Understanding residents’ choice of urban farming systems in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana: Land use policy implications

Abstract

The heightened food insecurity in urban settings has rekindled the debate over the promotion of urban agriculture (UA) as a sustainable alternative food supply source across the globe. This study, therefore, examines the determinants of urban residents’ decisions to engage in UA and their choice of agriculture practices. Cross-sectional data was solicited from 430 urban dwellers through a multi-stage sampling technique. The data was analysed using descriptive as well as binary and multinomial logit regression models. The descriptive analysis shows that the cultivation of crops (34.7 %) predominates urban agricultural practices before crop-livestock integration (32.6 %) and livestock farming (32.6 %). The study identifies gender, age, religious affiliation, years of formal education, location of residence, household size, food insecurity status, availability of vacant land, extension access, and household income as significant determinants of urban households’ decision to participate in UA. The multinomial logit regression analysis revealed that urban farmers’ decision to practice only crop production is invariant between livestock-only production and integrated crop-livestock systems. When compared to the base category of the integrated crop-livestock system, the findings indicate that farmers’ educational background, food insecurity, engagement in salaried jobs, location, extension, and credit access are the main drivers of the decision to practice either crop-only or sole livestock production systems. The findings of this study have useful implications for the formulation of UA programs based on the different farming systems practiced in the study location.