Browsing by Author "Yaro, J.A."

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Agricultural commercialisation models, agrarian dynamics and local development in Ghana
(Journal of Peasant Studies, 2017) Yaro, J.A.; Teye, J.K.; Torvikey, G.D.
The renewed commitment of African states to modernising agriculture has reignited longstanding debates about different models of agricultural commercialisation. Which forms of commercialisation models will reduce land dispossession and the impoverishment of smallholders, and transform smallholder agriculture and the wider economy? Of the three broad models of agriculture commercialisation in this debate–plantation, contract farming and medium-scale commercial farming–contract farming has been identified as central to the future of Africa’s commercial agriculture. This paper provides empirical evidence from Ghana on the impacts of these three models on land, labour/employment, livelihoods and local economic linkages. Our findings show that the plantation and the commercial farming areas have highly commercialised land relations, land scarcity and high land prices, compared to the outgrower area where traditional systems of accessing land still dominate, enabling families to produce their own food crops while also diversifying into wage labour and other activities. Food insecurity was highest in the plantation area followed by the commercial area, but lowest in the outgrower area. Here, semi-proletarianised seasonal workers combine self-provisioning from their own farms with wages, and this results in better livelihood outcomes than for permanent workers in plantations and commercial farms. Due to the processing units in the plantation and the outgrower models, they provided more employment. However, the casualisation of labour and gender discrimination in employment and access to land occur in all three cases. All three models generated strong economic linkages mainly because they combined attributes such as processing, provided markets for nearby farmers, induced state infrastructural development and diffused technology in competitive ways. The effects of the models on household and local development are coproduced by their interaction with pre-existing conditions and wider national economic structures. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
An assessment of determinants of adaptive capacity to climate change/variability in the rural savannah of Ghana
(Springer, Cham, 2016) Yaro, J.A.; Teye, J. K.; Bawakyillenuo, S.
The varied stressors posed by climate change and variability to the livelihoods of agrarian societies in many developing countries call for an examination of the determinants of adaptive capacity. Data collected through a questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, is used to explain the determinants of adoption of five major adaptation strategies. The analysis reveals that while adaptive capacity in the northern savannah zone is generally low due to high levels of poverty and poor state presence, it varies spatially resulting from locational, individual and community socio-economic and institutional factors. Adaptive capacities are rooted in the nature of household and community assets as well as societal rules and policies. Both community level factors and characteristics of individual farmers condition the idiosyncratic variables defining the capacities to adopt specific adaptation strategies to climate change threats. Important farmer characteristics that determine critical adaptation strategies in the northern savannah include age, sex, assets, family size, size and type of land, skills/education, and perception of climatic changes. This paper recommends that local resilience building mechanisms be scaled up while modern mechanisms should be introduced for dealing with the impacts of climate change.
An assessment of the extent and causes of food insecurity in northern Ghana using a livelihood vulnerability framework
(GeoJournal, 2006-09) Hesselberg, J.; Yaro, J.A.
The article describes the food insecurity situation in three villages in northern Ghana. A livelihood approach is used emphasising the vulnerability of the peasants' adaptation to a marginal and remote area. The peasant households are grouped according to level of food insecurity. It is argued that multiple income sources including non-farm activities are necessary to reduce food insecurity for all but a small part of the peasant households. © 2006 Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
Central Themes, Concepts, and Methodologies of Geography
(2013-12-09) Gyasi, E.A.; Yaro, J.A.; Owusu, A.B.
Geography as a discipline is one of the oldest fields of learning. The organization of the multi-faceted physical and human features over the earth space is generally seen as the primary focus of geographical enquiry, hence the common designation of geography as a subject that deals with spatial organization. This chapter provides a good definition of the key themes, concepts and methodologies of geography and elucidates the basic concerns and procedures of the discipline. The significance of this Chapter is that it provides the disciplinary context for the various topical issues addressed in subsequent chapters of this book.
Change and continuity in the practice and development of geography in Ghana
(Changing Perspectives on the Social Sciences in Ghana, 2014-05) Agyei-Mensah, S.; Yaro, J.A.; Mensah, J.
