Reimagining land use planning: mixed residential–agricultural land use as a pathway to sustaining agriculture in Ghanaian cities

Urban Farm DB summary

This study assessed whether mixed residential-agricultural land use can sustain urban agriculture and if residential landowners in rapidly urbanizing Ghanaian cities are willing to allocate plot space to agriculture. Researchers surveyed 280 landowners across four peri-urban settlements in Kumasi and used geospatial data to estimate available residential space. Nearly four out of five landowners were willing to cede their backyards for micro-farming, with geospatial estimates identifying 75.65 hectares of available residential area across the settlements, equivalent to approximately 0.03 ha per plot (about 23% of an average 0.13 ha plot). These findings suggest the potential of backyard micro-farming as a strategy for sustaining urban agriculture.