Changes in Land Rights and Livelihoods in Peri-Urban Accra
IDRC - Lib. lo(Sao Farming in the Shadow of the City: Changes in Land Rights and Livelihoods in Peri-Urban Accra by Daniel Maxwell, Wordsworth Odame Larbi, Grace Mary Lamptey, Sawudatu Zakariah, and Margaret Armar-Klemesu February, 1998 Cities Feeding People Series Report 23 Farming in the Shadow of the City: Changes in Land Rights and Livelihoods in Peri-Urban Accra Daniel Maxwell,* Wordsworth Odame Larbi," Grace Mary Lamptey, Sawudatu Zakariah,"' and Margaret Armar-Klemesu- *Food Consumption and Nutrition Division International Food Policy Research Institute 1200 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036-3006 "Lands Commission Ministries Post Office, Private Bag Accra, Ghana 'Nutrition Unit No;uchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research University of Ghana P.O. Box 25 Legon, Ghana February, 1998 Farming in the Shadow of the City: Changes in Land Rights and Livelihoods in Peri-Urban Accra Abstract Contending perspectives have interpreted the impact of rapid growth in peri-urban areas in very different ways. One school of thought characterizes peri-urban growth as leading to the development of new markets, and the conversion of property rights in such a way as to transform the local economy, leading to greater entrepreneurialism. Another sees the destruction of agricultural livelihoods without necessarily replacing them with any alternative form of economic activity. This paper reviews the literature on pen-urban land use, property rights change, and livelihoods, and then compares four cases within the peri-urban periphery of Greater Accra, the capital and largest city of Ghana, to assess the impact of rapid urban sprawl on the area immediately surrounding the city.
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