YOUTH ACCESS TO AGRICULTURAL UNDER THE CUSTOMARY TRANSFER MECHANISMS IN THE TECHIMAN TRADITIONAL AREA IN GHANA; PRELIMINARY FINDINGS.

Abstract

Youth constitute an important human capital needed for economic growth and development. In Ghana, where agriculture remains a key sector in the national economic development, youth access to agricultural land is crucial towards harnessing their potentials whiles also securing future food security. Very little has been done in the research arena on youth land access in Ghana. This study assesses youth access to agricultural land under customary land transfer arrangements. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select youth and household heads as respondents for this study. The study covered both peri-urban and rural communities in the Techiman traditional area. The preliminary results from the study show that majority of indigenous youth access agricultural land on license basis from their households whiles the migrant youth access land through rentals, sharecropping system and a small number on license basis. Though the youth generally feel secure in their landholdings, for the indigenous youth family heads and extended family members are great source of insecurity especially after the death of their parents or when their land becomes ripe for residential land use in the peri-urban areas. Provision of consideration either in kind or monetary was found to be an essential requirement in land transfer under customary system. Due to the matrilineal customary practices prevailing in the area, gift of land by fathers to their children is only secure when consideration is provided by the recipients in the presence of witnesses. The study also identified competition from the residential developers in the peri-urban areas, high rental cost, lack of resources, small land holdings and land scarcity occasioned by occupation by the senior lineage members and tenants as the major challenges to youth land access and holdings. It is recommended that, more education be carried out on the provisions of Intestate Succession Law to let the youth know the law and benefit from it in terms of being able to inherit their parents’ lands.