Societal change and the conceptualization of knowledge production are key instruments in defining the trajectory of academic disciplines. This chapter discusses the evolution of the discipline of geography and its contribution to knowledge and public policy and practice in Ghana. It examines the writings and portfolios held by key geographers and the content of academic courses in the country. Geography in Ghana reflects both the modernization of Ghanaian society and the philosophical evolution of global knowledge production. These are reflected in the content, nature, and contributions of the discipline from the colonial era to the contemporary society. The thematic orientation of the subject reflects societal dynamics and thereby needs to be accredited for the proliferation of areas of specialization. These specializations and the redefinition of content and focus of thematic areas are responses to both societal needs and wider epistemological changes. Ghanaian geographers have contributed immensely to the generation of knowledge and the dissemination of geographic research for national development. However, physical geography has lagged behind human geography over the years due primarily to the lack of adequate infrastructure and funding. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. All rights reserved.
City profile: Tamale, Ghana.
(ELSEVIER, 2017-02) Fuseini, I.; Yaro, J.A.; Yiran, G.A.B.
Tamale is the capital of the Northern Region of Ghana. It emerged as a growth point for northern Ghana upon in-dependence in 1957, and has since become the third largest urban centre in the country. The city has the secondhighest annual population growth rates after Kumasi Metropolitan Area. In this paper, we profile Tamale regard-ing its social, economic and spatial growth dynamics, transformation and governance as well as highlight the im-plications of the city's growth trajectories for its sustainable futures.
Commercialization of land tenure systems in northern Ghana: The dynamics and drivers
(Rural Development in Northern Ghana, 2013-02) Zackaria, A.I.; Yaro, J.A.
Customary tenure systems under siege: Contemporary access to land in Northern Ghana
(GeoJournal, 2010-04) Yaro, J.A.
Land in most of Africa is controlled under the customary tenure system which is governed by well intentioned social and cultural rules meant to grant equal access to families within groups with common interest in land. Rapid changes in the domestic situation of countries resulting from both refractions of policies and influences from the global economy and emerging complexities within the local socio-economic context has altered the traditional land tenure systems in most parts of Africa. In the rural setting and for agricultural purposes, the customary tenure system seems to be crumbling slowly, while in the urban centres and for housing, industrial and commercial purposes the system has collapsed in favour of a commoditised one. The emerging patterns of access in Northern Ghana show growing inequalities in access, control and ownership. There is the need for a new architecture of land rights negotiated by a participatory process and regulated by both state and traditional institutions. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.
The Dilemma of the Peasant: Macroeconomic Squeeze and Internal Contradictions in Northern Ghana
(Ghana Social Science Journal, 2009) Yaro, J.A.
The article assesses the emerging dilemmas and contradictions in three vil-lages in Northern Ghana resulting from contemporary changes in the rural landscape. An analysis of the sources of these changes and their manifesta-tions in the sphere of production and exchange is carried out. A combination of qualitative and quantitative data from field studies is used. It is argued that changes in peasant societies have resulted in interwoven multiple social, political and economic problems. Peasants in northern Gha-na struggle with the new macroeconomic situation characterised by rising costs of production, tough international competition and limited opportuni-ties for domestic marketing. They also have to deal with social systems which are gradually being altered by the commercialised norms developing in the peasant landscape, thereby generating internal contradictions. These dilemmas are translated into asymmetrical patterns of food in/security for various groups with different income generating activities and levels of in-fluence over resources.
Exploring the autonomous adaptation strategies to climate change and climate variability in selected villages in the rural northern savannah zone of Ghana.
(Taylor & Francis, 2016) Bawakyillenuo, S.; Yaro, J.A.; Teye, J.K.
Evidence abounds attesting to changes in the global climate. In Ghana, climate change and climate variability have brought several exposure-sensitivities on different people and at different times. Due to the multiplicity of climate change and climate variability effects, adaptation strategies invariably could be influenced by several factors. This paper assesses the adoption of adaptation strategies in the rural northern savannah zone of Ghana as a result of climate change and variability. Using two villages each from Savelugu Nanton, West Mamprusi and Kassena Nankana East Districts, which are slightly different as case studies, the paper unearthed panoply of varied adaptation strategies in each of them including intensification of irrigation; integration of livestock production; changes in tillage practices; fertiliser application on farms; shift from agriculture to non-farm jobs; seasonal migration and purchase of drought insurance for maize. The results indicate that the relativity in adoption and utilisation of the different adaptive strategies are interlinked with geographical, social, economic, institutional and political factors and processes in the villages. The findings drum home the essentiality of location-specific planned adaptation strategies for climate change through a bottom-up approach, in order to ensure their effectiveness and sustainability.
Farm to Factory Gendered employment: The case of Blue Skies Outgrower Scheme in Ghana
(Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, 2017) Torvikey, D.; Yaro, J.A.; Teye, J. K.
