Perspectives on access to and control over land, livelihood, and agricultural production outcomes in three districts with land investments in Ghana

Abstract

The paper explored perspectives about men and women’s access to and control over land, water, energy, and food resources in the Sene West, Denkyembour, and Kwaebibirem districts of Ghana. Much of the literature suggests that while women may have access, they often do not have control over productive resources and that this lack of control is implicated in gender inequalities. The objectives examined perspectives and attitudes to women’s role in the management of land and questions of access to land and other resources, as well as opinions about who has benefited from large-scale land acquisitions. Mixed methods, constrained by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic were employed. Qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used. The quantitative part involved the use of a paper-based questionnaire given to 30 respondents and the qualitative study focused on six items developed in a study guide for six respondents; this was at the peak of the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana when Accra was under lockdown and most of the country was under severe restrictions. The traditional livelihoods of the people, based mainly on food and cash crop farming, agro-processing, and hunting, have suffered several impacts from the land grabs. These include loss of land, declined access to resources such as fuelwood, damaged ecosystems, deforestation, and lack of alternative ways to maintain food security. However, for those community members who found positions as workers in the large-scale investments especially at Kwae, in the Kwaebibirem municipality, the positive effects of the oil palm out-grower scheme have, in general, benefited not only the scheme out-growers but also the members of the communities surrounding the large-scale oil palm investment.