Crop-Livestock Integration in Urban Agriculture: Implication for Urban Food Security in Ghana

Abstract

Urban food insecurity is increasingly common in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, due to rapid population growth and urbanization. Urban agriculture (UA) is considered a strategic approach to reducing urban food insecurity. Although there is a growing body of research on urban agriculture, evidence on integrated urban crop-livestock farming systems is scarce. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by identifying the precursors of food security among urban households practicing different urban agriculture (UA) systems and analyzing the impact of integrated crop-livestock (ICL) systems on household food security in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. Our findings indicate that different sets of factors affect the food security of households practicing different urban agriculture systems. However, we observed that household income is negatively correlated with urban food insecurity across all forms of urban agriculture. Access to vacant land improves dietary diversity for households without farms, with crops, or those practicing integrated crop-livestock farming, while access to credit enhances dietary diversity for households without farms, with livestock, or integrated crop-livestock farming. The findings indicate that households practicing ICL farming systems have greater access to food and more diversified diets than households practicing other UA systems. The ICL farming system increases urban households' access to food by 84% compared to households without a farm, 48% compared to households with only crops, and 37% compared to households with only livestock. Households without land remain reliant on food purchases, which are impacted by rising costs. Furthermore, the ICL farming system enhances urban households' dietary diversity by 12%, 7.6%, and 16% compared to households without a farm, with only crops, or with only livestock, respectively. Therefore, the incorporation of ICL farming into urban planning is crucial for improving access to food and diversified diets.