Farming under Urban Pressure: Stressors, Adaptive Strategies and Municipal Support for Urban Agriculture in Wa Municipality, Ghana

Urban Agriculture supports food production and livelihoods in expanding African cities, yet farmers often operate under environmental pressures, insecure access to resources, and limited institutional support. This study examined the stressors confronting urban farmers in Wa Municipality, Ghana, their adaptive strategies, and the policies, programs, and support provided by municipal institutions. A qualitative design was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with 20 urban farmers and five municipal officials. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, with ATLAS.ti used to support data organization, coding, retrieval, and analytical memoing. Farmers reported interconnected stressors, including seasonal water scarcity, flooding, pests and diseases, declining soil fertility, insecure land tenure, inadequate finance, high input costs, and limited extension contact. They responded through crop diversification, manure application, crop rotation, residue retention, irrigation adjustments, fencing, livelihood diversification, and collective assistance. However, the effectiveness and sustainability of these strategies were shaped by unequal access to secure land, reliable water, finance, information, infrastructure, and municipal support. The findings also revealed a gap between nominal provision and effective access: municipal officials described several agricultural interventions, while many farmers reported limited awareness, participation, or benefit. Strengthening adaptive capacity requires secure land-access arrangements, improved water infrastructure, consistent extension services, transparent program delivery, and the integration of urban agriculture into municipal development and land-use planning.