Nutrient and virtual water flow analysis for Tamale, Ghana and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Nutrients and virtual water in the form of food and other organic goods are transported from the rural hinterland to urban centres. In particular in developing countries, poor waste management in growing cities and the potential to recover nutrients and water for agricultural production have raised interest in quantifying these flows. What are the quantities of organic materials that enter and leave a city? Which materials carry the most important nutrient and virtual water flows? Where does nutrient and water depletion take place? This study has been conducted within the UrbanFoodPlus project (www.urbanfood plus.org) to assess organic material flows and their quantitative nutrient and virtual water contribution for the cities of Tamale in Ghana and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. Matter flows (unprocessed foodstuff, firewood, fodder, non-timber forest products, etc.) from regional, national and international sources were systematically recorded at all roads leading to Tamale and Ouagadougo. Organic matter from urban sources aand stocks were captured at major markets. The survey has been conducted within two years covering the peak (November) and lean season (April) for six days in a row. The study maps the virtual water and nutrient transfers of different types of traded food products and other organic goods. The results will improve our understanding of the urban metabolism, and may support the development of standardised methodologies for assessing virtual water and nutrient flows

Examining food sources in the city of Tamale, Ghana

This empirical study examines food sources and their quantitative contribution to the city of Tamale, Ghana. The results contribute to an understanding of the urban food system, and evoke questions relating to the standardised measurement and evaluation of urban food system resilience across geographical contexts

Sustaining the multi-stakeholder dialogue process for dams and development: final report of phase 2 of the Ghana Dams Forum, April 2007-March 2008

Report of a one year project of the Volta Basin Development Foundation, in collaboration with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and funded by the Gesellschaft f?r Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ

Virtual water flow in food trade systems of two West African cities

Rapid urban growth in sub-Saharan Africa challenges food supply of cities. As food and other organic matter are transported from production areas to consumption points, water, which has been used for their production, is transported virtually. This study aimed at determining the magnitude and sources of virtual water flows in food trade of two West African cities, in order to better assess food provisioning risks and water resource use and planning. To this end, flows of unprocessed food from local, regional, national and international sources were systematically recorded at all roads leading to Tamale, Ghana and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The survey was conducted within two years covering the peak (November - December) and lean season (March - April), respectively, for six days in a row. Virtual water flows were computed by multiplying the flow quantities (t yr-1) by their respective virtual water contents (m3 t-1). Results showed that virtual water of all food commodities imported to Tamale and Ouagadougou were 514 and 2105 million m3 yr-1 respectively, out of which 68% and 40% were re-exported to other regions of the country. The data also showed major seasonal variation in virtual water flows across the year. Reflecting their dominating role in local diets, cereals contributed most to the total virtual water inflows in both cities. Southern Ghana is the major net virtual water importer from Tamale through cereals, legumes, vegetables, and livestock. The Northern Region of Ghana, on the other hand, is a net exporter of virtual water in all food groups apart from fruits. In Ouagadougou, large flows of virtual water were imported in cereals, specifically rice from Asian countries, via Ivory Coast

Food- and feed-based nutrient flows in two West African cities

Recent studies have examined the urban metabolism of cities using urban consumption as a proxy for food inflows but very few studies have aimed at quantifying the role of cities as trade hubs and nutrient sinks of their hinterlands. We therefore examined the linkages between food and animal feed supply, their places of production and nutrient flows through the urban system in the two West African cities of Tamale (Ghana) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Using primary data on food and feed flows, and secondary data to assess the transformation of these flows into nutrient terms, we show that, besides urban consumption, the function of the two study sites as trade hubs significantly determines nutrient flows. In Tamale, > 50% of the nutrient inflows was neither consumed nor was lost in situ but left that city again for other destinations. At least 30% of the incoming cereals was stored in the city for later consumption or export. Ouagadougou relied more on imported goods with 40% of N imported from foreign countries compared to Tamale where only 10% of the N was imported, thus contributing to heavier nutrient extraction in remote production areas

Food flow analysis: the role of locality in feeding cities [Abstract only]

The growing urban demand for food and changing diets are two of the main factors for changing urban food systems in terms of food quantity and diversity, as well as underlying production and distribution systems. In order to meet the urban food needs while minimising negative environmental effects, short supply chains have been advocated in recent years. In spite of the growing attention to “local” or “urban“ food in research and development, there are only very few empirical studies which systematically analyse the actual contribution of urban and periurban production to urban food supply in a standardised way. This study as part of two PhD projects aims to quantify and map food flows supplying urban populations in the cities of Tamale, Ghana and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, both cities that are characterised by high urban growth rates and high incidences of food insecurity. Food flows were recorded at roads entering the cities and at major markets during the peak and lean season. Data collection will extend over two years, and therefore only first preliminary results are available so far (Tamale for the peak season 2013, and lean season 2014; Ouagadougou for the lean season 2014). First results show that in both cities the majority of unprocessed staple crops are produced in rural areas and channelled through village markets to the cities while leafy vegetables are produced during the dry season in irrigated urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). In Tamale, imports play a minor role: rice is the only food crop imported at large scale from outside Africa (preliminary results indicate that about half of the rice consumed in both cities is imported), whereas sub-regional trade plays a role with respect to onion (from Niger) and tomato supply (from Burkina Faso during the lean season). Ouagadougou’s status as national capital is reflected in the larger diversity of food items in the markets and the relatively longer distances (partly imported) food travels. The two case studies suggest that diversifying food sources can be a means to minimise risks and to ensure access to favourable market prices which contributes to a more resilient urban food supply system. This might change with increasing economic status and growing city size, when creating space for UPA and supporting rural small holders will become more important to maintain the mix