From conflict to cooperation: The trajectories of large scale land investments on land conflict reversal in Ghana

Abstract

There have been studies on land-conflict and its implications through large scale land investments in Ghana and beyond. However, contrary to the negative conflict-implications of land investments, the effectiveness of conflict-reversal interventions has received little attention in academic and policy debates. This has led to a literature gap about land conflict reversal pathways and outcomes. This study thus, uses a case study design based on qualitative methods to introduce two communities of large scale land acquisitions (namely Agogo and Kpachaa) in Ghana where corporate investors took multiple steps to mediate conflicts with the ruralists vis-a-vis the secondary effects aftermath. The study identifies that the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) interventions and benefit sharing mechanisms have had deescalating effects on land conflicts in the communities involved. In the case of Agogo, it was noticed that the conflict reversal pathways were the investor’s decision to change investment from biofuel to food crops, the establishment of formal rent payment system and the running of flexible and rotational job schemes for community members. On the other hand, Kpachaa saw conflict reversal through corporate interventions towards infrastructure development, inputs and technical support, jobs and training programmes and derestricted communal access to unused land spaces and economic trees for local livelihood sustainability. Based on the findings, the study argues that the establishment of land conflict reversal guidelines (in which corporate investors play a key role in tackling conflicts) could help in mitigating land conflicts in Ghana and other countries subjected to large-scale land investments11We define large scale land investment as any investment either private or public or both that involves the acquisition of land from 50 acres as regarded by Ghana’s Lands Commission. .