Associations do not survive here’: Inequality, Mistrust and Obstacles to Collective Action in Oil Palm Growing Communities in Ghana
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Date
2024
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Journal of Asian and African Studies
Abstract
Collective action through farmer-based organisations (FBOs) could potentially improve the livelihoods of
smallholder farmers by opening up access to credit and inputs, overcoming market constraints, and reducing
transaction costs. However, in the absence of strong or well-functioning farmer associations, the cost of
market participation is likely to exacerbate economic hardships and inequalities among smallholders. Based
on qualitative data from five oil palm growing communities in southwestern Ghana, we observe a general
decline in associational life, driven by a breakdown of trust among farmers. The inability of poorer farmers
to meet their collective obligations over time has weakened attempts at collective action and encouraged
the emergence of highly individualised economic relations in the local agrarian economy. Under these
circumstances, cooperation tends to be limited to small groups of better-off farmers who can afford the cost
of cooperation. The result is a vicious cycle in which wealth disparities widen because the cost of participating
in livelihood-enhancing collective schemes ends up excluding exactly those who need such schemes the most.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Trust, collective action, inequality