ABSTRACT

Any sort of urban agriculture that existed prior to colonization is ignored despite the fact that ‘unlike Western European counterparts, African cities and towns were basically agrarian’. Urban agriculture is assumed to be a colonial phenomenon when, it was expected that agriculture be reserved for rural residents. The encouragement of urban agriculture at the beginning of colonization happened prior to the opening up of the hinterland. Urban agriculture was not permitted and there were heavy crackdowns on violators, which made the practice almost nonexistent. During the time of food shortages, and especially during the time the government encouraged Ghanaians to increase their food production, it was unlikely that a government official would have any grounds to destroy growing crops. The most important contribution of the Rawlings’ regime to urban agriculture was the retrenchment that led to an increase in the number of people involved in the practice.