Int. J. Agric. Ext. 08 (03) 2020. 163-172 DOI: 10.33687/ijae.008.03.3310 163 Available Online at EScience Press Journals International Journal of Agricultural Extension ISSN: 2311-6110 (Online), 2311-8547 (Print) https://journals.esciencepress.net/IJAE INVESTIGATING THE FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE ADOPTION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN ASOKWA, KUMASI METROPOLIS Frank Y. Adusei Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana. ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history Received: July 03, 2020 Revised: December 16, 2020 Accepted: December 21, 2020 Urban agriculture, particularly organic vegetable production is promoted because of its contribution to food security and enhanced income. More so, organic agriculture considerably enhances the income of urban farmers who practice it. The objective was to investigate the factors that affect farmers' decision to adopt organic agriculture. Due to the contamination of vegetables with conventional agriculture systems, increasing concerns about the quality of food, the health of consumers and the environmental impacts of farming systems, organic agriculture is being promoted by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture as a means of addressing the problem. Since the introduction of organic agriculture, some farmers have adopted the technology while others have not. Sixteen farmers were selected, ten from those adopting and six from those not adopting. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to extract data from the participants. For those who adopted, the knowledge of their parents and forefathers on agriculture and their personal experiences by comparing their organic produce with conventional ones greatly inspired their decision on adoption. Factors leading to non-adoption are: inadequate awareness about organic farming, difficulty in controlling pests, diseases and improving soil fertility and perceived lack of market for the organic vegetables. As a result, effective extension monitoring and training are recommended to enhance the adoption and sustainability of organic agriculture. Keywords Organic agriculture Urban agriculture Adoption Non-adoption Vegetables Corresponding Author: Frank Y. Adusei Email: fyadusei@gmail.com © The Author(s) 2020. INTRODUCTION It has been reported by Ravallion et al. (2007) that, about one-quarter of the poor people in developing economies live in urban areas. By the year 2050, the world population is expected to have swelled to 9.5 billion and approximately 66% of the world`s population will be living in the urban areas (UN 2014). Presently, the majority of the world population growth is in the cities, especially in developing countries. Urban areas worldwide are expected to absorb all the population growth expected over the next four decades and continue to draw in the rural population (United Nations 2018). This rapid urbanization, as claimed by Overman and Venables (2005), is often an inspiring development, as urban centres are expected to be productive as compared to rural areas hence, a driver of economic development and growth. The Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF, 2010) emphasizes that rapid urbanization often go together with increasing poverty and food insecurity resulting from increasing food prices, over dependence on imports and growing unemployment. For the purpose of this paper, the terms metropolitan and urban will be used interchangeably since the two mean the same. For