Since the 1980s, a neoliberal paradigm has guided agricultural policy formulation in Africa with an unflinching preference for the commercialization of agriculture through the incorporation of smallholder farmers into global circuits of accumulation via outgrower arrangements. The paradigm has claimed that the promotion of integrated value chains will create jobs and enhance incomes in agrarian areas. This article assesses the manner in which men and women are positioned differentially in the outgrower value chains in terms of employment benefits. Drawing on interviews, the article explores the employment pattern in the outgrower value chain system and the structural dynamics that lead to benefits, or otherwise, for men and women in Ghana’s largest fruit-processing company, Blue Skies, and its outgrower farms. This study finds that many jobs were created along the value chain for men and women, but that men have occupied the high-earning echelon of the value chain as outgrowers, as well as more secure positions as permanent staff in the factory, women have largely been employed as disposable casual workers in these two spaces.
Farm to Factory Gendered employment: The case of Blue Skies Outgrower Scheme in Ghana.
(SAGE, 2017-01) Torvikey, D.; Yaro, J.A.; Teye, J.K.
Since the 1980s, a neoliberal paradigm has guided agricultural policy formulation in Africa with an unflinching preference for the commercialization of agriculture through the incorporation of smallholder farmers into global circuits of accumulation via outgrower arrangements. The paradigm has claimed that the promotion of integrated value chains will create jobs and enhance incomes in agrarian areas. This article assesses the manner in which men and women are positioned differentially in the outgrower value chains in terms of employment benefits. Drawing on interviews, the article explores the employment pattern in the outgrower value chain system and the structural dynamics that lead to benefits, or otherwise, for men and women in Ghana’s largest fruit-processing company, Blue Skies, and its outgrower farms. This study finds that many jobs were created along the value chain for men and women, but that men have occupied the high-earning echelon of the value chain as outgrowers, as well as more secure positions as permanent staff in the factory, women have largely been employed as disposable casual workers in these two spaces.
Female farmers’ struggles and responses to COVID-19 in Ghana
(African Geographical Review, 2024) Yaro, J.A.; Essien, R.S.; Ablo, A.D.; Siakwah, P.; Zaam, M.
The COVID-19 lockdown measures exacerbated the struggles of societies with existing inequalities. Given that women are generally the most vulnerable in times of pandemics and associated economic downturns, the study seeks to understand the struggles that female farmers experienced during the COVID-19 crisis and their survival responses and livelihood enhancement. To do this, we organized six women’s focus group discussions and interviewed 145 women farmers in communities within Builsa South and Ada (in Ghana) where farming is one of the major occupations for women. The findings reveal that the pandemic severely disrupted women’s access to farm inputs, markets, and farming activities amidst the absence of COVID-19 relief funds. Consequently, female farmers had to adopt multiple alternative livelihood strategies to meet their basic needs. But, the nature of the adaptation strategy adopted depended on the intersections of gender, household characteristics and remittance flows. Female farmers from migrant households with larger household sizes temporarily migrated as an alternative livelihood strategy compared to those from non-migrant households and with smaller family sizes. This distributional consequence of COVID-19 is important for government agencies to carefully consider when forming future response policies to pandemics in general and the rural agricultural sector specifically since it has implications for food security
Historical context of agricultural commercialization in Ghana: Changes in land and labor relations.
(SAGE, 2018) Yaro, J.A.; Teye, J.K.; Torvikey, D.
This paper provides a broad review of agrarian change in Ghana by highlighting the major developments in the agrarian political economy and their implications for agricultural commercialisation and its modifying influence on land tenure systems, livelihoods, production systems, social relations, and labour relations. While current land tenure arrangements and labour relations in Africa are often explained in terms of globalisation, we argue that the historical context of agricultural commercialisation in Ghana shows continuities and discontinuities in agrarian relations from the colonial period to the present. We also argue that changes over the years have blended with globalisation to produce the distinct forms of labour relations that we see today. The commercialisation of agriculture in Ghana has evolved progressively from the colonial era aided by policies of coercion, persuasion and incentives to its current globalised form. The expansion in the range of commodities over time necessarily increased the demand for more land and labour. The article contributes to the literature by providing great insights into changes in land and labour relations due to increasing commercialisation, and how these enhanced wealth accumulation for the richer segments of society and global capital to the detriment of the poor throughout Ghana’s agrarian history.
