This chapter serves as an introduction to the book and provides brief information about
urbanization in West Africa, and in Ghana in particular, the general role of urban agriculture
and the common use of polluted irrigation water. It describes our focus on irrigated
smallholder vegetable production and our understanding of the terms ‘urban‘, ‘peri-urban’
and ‘wastewater’. The chapter reflects on some of the key challenges of the farming system,
its dynamic and resilience. It also gives an overview on the structure of the book, the origins
of the data and the main objective of this publication