Contributions of urban periodic markets to sustainable rural development in Ghana: A rural web analysis

Abstract

There is a limited theoretical understanding of the importance of urban periodic markets (UPMs) for sustainable rural development in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores the value of UPMs to sustainable rural development by employing the rural web technique. The specific objectives are to (1) describe the characteristics of UPMs in Ghana, and (2) assess the effects of UPMs on the six indicators of sustainable rural development proposed by the rural web technique. Surveys and interviews were used to collect primary data in villages both in Ghana’s more developed southern region and the less developed northern region. Our study finds that UPMs generate important socioeconomic interactions and enable cooperative marketing in both regions. UPMs shorten the food supply chains and create new types of rural-urban linkages, especially through farmers’ direct participation. Farmers from across Ghana noted that UPMs create employment opportunities, and in turn, provide access to varieties of goods that are not locally produced. In northern Ghana, farmers’ participation in UPMs enable cross-border trading with international buyers from Burkina Faso and Cote D’lvoire. The findings imply that the modernisation of UPMs could provide a critical pathway to achieving sustainable development objectives within rural Sub-Saharan Africa.