Biofuels and the hazards of land grabbing: Tenure (in)security and indigenous farmers’ investment decisions in Ghana

Aha, Bismark; Ayitey, Jonathan Zinzi

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.10.012

Cited by 80 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…These are important findings as they support previous research that suggests that there is an important link between land tenure status, farm investment decisions, and therefore annual farm income [24,43]. For example in a recent study from China, farming households that had more secure land tenure status tended to invest in crop-tree intercropping practices compared to those with less secure land tenure status [36].…”

Section: Land Tenure Status Influences Farm Income Via Cropping Systesupporting

confidence: 82%

Land Tenure Insecurity Constrains Cropping System Investment in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank

et al. 2020

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The annual income of small-scale farmers in the Jordan Valley, West Bank, Palestine remains persistently low compared to other sectors. The objective of this study was therefore to explore some of the main barriers to reducing poverty and increasing farm income in the region. A “Rural Household Multi-Indicator Survey” (RHoMIS) was conducted with 248 farmers in the three governorates of the Jordan Valley. The results of the survey were verified in a series of stakeholder interviews and participatory workshops where farmers and stakeholders provided detailed insight with regard to the relationships between land tenure status, farm management, and poverty. The analyses of the data revealed that differences in cropping system were significantly associated with land tenure status, such that rented land displayed a greater proportion of open field cropping, while owned land and sharecropping tenure status displayed greater proportions of production systems that require greater initial investment (i.e., perennial and greenhouse). Moreover, as confirmed by a structural equation model and the interviews and workshops these associations led to significant differences in farm income and progress out of poverty index scores. However, while sharecropping farms enjoyed the benefits of being able to invest in longer-term, more profitable farming strategies, questions were raised regarding the sustainability of these farms as well as the vulnerability of the farming households that manage the land. We concluded that small-scale agricultural development in the Jordan Valley relies on farming households achieving more secure land tenure and that rural development agencies should prioritise farming households that rent land and practice open field cropping systems within their projects and programmes.

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Section: Land Tenure Status Influences Farm Income Via Cropping Systesupporting

confidence: 82%

Land Tenure Insecurity Constrains Cropping System Investment in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank

et al. 2020

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“…This result implies the need for targeted interventions at addressing the needs of marginalized land users in mining areas and draws support from Aha and Ayitey (2017) who found that tenure insecurity was disproportionately higher among non-indigenous people (96%) than indigenous people (43%) in the Ejura and Yeji communities respectively in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana in large-scale land acquisitions for jatropha cultivation. These findings have potential for biases of views on compensation, especially involving non-indigenous people.…”

Section: Community Satisfaction With Nggl Compensation Practicesmentioning

confidence: 84%

Dynamics of community perceptions, common resources and compensation practices in mining: the case of Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd at Ahafo

Bugri

Kumi²

2018

International Journal of the Commons

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Abstract:A critical issue confronting the mining industry and communities in Ghana is compensation for loss of land rights in mining activities. The 1992 Constitution and the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) both require compensation for the expropriated to be fair, adequate and promptly paid. However, fairness, adequacy and promptness are normative value judgments predicated on stakeholders' perceptions. This makes controversies over compensation issues inevitable and in mining communities these are rife because of increased competition between mines and communities for land and the legal provision that the payment of compensation rests with mining companies negotiating with the expropriated. Using Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd at Ahafo, we analyzed data from a sample of 120 stakeholders in four mining communities which revealed a wide divergence between communities' perceptions and mining company compensation practices, and weak enforcement of mining legislation. Communities were also not well resourced to negotiate for compensation with the transnational corporation. Also, we argue that the principles applied in compensation assessment as provided by law, especially in the case of common resources, contribute to unfairness and inadequacy in compensation for the expropriated. We conclude that this imbalance has negative implications for community-mining company relations and threatens sustainable mining operations. We therefore recommend the rigorous enforcement of legislation, introduction of appropriate governmental and mining company initiatives in building capacities of communities for improved negotiations for compensation, legal recognition of common resources 2 John Tiah Bugri and Samuel Kumi as valuable community assets for compensation, the application of the investment approach to compensation valuation and improved CSR packages by mines as means of bridging the gap between communities' perceptions and compensation practices and ensuring improved company-community relations in the mining industry.

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“…On the other hand, it is the insecurity and vulnerability of tenants over being evicted from land to which temporary rights have been granted [29,30]. Such a process tends to leave the vast land uncultivated [29] and diminishes the capability of the farmers' decisions to undertake investments in improved management practices, as well as productivity-gain technologies, among others [31][32][33]. Active land rental markets are an economically rational strategy for landless farm households to access land.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Land Ownership and Agro-Ecological Location of Farmland Influence Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties? Evidence from Sierra Leone

2019

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This study investigates the impact of farmland ownership and agro-ecological location on the adoption of the two most important sources of improved rice varieties (NERICA and ROK) in the context of Sierra Leone. In terms of farmland ownership, the results showed that farmers who cultivated their own land had a higher tendency of remaining as non-adopters of improved varieties, but those who rented farmland or were engaged in sharecropping had higher adoption rates of improved rice varieties. Also, the location of farmland (uplands or inland valley swamps) determined the rates of adoption of improved varieties differently. For instance, upland regions showed faster adoption of ROK varieties, but inland valley areas showed faster adoption of NERICA varieties. We also examined the survival rates of local rice varieties. The adoption of improved varieties was only occurring at a very low rate, and the farmers' adoption of ROK varieties was swifter than for NERICA varieties. This study recommends that policies advocating the adoption of improved rice varieties in Sierra Leone must take into consideration the patterns of farmland ownership and location.

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Biofuels and the hazards of land grabbing: Tenure (in)security and indigenous farmers’ investment decisions in Ghana

Cited by 80 publications

References 16 publications

Land Tenure Insecurity Constrains Cropping System Investment in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank

Land Tenure Insecurity Constrains Cropping System Investment in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank

Dynamics of community perceptions, common resources and compensation practices in mining: the case of Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd at Ahafo

Do Land Ownership and Agro-Ecological Location of Farmland Influence Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties? Evidence from Sierra Leone

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