Governance of urban agriculture in African cities: Gaps and opportunities for innovation in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Urban agriculture provides one of the most promising areas for innovation in green and blue infrastructure in cities, particularly in developing countries. It can address multiple economic, social and local environmental benefits. Despite this critical role, urban agriculture often faces many challenges, including land competition, lack of urban policy directives, unfair land use planning and land tenure decisions. The presence of such barriers is indicative of critical issues of governance. This article examines various actors’ roles in different forms of governance in improving the sustainability benefits of urban agriculture. It draws policy lessons from Accra, Ghana, through empirical research conducted at two sites. The paper identifies the institutions and actors that govern urban agriculture and points to the problems and potential solutions to sustainable urban agriculture. These problems could be addressed by removing perverse incentives, conflicting regulations and unfair land management decision-making systems and providing more secure land tenure and large-scale technical support for agricultural and environmental management in a tropical urban environment.