The life struggles and successes of the migrant construction worker in Accra, Ghana.
(Ghana Journal of Geography, 2015) Yaro, J.A.; Teye, J.K.; Awumbila, M.
Globally, the construction sector employs several millions of migrants and is a major entry point for rural-urban migrants into the urban labour force. Its role in sustaining livelihoods both at origin and destination is critical in the development process. This paper provides an empirical assessment of the livelihood struggles of the construction worker in Accra by examining the nature of the job, challenges and fulfilment of expectations. It draws mainly on qualitative data from individual interviews of migrants in the destinations and their families in the origin. The findings show that the construction sector is a better paying sector than many others, but can be classified as precarious work due to the multiple dangers and insecurities associated with it. Segregation between skill-based and non-skilled work defines the fortunes of workers, as those with skills have higher incomes and prospects for social mobility. Very few women work in this sector due to the socialisation effects of the patriarchal systems in Ghana. The casualization of labour due to neoliberal policies and the informalisation of the private housing sector mean lower welfare benefits to workers and insecurity in old age due to non-payment of social security deductions. Migrants serve as an important conduit for redistributing wealth from richer spaces to poorer spaces, and should therefore be supported in achieving their developmental objectives.
Local farmers’ experiences and perceptions of climate change in the Northern Savannah Zone of Ghana
(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2015) Teye, J.K.; Yaro, J.A.; Bawakyillenuo, S.
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the perceptions and experiences of climate change by local farmers in the Northern Savannah zone of Ghana. Although recent scholarship shows that local people’s perceptions of climate change is necessary for devising strategies to deal with the problem, only a few researchers have examined local knowledge of climate change in Africa. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected from six rural communities in the Northern Savannah zone of Ghana, using a questionnaire survey on a sample of 530 farmers, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyse variations in experience and perception of climate change. Findings – A majority of the farmers have noticed rising temperatures and declining rainfall. Their observations largely correspond with the evidence of changes recorded by weather monitoring stations. The perception of climate change is associated with locality of residence, gender and ownership of radio. The impacts of climate and variability include declining crop output, food insecurity and water stress. Respondents attributed changes in climatic parameters to economic activities and spiritual factors. It is recommended that environmental managers should actively involve local farmers in the design and implementation of policies to control climate change and variability. Originality/value – The methodology used demonstrates how multinomial logit models can be used to investigate perceptions of climate change. The research findings also provide very useful information that can be relied upon to design policies to deal with climate change and variability in Ghana.
Local farmers’ experiences and perceptions of climate change in the Northern Savannah zone of Ghana
(2015-08) Teye, J.K.; Yaro, J.A.; Bawakyillenuo, S.
Purpose - This paper aims to examine the perceptions and experiences of climate change by local farmer sin the Northern Savannah zone of Ghana. Although recent scholarship shows that local people’s perceptions of climate change is necessary for devising strategies to deal with the problem, only a few researchers have examined local knowledge of climate change in Africa. Design/methodology/approach - Primary data were collected from six rural communities in the Northern Savannah zone of Ghana, using a questionnaire survey on a sample of 530 farmers, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyse variations in experience and perception of climate change. Findings - A majority of the farmers have noticed rising temperatures and declining rainfall. Their observations largely correspond with the evidence of changes recorded by weather monitoring stations. The perception of climate change is associated with locality of residence, gender and ownership of radio. The impacts of climate and variability include declining crop output, food insecurity and water stress. Respondents attributed changes in climatic parameters to economic activities and spiritual factors. It is recommended that environmental managers should actively involve local farmers in the design and implementation of policies to control climate change and variability. Originality/value - The methodology used demonstrates how multinomial logit models can be used to investigate perceptions of climate change. The research findings also provide very useful in formation that can be relied upon to design policies to deal with climate change and variability in Ghana. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Local institutions and adaptive capacity to climate change/variability in the northern savannah of Ghana
(Taylor & Francis, 2015) Yaro, J.A.; Teye, J.K.; Bawakyillenuo, S.
Ghana faces several challenges from climate change/variability. Local institutions provide the framework within which idiosyncratic capacities of local people can be exercised in their adaptation to climate change. This paper examines the importance of formal and informal institutions for building adaptive capacity. Both formal and informal institutions play different but complementary roles in enabling or preventing the ability to cope, benefit and adapt to climate change. Responses to climate change in northern Ghana are dependent on the nature of institutions that grant people access to resources; define their exposure to climate threats; and dictate the rate of recovery from debilitating disasters. The effectiveness of institutions is constrained by their limited spatial and temporal reach, limited financial and human resources, and sometimes the faulty strategy designs and implementation procedures. Traditional institutions may malfunction when modern interpretations of tradition are in the interests of custodians of tradition rather than the ordinary poor. We emphasize the need for synergy between institutions that support adaptive capacities of the poor, and request corrective measures to institutions that lead to maladaptation.
