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Abstract
The widespread acquisition of land for large-scale/commercial production of biofuel crops in Ghana has raised concerns from civil society organizations, local communities and other parties, regarding the impact of these investments on local livelihoods. This paper assessed the effect of large-scale acquisition of land for production of Jatropha curcas on farmers’ livelihoods in Ghana. The study was conducted in 11 communities spanning the major agro-ecological zones and political divisions across Ghana. Methods of data collection included questionnaire survey, interviews and focus group discussions. Results show that several households have lost their land to Jatropha plantations leading, in some cases, to violent conflicts between biofuel investors, traditional authorities and the local communities. Most people reported that, contrary to the belief that Jatropha does well on marginal lands, the lands acquired by the Jatropha Companies were productive lands. Loss of rights over land has affected households’ food production and security, as many households have resorted to reducing the area they have under cultivation, leading to shortening fallow periods and declining crop yields. In addition, although the cultivation of Jatropha led to the creation of jobs in the communities where they were started, such jobs were merely transient. The paper contends that, even though the impact of Jatropha feedstock production on local livelihoods in Ghana is largely negative, the burgeoning industry could be developed in ways that could support local livelihoods.
Highlights
In recent years, biofuels have rapidly emerged as a major issue for agricultural development, energy policy, and natural resource management
The situation in Ghana is that of large-scale acquisition of active or fallow agricultural lands for Jatropha plantations causing farmers to look for new farm lands or reduce their area under cultivation
These households cited increasing land scarcity and land quality concerns as key obstacles. They assert that settler farmers, most of who migrated from the northern part of Ghana, were the worst affected as they lost disproportionate amounts of land, with almost 75 percent of land losers stemming from this group despite being a minority. They maintain that the situation is more critical because of the absence of a biofuel policy to guide the acquisition of land for large-scale biofuel plantations and protect the vulnerable and the poor from land alienation
Summary
Biofuels have rapidly emerged as a major issue for agricultural development, energy policy, and natural resource management. There is growing interest from foreign private investors in establishing biofuel projects in Africa, as well as growing support from bilateral and multilateral donors for incorporating biofuels into government policies and development plans [1,2,3]. Bassey [3] reveals that many European and American governments, International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank and multinational agribusiness, and oil and transport companies are promoting biofuels as a panacea to world energy needs and the business is touted as a sustainable source of higher income for farmers in Africa and a ready avenue for employment opportunities, especially for the youth [3]. In spite of these much acclaimed positive potentials of biofuel plantations to reinvigorate Africa’s rural areas, there are still misgivings about the negative environmental and social impacts of large-scale commercial biofuel production
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