The Chieftaincy Institution in Ghana: Causers and Arbitrators of Conflicts in Industrial Jatropha Investments

Campion, Benjamin Betey; Acheampong, Emmanuel

doi:10.3390/su6096332

Cited by 40 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In this sense, reduced farm sizes are not necessarily the result of dispossession caused by land commercialization. This contradicts other studies on biofuel land deals (see Campion and Acheampong, ) which attribute reduced farm sizes and hence livelihood destruction to the shortening of fallow periods, without investigating other considerations. As illustrated in Table , reduced farm sizes before and during project implementation are the result of a combination of factors: land dispossession caused by the projects does not bear sole responsibility.…”

Section: Case I: the Kimminic Projectcontrasting

confidence: 67%

Rethinking Livelihood Impacts of Biofuel Land Deals in Ghana

Boamah¹,

Overå²

2015

Development and Change

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During the last decade, debates about the livelihood impacts of large-scale biofuel projects have focused mainly on either employment creation or on land dispossession. The mediating role of social institutions and communal reciprocity in resource-access manoeuvring processes have rarely been considered. This comparative study of two biofuel projects in Ghana shows that households affected by land dispossession quickly obtained new productive land areas by switching to fallow farmland or through long-term reciprocal social networks. The livelihoods of households with members employed by the projects improved in terms of increased income and access to cultivation on project land. Not everyone, however, had the resources and ability to use social networks for job-seeking and land access negotiation, particularly those considered to be migrants. The authors argue that a context-specific focus on, and processual examination of, the abilities of individuals and groups to utilize social institutions to sustain their livelihoods during a project's lifetime, are crucial in analysing the impacts of biofuels land deals. Such an approach explores the various forms and uses of livelihood capitals, and shows how new configurations of social and economic relations emerging from land commercialization can reinforce local inequalities.This article is based on a PhD project jointly financed by the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund and the University of Bergen. The article has benefited tremendously from comments by Hans Peter Andersen, the journal's anonymous reviewers and the editorial team. We also wish to thank the chiefs and residents of Agogo and Bredi and the management of ScanFarm Ltd and Kimminic Estates Ltd for their cooperation during the fieldwork in Ghana. Development and Change 47(1): 98-129.

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Section: Case I: the Kimminic Projectcontrasting

confidence: 67%

Rethinking Livelihood Impacts of Biofuel Land Deals in Ghana

Boamah¹,

Overå²

2015

Development and Change

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“…17 It should be pointed that local elites may not always play a constructive role in such negotiations. For example local chiefs by playing their traditional roles in the acquisition of land and as arbitrators were in most instances the cause to landrelated conflicts associated with large-scale jatropha projects in Ghana [240].…”

Section: Minimize Food-fuel Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biofuels in sub-Sahara Africa: Drivers, impacts and priority policy areas

Gasparatos

Maltitz

Johnson

et al. 2015

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

110

111

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“…The "land grabbing" that occurred brought significant amount of conflicts, and raised concerns within communities and among civil society. This is especially because these large scale land deals in most cases had the direct involvement of chiefs, contrary to previous decades where such large scale acquisitions for agricultural activities and mining concessions were solely negotiated on the state level [3,76,77]. As Boamah [80] indicated, Ghana has a predominantly customary land tenure regime, where customary landowners such as families, clans, and stools hold over 80 percent of land.…”

Section: Explaining the "Boom And Bust" Of Jatrophamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The BioFuel Africa project was also another that involved a Norway based company, BioFuel Africa Ltd. The BioFuel Africa project covered an approximately 23,000 ha of land, and was located in the Northern Ghana, spanning several towns and villages including Kpachaa, Kparchee, Tua, Jachee, Sagbargu, and Chegu predominantly within the Yendi and Gonja Districts [70,77]. The project also acquired an 850 ha test farm in the Volta Region of Ghana.…”

Section: Explaining the "Boom And Bust" Of Jatrophamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many scholars have documented the consequences of large scale land acquisitions on local livelihoods and the numerous conflicts that ensued, as well as the roles of different actors [3,70,76]. For instance, Campion and Acheampong [77], using of interviews, questionnaires, and focus group discussions, investigated and catalogued the roles of chiefs in the acquisition of land, and the causes and solutions of conflicts that ensued in jatropha plantations. According to Campion and Acheampong [77], the chief who presided over the transaction of the Biofuel Africa project did not inform the community members of the transaction.…”

Section: Explaining the "Boom And Bust" Of Jatrophamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Is Ghana Ready to Attain Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 7?—A Comprehensive Assessment of Its Renewable Energy Potential and Pitfalls

Acheampong

Ertem

et al. 2019

Energies

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Ghana has declared support for the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number seven which most importantly target ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. This target presents a formidable challenge to Ghana because the country still relies mainly on traditional biomass as its primary source of energy coupled with a chronically fragile hydropower sector. In this study, we assess Ghana’s potential in achieving sustainable goal number seven. Specifically, we comprehensively review the breakthroughs and impediments Ghana has experienced in its efforts towards improving its renewable energy potential. We note that while Ghana has made significant stride toward attaining energy efficiency, its effort at large-scale biofuel development hit a snag due to issues of “land grabbing” emanating both from local and foreign entities. In another breadth, several pilot studies and research initiatives have demonstrated the possibility of diversifying the energy sector with other renewable energy options including solar, wind, and small hydro. In spite of challenges encountered with the development of biofuels, our review concludes that Ghana retains vast reserves of renewable energy potential, which can be harnessed with the constantly improving technological advancements as it pursues SDG number seven.

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The Chieftaincy Institution in Ghana: Causers and Arbitrators of Conflicts in Industrial Jatropha Investments

Cited by 40 publications

References 25 publications

Rethinking Livelihood Impacts of Biofuel Land Deals in Ghana

Rethinking Livelihood Impacts of Biofuel Land Deals in Ghana

Biofuels in sub-Sahara Africa: Drivers, impacts and priority policy areas

Is Ghana Ready to Attain Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 7?—A Comprehensive Assessment of Its Renewable Energy Potential and Pitfalls

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