Abstract
Large-scale land acquisition in Africa has been the concern and the focus of growing global literature on land grabbing. The upswing in biofuel investments in Ghana led to large-scale land acquisitions by the private sector presided over by chiefs. This research investigates how chiefs, in playing their traditional roles in the acquisition of land and as arbitrators, were, in most instances, the cause and the solution to the ensuing conflicts in the various communities. Data was collected through interviews, use of questionnaires and focus group discussions. Some of the conflict issues include loss of farmlands or other communal lands, disagreements on the land acquisition processes, the quantum and mode of execution of compensation payments and the existence or contents of social responsibility agreements. Furthermore, the use of negotiation, mediation and courts by people in these communities relative to arbitration by chiefs is increasing. The Government of Ghana needs to strengthen the public sector land institutions and put in place stronger and binding mechanisms for resolving disputes arising from large-scale acquisitions of land to cushion the effect of the weakening confidence in the chieftaincy institution.
Highlights
The land tenure system in Ghana is an amalgam of customary rules and recent statutory overlays [1,2,3]
The results of this study showed that conflict issues were prevalent in all of the communities prior to large-scale land acquisitions for industrial Jatropha cultivation
This study shows that traditional land use conflicts predate Jatropha investments in Ghana
Summary
The land tenure system in Ghana is an amalgam of customary rules and recent statutory overlays [1,2,3]. The customary freeholders are allowed to use the land for farming and to build upon for their personal use. They are able to allocate their land to non-members of the land owing community for subsistence farming under various tenurial arrangements, such as abunu (one-half sharing) and abusa (one-third sharing) in the cocoa growing areas of Ghana, or for seasonal farming of food crops, such as cassava and tomatoes. The allocation of land for commercial agriculture and for non-agricultural use, such as building plots, are done by the respective customary trustees, as indicated above, who receive rent and royalties on behalf of members of the land owning group
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