Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
The phenomenon of land grabbing in developing countries has led to worsening livelihood choices for smallholder farmers who depended on communal lands for subsistence. While previous analyses of land grabs were framed in a paradigm that emphasised outcomes, this study is framed within a human development approach which places emphasis on both outcomes and procedural concerns. The procedural concerns are in relation to representation prior to and during negotiations for land acquisitions. The study is based on analysis of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to assess BioFuel Africa Limited’s investments in two communities in northern Ghana. Results show the company is no longer operating its jatropha (jatropha curcas) plantation and therefore the inability to provide jobs promised. Meanwhile the clearing of large contiguous tracts of lands have had devastating impacts on the livelihoods of women and men. The study revealed that there was poor participation of women in all stages and processes of the land acquisitions for the project, and that the land acquirer had failed to fully implement the procedural concerns of equity, efficiency, participation and sustainability in the acquisitions of lands for the project. It is recommended that large-scale land deals should be conditioned on proper disposal and utilization of lands within specified time frames, failure for which land is reverted to original use. Keywords: Land Grabs, Equity, Efficiency, Participation, Sustainability
Highlights
The security of communal land tenure systems and the livelihood choices that such land entitlement rights provide smallholder farmers in northern Ghana have seriously been threatened by foreign business such as BioFuel Africa in search of new destinations of investment for secured returns
This paper provides an overview of recent developments in large-scale land acquisition and the effects of the promotion of the jatropha cultivation on smallholder farmer’s livelihood in northern Ghana
Neoliberal economic policies which focused on the private ownership of lands through land titling has rather led to large-scale land grabs rather than unleashing the capital of the peasants
Summary
The security of communal land tenure systems and the livelihood choices that such land entitlement rights provide smallholder farmers in northern Ghana have seriously been threatened by foreign business such as BioFuel Africa in search of new destinations of investment for secured returns. Neoliberal economics is not adequate in explaining the peasant way of life and the importance which smallholder farmers attach to their land. It does not explain the many useful ways that smallholder farmers have built their way of life around communal lands. Smallholder farmers are disadvantaged by being pushed away from community land on which they had depended over the millennia. They have either been unfavorably pitched against large-scale agribusiness interests or overly dependent in an unsustainable manner on jatropha farms
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
