The Dilemma of the Peasant: Macroeconomic Squeeze and Internal Contradictions in Northern Ghana

Abstract

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.