010).
IMPLEMENTATION
The implementation of the CSAU has started with the following activities:
- Based on a review of urban agriculture related policies in other cities, draft guidelines for strengthening and supporting urban agriculture in Accra were produced, for consideration by the AMA.
- The general public was made aware of food safety issues through media attention and distribution of posters and DVD’s.
- The AWGUPA members facilitated stakeholder involvement in the review of the by-laws related with urban agriculture. The revised by-laws have been presented to Accra Metropolitan Assembly for approval.
|  |
KEY RESULTS
A 15-member multi-stakeholder team, the Accra Working Group on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (AWGUPA) has been established and is active. It receives official recognition from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the two key political and policy institutions.
- Urban agriculture has gained in importance in Accra. For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken up issues of urban agriculture as defined in the City Strategic Agenda. The national Ministry of Food and Agriculture reviewed the overall policy document, Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy (FASDEP) and is now incorporating urban agriculture, and is now expecting its urban departments (Metro, districts and municipalities) to deal with urban agriculture.
- Explicit attention to urban agriculture will be included into the Ministry of Food and Agriculture specific Agriculture Colleges curricula as a sub-course under “current issues in agriculture”.
- In 2006, for the first time, an Award was given to the best National Urban and Peri-Urban Farmer by the Deputy Minister of Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Honorable Clement Eledi.
- Awareness has been created in Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
- Through participation of the farmers in the preparation of the CSA, urban agriculture has also been taken up as an issue by the Ghana Agricultural Workers Union.
- A Farmer association has been formed within the Trade Union Congress of Ghana with the financial secretary of La farmers association as the secretary.
- Guidelines on urban agriculture in Accra have been prepared for presentation to policy makers
- Bye-laws on, or related to, urban agriculture have been revised and will be presented to the Assembly.
CONTACT
Accra
The Accra Working Group on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture AWGUPA
Chair: Mrs. Evelyn Adzorkor Doku
C/o Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Accra Metropolitan Assembly,
Accra - Ghana
E dokuadzorkor@yahoo.com
P +233-20-8232267
Regional Coordination of the RUAF Cities Farming for the Future Programme
IWMI Ghana (International Water Management Institute - Ghana)
PMB CT 112, Accra, Ghana
P +233-21-784753
F +233-21-784752
E o.cofie@cgiar.org
Website: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/africa/West/projects/RUAFII-CFF.htm
RESOURCES
Return to the worldmap.