Migration and Health among Female Porters (Kayayei) in Accra, Ghana
(University of Ghana, 2015-12) Shamsu-Deen, Z.; Yaro, J.A.; Badasu, D.; Teye, J.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, Centre for Migration Studies
The thesis aimed at contributing to the emerging body of knowledge about migration and health linkages, with a focus on migrant female porters (Kayayei) in Accra, Ghana. Several studies that have so far given attention to female porters have focused mainly on their livelihoods, with only cursory remarks made on the health of these migrants. Also, some existing studies have largely examined the health of migrants without reference to the entire migration process. Employing both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, this study has provided both empirical depth and theoretical clarification on the migration dynamics of female porters, their health seeking behaviours, and the multiple factors that hinder their access to health. Migration is seen by the female porters as a means to gain autonomy in their lives, a means of livelihood diversification. The migration process of female porters is enabled by social networks with varying levels of social capital which facilitates movement and settlement. Social networks provide safety nets for female porters as it increases their social asset base. The reasons for their migration are related to the declining importance of agriculture and the non-availability of jobs at their origin which can be blamed on the liberalization of the Ghanaian economy The working and living arrangements and work environment of the female porters constitute the major sources of health risks. The nature of their work also exposes them to physical stress, particularly waist and neck pain, and accidents resulting normally in sprains and fractures. The poor living environment is the major cause of diseases such as malaria, typhoid and cholera. Sleeping in the open in front of shops exposes them to mosquitoes, while the lack of decent bathrooms, toilets or hygiene in general exposes them to skin infections and water related diseases. Sleeping in the open also exposes them to the harsh weather conditions and also to rapists. The poor working and living conditions also provide possibilities for illnesses contracted at the origin to thrive and become complicated. The majority of the female porters sought health care in avenues other than health facilities. These avenues included drug peddlers, local herbalists and Chemists‘ shops. Those who used traditional medicines mostly brought them along from the origins in the north, particularly in cases where they were already ill before migrating. Generally, female porters visit health facilities when their conditions become serious. Migrants‘ age, levels of education and marital status were generally found to have a positive effect on health-seeking behaviour. Thus the combinations of individual and local dynamics of the Kayayei communities at their destination in Accra have a great influence on their well-being, which translates into influence on their health and health seeking behaviour. An integrated approach aimed at addressing these complex and multidimensional problems requires national and local policies that are multidimensional in nature and seek to capture the different aspects of vulnerabilities that affect the health of female porters at their destination.
Neoliberal globalisation and evolving local traditional institutions: implications for access to resources in rural northern Ghana
(Review of African Political Economy, 2013-09) Yaro, J.A.
The world has become interconnected and interdependent well beyond the economic domains of life and this has consequences for the role of major institutions governing access to resources in rural Africa. Neoliberal globalisation is eroding the moral foundation of rural societies in ways that create unequal access to the resources needed for involvement and inclusion in the market relations of production and social reproduction. Using the case of rural northern Ghana, this article shows how the transformation of local traditional governance and institutions led to processes of accumulation for a few privileged ones while the majority are excluded through dispossession. [Mondialisation néolibérale et évolution d'institutions traditionnelles locales: impacts pour l'accès aux ressources dans le nord Ghana rural.] Le monde est devenu interconnecté et interdépendant, bien au-delà des questions économiques et cela a des conséquences pour le rôle d'institutions majeures qui gèrent l'accès aux ressources dans l'Afrique rurale. La mondialisation néolibérale érode les fondations morales des sociétés rurales à tel point qu'elle génère des inégalités dans l'accès aux ressources nécessaires pour l'inclusion au marché de la production et de la reproduction sociale. En travaillant sur le cas du nord Ghana rural, cet article montre comment la transformation des modes de gouvernance et institutions locales traditionnelles a conduit à des processus d'accumulation réservés à quelques rares privilégiés tandis que la majorité était spoliée et victime d'exclusion. Mots-clés: mondialisation néolibérale; tradition; institutions locales; Ghana rural. © 2013 Copyright ROAPE Publications Ltd.