ABSTRACT
The increasing pollution and waste disposal problems found in many subSaharan cities have become distinctive features of Kumasi and its immediate peri-urban areas (Onibokun, 1999; Adam, 2001; Simon et al, 2001, 2003), where rapid growth, widespread poverty, inadequate and weak local governance and limited financial resources all contribute to the waste problem (Onibokun, 1999; Adarkwa and Post, 2001; Simon et al, 2001, 2003). Rapid urbanization in Kumasi is resulting in major challenges to environmental protection, waste management, food security and urban and peri-urban agriculture (Brook and Dávila, 2000; Mensah et al, 2001). The pollution and waste disposal problems are most acute in peri-urban areas, where waste management services are seldom provided despite rapidly increasing settlement densities (Adam, 2001). Although this poses problems, there are substantial opportunities for community-based waste management strategies that promote nutrient recycling. These strategies turn organic waste into compost at community and household levels for use as an agricultural fertilizer in urban and peri-urban agriculture. Such approaches have the potential for creating a classic win-win situation by increasing urban and peri-urban agricultural production through appropriate soil fertility management; protecting the environment through the recycling of organic waste; and income and livelihood generation, which enhance urban and peri-urban food security (Drechsel and Kunze, 2001; Leitzinger, 2001).
