IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v104y2021ics0264837721000752.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing customary land rights and tenure security variations of smallholder farmers in northwest Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Nara, Baslyd B.
  • Lengoiboni, Monica
  • Zevenbergen, Jaap

Abstract

Inequalities generally exist in society regarding the distribution of resources including land. This paper assessed inequalities of customary land rights and tenure security among smallholder farmers in northwest Ghana using the social structure theory. This exploratory study adopted focus group discussions, interviews of key informants and key persons in key institutions in the study area. It also used visual manual interpretation of satellite images. It found that male landowners possess the strongest land rights and highest tenure security. Male settlers were next in possessing strong land rights and high tenure security. While all women irrespective of whether they are from landowner or settler groups had the weakest land rights and tenure security. This deviates from the tenets of the social structure theory, which presupposes that women from the landowning group would have stronger rights than settlers (male or female). Fewer building development and vast uncultivated lands revealed by the satellite images, partly contradicts literature suggesting that physical developments cause land scarcity, which may lead to land rights inequalities. This research agrees with literature and concludes that population growth, urbanisation and particularly the anticipation of future land prospects primarily influences current land rights inequalities and tenure insecurity in the area. The findings from this research are useful for identifying this context-based land rights and tenure variations. The research also shows the nature and extent of the variations and therefore gives indications regarding how, who and which land rights need to be strengthened. Besides, this study shows that local communities can be assisted by community leaders and community-based organisations to re-sensitise themselves to protect particularly, the land rights of the vulnerable in society. The study also reveals an essential community potential i.e. their readiness to cooperate with efforts (whether local or external), towards narrowing land rights variations that further marginalises the already marginalised women and male settlers. The paper recommends further studies to identify specific ways to address land rights variations and ensure tenure security among different groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Nara, Baslyd B. & Lengoiboni, Monica & Zevenbergen, Jaap, 2021. "Assessing customary land rights and tenure security variations of smallholder farmers in northwest Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:104:y:2021:i:c:s0264837721000752
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105352
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837721000752
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105352?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steven Lawry & Cyrus Samii & Ruth Hall & Aaron Leopold & Donna Hornby & Farai Mtero, 2014. "The Impact of Land Property Rights Interventions on Investment and Agricultural Productivity in Developing Countries: a Systematic Review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(1), pages 1-104.
    2. Economo, Evan & Hong, Lu & Page, Scott E., 2016. "Social structure, endogenous diversity, and collective accuracy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 212-231.
    3. Jonathan M. Kamwi & Moses A. Cho & Christoph Kaetsch & Samuel O. Manda & Friedrich P. Graz & Paxie W. Chirwa, 2018. "Assessing the Spatial Drivers of Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Protected and Communal Areas of the Zambezi Region, Namibia," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-13, November.
    4. Lengoiboni, Monica & Richter, Christine & Zevenbergen, Jaap, 2019. "Cross-cutting challenges to innovation in land tenure documentation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 21-32.
    5. Abubakari, Zaid & Richter, Christine & Zevenbergen, Jaap, 2018. "Exploring the “implementation gap” in land registration: How it happens that Ghana’s official registry contains mainly leaseholds," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 539-554.
    6. Ernest Uwayezu & Walter T. De Vries, 2018. "Indicators for Measuring Spatial Justice and Land Tenure Security for Poor and Low Income Urban Dwellers," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-34, July.
    7. Baslyd B. Nara & Monica Lengoiboni & Jaap Zevenbergen, 2020. "Implications of Customary Land Rights Inequalities for Food Security: A Study of Smallholder Farmers in Northwest Ghana," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-20, June.
    8. Brasselle, Anne-Sophie & Gaspart, Frederic & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 2002. "Land tenure security and investment incentives: puzzling evidence from Burkina Faso," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 373-418, April.
    9. Jean‐Philippe Platteau, 1996. "The Evolutionary Theory of Land Rights as Applied to Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Critical Assessment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 29-86, January.
    10. Biitir, Samuel B. & Nara, Baslyd B. & Ameyaw, Stephen, 2017. "Integrating decentralised land administration systems with traditional land governance institutions in Ghana: Policy and praxis," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 402-414.
    11. Corsi, Stefano & Marchisio, Laura Viviana & Orsi, Luigi, 2017. "Connecting smallholder farmers to local markets: Drivers of collective action, land tenure and food security in East Chad," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 39-47.
    12. Daniel Maxwell & Keith Wiebe, 1999. "Land Tenure and Food Security: Exploring Dynamic Linkages," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 30(4), pages 825-849, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nara, Baslyd B. & Lengoiboni, Monica & Zevenbergen, J.A., 2021. "Testing a fit-for-purpose (FFP) model for strengthening customary land rights and tenure to improve household food security in Northwest Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    2. Inoussa Guinin Asso & Soulé Akinhola Adéchian & Mohamed Salifou & Bédé Prudence M’po Kouyinampou & Bruno Charles Pierre O’heix & Mohamed Nasser Baco, 2022. "Effects of the Systematic Cluster Approach (SCA) and Rural Land Plans (RLPs) on Land Tenure Security for Agricultural Household: Insight from Benin (West Africa)," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, September.
