Urbanization and Arable Land Use in Northern Ghana: A Case Study of the Sagnarigu Municipality in the Greater Tamale Area

We analyzed the effects of urbanization on the use of arable land in the Sagnarigu municipality in Greater Tamale Area of Ghana. The study involved a random survey of 300 farming households to establish their land-use patterns and valuation, and an analysis of satellite and remote sensing data for the years, 2000, 2010 and 2020 for land-use related land cover changes in the area. Out of 300 responding household heads, 88.3% were usufruct landowners; the remaining 11.7% were tenants. The hedonic pricing method was used to analyse arable land values. The value of arable land was negatively influenced by the distance to the nearest main road, district capital town, and Tamale Central Business District, and positively influenced by its closeness to State institutions. Urbanization, proxied by the population of the community where the land was located, positively influenced the value of the land. Based on the analysis of geographic information system data, we established that the built-up area in the district increased from 13.0 km2 in 2000 to 97.5 km2 in 2020, an increase of 650%. Built-up area accounted for 48.7% of the total land available in the district in 2020.