Context

Accra faces significant climate impacts, including floods, heat waves, and pollution. Projected increasing temperature and erratic rainfall patterns will compromise the livelihoods of many city and rural dwellers in Ghana. Climate change adaptation therefore remains a major priority for the city and rural authorities in Ghana. Urban Agriculture (UA) holds promise as a strategy for climate adaptation in building resilience among city and rural dwellers in Ghana. Until now, however, not much has been done to unearth the potential of UA in Ghana, particularly in Accra. Although studies (e.g., Asomaning-Boateng 2002) have examined the nature of urban cultivation in Accra, yet, the extent, practices, and attitudes towards UA remain under-researched in Ghana. There is, therefore, little evidence to aid policy actions aimed at addressing climate change challenges and improving urban livelihoods. This exchange will explore how UA can enhance the resilience of urban communities to climate challenges.

We will review pertinent literature and conduct interviews with diverse stakeholders, but also field observations to understand the nature, characteristics and role of UA in climate resilience efforts in Accra.

It is expected that this project will lead to:

  1. A joint research paper drawing on our field findings
  2. A grant proposal on urban agriculture and climate resilience
  3. A case study article about our exchange visit to be published on the YESI website.

Aims and Objectives

This exchange aims to investigate the potential of urban agriculture (UA) in building climate resilience in Accra, Ghana. The project objectives include the following:

  1. To identify the main types of urban agriculture practices and their characteristics in Accra.
  2. To investigate how urban agriculture practices contribute to reducing the exposure and sensitivity of urban communities to climate shocks and stresses.
  3. To understand how urban agriculture practices enhance the adaptive capacity and coping strategies of urban communities to climate shocks and stresses.