    3. Séogo, Windinkonté & Zahonogo, Pam, 2023. "Do land property rights matter for stimulating agricultural productivity? Empirical evidence from Burkina Faso," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    4. Espada, Ana Luiza Violato & Kainer, Karen A., 2023. "Women and timber management: From assigned cook to strategic decision-maker of community land use," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    5. Bekele, Adugna Eneyew & Drabik, Dusan & Dries, Liesbeth & Heijman, Wim, 2022. "Large-scale land investments and land-use conflicts in the agro-pastoral areas of Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    6. Bichaye Tesfaye & Monica Lengoiboni & Jaap Zevenbergen & Belay Simane, 2023. "Rethinking the Impact of Land Certification on Tenure Security, Land Disputes, Land Management, and Agricultural Production: Insights from South Wello, Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-25, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dagdeviren, Hulya & Elangovan, Arthanari & Parimalavelli, Ramanathan, 2023. "Land tenure and food security in South India," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    2. Séogo, Windinkonté & Zahonogo, Pam, 2023. "Do land property rights matter for stimulating agricultural productivity? Empirical evidence from Burkina Faso," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    3. Baslyd B. Nara & Monica Lengoiboni & Jaap Zevenbergen, 2020. "Implications of Customary Land Rights Inequalities for Food Security: A Study of Smallholder Farmers in Northwest Ghana," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Stéphane Korsaga, 2018. "Land Tenure Security, Land-Related Investments and Agricultural Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Efficiency or Equity? A Microeconomic Analysis Applied to the Case of Burkina Faso," Working Papers halshs-01699118, HAL.
    5. Daniel Ayalew Ali & Stefan Dercon & Madhur Gautam, 2011. "Property rights in a very poor country: tenure insecurity and investment in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(1), pages 75-86, January.
    6. Thomas Vendryes, 2014. "Peasants Against Private Property Rights: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 971-995, December.
    7. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus & Goldstein, Markus, 2014. "Environmental and gender impacts of land tenure regularization in Africa: Pilot evidence from Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 262-275.
    8. Klaus Deininger & Daniel Ayalew Ali & Takashi Yamano, 2008. "Legal Knowledge and Economic Development: The Case of Land Rights in Uganda," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 84(4), pages 593-619.
    9. Han, Wenjing & Zhang, Xiaoling & Zhang, Zhengfeng, 2019. "The role of land tenure security in promoting rural women’s empowerment: Empirical evidence from rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 280-289.
    10. Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Payongayong, Ellen & Aidoo, J. B. & Otsuka, Keijiro, 1999. "Women's land rights in the transition to individualized ownership," FCND discussion papers 58, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Otsuka, Keijiro & Suyanto, S. & Sonobe, Tetsushi & Tomich, Thomas P., 2001. "Evolution of land tenure institutions and development of agroforestry: evidence from customary land areas of Sumatra," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 85-101, June.
    12. Bambio, Yiriyibin & Bouayad Agha, Salima, 2018. "Land tenure security and investment: Does strength of land right really matter in rural Burkina Faso?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 130-147.
    13. Ehwi, Richmond Juvenile & Mawuli, Divine Asafo, 2021. "‘Landguardism’ in Ghana: Examining public perceptions about the driving factors," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    14. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing, 2006. "Tenure security and land-related investment: Evidence from Ethiopia," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(5), pages 1245-1277, July.
    15. Lai, Yani & Wang, Jiayuan & Lok, Waiming, 2017. "Redefining property rights over collective land in the urban redevelopment of Shenzhen, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 485-493.
    16. Asaaga, Festus A. & Hirons, Mark A. & Malhi, Yadvinder, 2020. "Questioning the link between tenure security and sustainable land management in cocoa landscapes in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    17. Lucie Letrouit & Harris Selod, 2024. "Informal land markets and ethnic kinship in West African cities [Marchés fonciers informels et cousinage ethnique dans les villes d'Afrique de l'Ouest]," Post-Print hal-04525074, HAL.
    18. Aditya, Trias & Santosa, Purnama Budi & Yulaikhah, Yulaikhah & Widjajanti, Nurrohmat & Atunggal, Dedi & Sulistyawati, Miranty, 2021. "Title Validation and collaborative mapping to accelerate quality assurance of land registration," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    19. Kimlong Chheng & Budy P. Resosudarmo, 2021. "Land property rights and food insecurity in rural Cambodia," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(6), pages 1911-1929, December.
    20. Rignall, Karen & Kusunose, Yoko, 2018. "Governing livelihood and land use transitions: The role of customary tenure in southeastern Morocco," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 91-103.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:104:y:2021:i:c:s0264837721000752. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.