IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v12y2023i4p737-d1106399.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Large-Scale Land Acquisition and Household Farm Investment in Northern Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Abdul-Hanan Abdallah

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Economics, University for Development Studies, Tamale P.O. Box TL1350, Ghana)

  • Michael Ayamga

    (School of Applied Economics and Management Sciences, Department of Applied Economics, University for Development Studies, Tamale P.O. Box TL1350, Ghana)

  • Joseph Agebase Awuni

    (School of Applied Economics and Management Sciences, Department of Economics, University for Development Studies, Tamale P.O. Box TL1350, Ghana)

Abstract

Many studies have investigated the effects of large-scale land acquisition (LSLA) on livelihood, while the effects of LSLA by different actors on investment decisions and levels of investment have largely gone without academic scrutiny. Consequently, information concerning the implications of LSLA by actors on investment is scarce in the literature pertaining to policy. Drawing on information from 664 households selected through a multistage sampling technique, this study examined the relationship between direct and indirect exposure to LSLA by domestic and foreign entities and investment in land-improving techniques. The results show a bi-directional relationship between LSLA and household farm investments. While direct and indirect exposure to LSLA by domestic and foreign entities dissipates some forms of farm investments, the reverse causality is also possible where some household farm investments discourage direct and indirect exposure to LSLA by domestic and foreign entities. The results also revealed that LSLA by domestic and foreign entities dissipates investment in all levels of land- and yield-improving techniques, and even in the presence of a high perception of tenure security. Thus, the provision of legal ownership of land to farmers can provide insurance for investments in all land-improving techniques. Government can also step up the fertilizer subsidy program to enable households to increase investment to avoid further exposure to LSLA.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdul-Hanan Abdallah & Michael Ayamga & Joseph Agebase Awuni, 2023. "Large-Scale Land Acquisition and Household Farm Investment in Northern Ghana," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-36, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:4:p:737-:d:1106399
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/4/737/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/4/737/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. E .D.Kuusaana & E .A.Adams & B.B Campion & A .Ahmed, 2019. "Land Dispossessions And Water Appropriations: Political Ecology Of Land And Water Grabs In Ghana," AfRES 2019-080, African Real Estate Society (AfRES).
    2. Deininger, Klaus & Xia, Fang, 2016. "Quantifying Spillover Effects from Large Land-based Investment: The Case of Mozambique," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 227-241.
    3. Soul‐kifouly G. Midingoyi & Menale Kassie & Beatrice Muriithi & Gracious Diiro & Sunday Ekesi, 2019. "Do Farmers and the Environment Benefit from Adopting Integrated Pest Management Practices? Evidence from Kenya," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(2), pages 452-470, June.
    4. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    5. Frank Place & S. E. Migot-Adholla, 1998. "The Economic Effects of Land Registration on Smallholder Farms in Kenya: Evidence from Nyeri and Kakamega Districts," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 74(3), pages 360-373.
    6. Yoko Kusunose & Véronique Thériault & Didier Alia, 2020. "Can Customary Land Tenure Facilitate Agricultural Productivity Growth? Evidence from Burkina Faso," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 96(3), pages 441-455.
    7. Sylvain Dessy & Gaston Gohou & Désiré Vencatachellum, 2012. "Foreign Direct Investments in Africa's Farmlands: Threat or Opportunity for Local Populations?," Cahiers de recherche 1203, CIRPEE.
    8. Abdul-Hanan Abdallah & Awal Abdul-Rahaman & Gazali Issahaku, 2020. "Production and hidden hunger impacts of sustainable agricultural practices: evidence from rural households in Africa," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(4), pages 440-458, October.
    9. Daniel Domeher & Raymond Abdulai & Eric Yeboah, 2016. "Secure property right as a determinant of SME’s access to formal credit in Ghana: dynamics between Micro-finance Institutions and Universal Banks," Journal of Property Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 162-188, April.
    10. Atuoye, Kilian Nasung & Luginaah, Isaac & Hambati, Herbert & Campbell, Gwyn, 2021. "Who are the losers? Gendered-migration, climate change, and the impact of large scale land acquisitions on food security in coastal Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    11. Fitsum Hagos & Stein Holden, 2006. "Tenure security, resource poverty, public programs, and household plot‐level conservation investments in the highlands of northern Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 34(2), pages 183-196, March.
    12. Navarro-Castañeda, Sandro & Arranz, José M. & Burguillo, Mercedes & Colla De Robertis, Esteban, 2021. "Land tenure security and agrarian investments in the Peruvian Highlands," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    13. Bottazzi, Patrick & Crespo, David & Bangura, Leonard Omar & Rist, Stephan, 2018. "Evaluating the livelihood impacts of a large-scale agricultural investment: Lessons from the case of a biofuel production company in northern Sierra Leone," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 128-137.
    14. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2015. "Control Function Methods in Applied Econometrics," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 420-445.
    15. Ahmed, Abubakari & Kuusaana, Elias Danyi & Gasparatos, Alexandros, 2018. "The role of chiefs in large-scale land acquisitions for jatropha production in Ghana: insights from agrarian political economy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 570-582.
    16. Adams, Ellis A. & Kuusaana, Elias D. & Ahmed, Abubakari & Campion, Benjamin B., 2019. "Land dispossessions and water appropriations: Political ecology of land and water grabs in Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    17. Amemiya, Takeshi, 1978. "The Estimation of a Simultaneous Equation Generalized Probit Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(5), pages 1193-1205, September.
    18. Gershon Feder & Tongroj Onchan, 1987. "Land Ownership Security and Farm Investment in Thailand," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 69(2), pages 311-320.
    19. Rivers, Douglas & Vuong, Quang H., 1988. "Limited information estimators and exogeneity tests for simultaneous probit models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 347-366, November.
    20. 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.
    21. Benfica, Rui M.S. & Tschirley, David L. & Sambo, Liria, 2002. "The Impact of Alternative Agro-Industrial Investments on Poverty Reduction in Rural Mozambique," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 56055, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    22. Priscilla Wainaina & Songporne Tongruksawattana & Matin Qaim, 2016. "Tradeoffs and complementarities in the adoption of improved seeds, fertilizer, and natural resource management technologies in Kenya," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(3), pages 351-362, May.
    23. Gyapong, Adwoa Yeboah, 2020. "How and why large scale agricultural land investments do not create long-term employment benefits: A critique of the ‘state’ of labour regulations in Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    24. Abdulai, Awudu & Owusu, Victor & Goetz, Renan, 2011. "Land tenure differences and investment in land improvement measures: Theoretical and empirical analyses," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 66-78, September.
    25. Boahene, Kwasi & Snijders, Tom A. B. & Folmer, Henk, 1999. "An Integrated Socioeconomic Analysis of Innovation Adoption: The Case of Hybrid Cocoa in Ghana," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 167-184, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Bin Yang & Jun He, 2021. "Global Land Grabbing: A Critical Review of Case Studies across the World," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-19, March.
    4. 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).
    5. Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Hanson, 2020. "What lies beneath: Climate change, land expropriation, and zaï agroecological innovations by smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    6. Fenske, James, 2011. "Land tenure and investment incentives: Evidence from West Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 137-156, July.
    7. Ghebru, Hosaena & Khan, Huma & Lambrecht, Isabel, 2016. "Perceived land tenure security and rural transformation: Empirical evidence from Ghana:," IFPRI discussion papers 1545, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Liverpool-Tasie, Saweda & Nuhu, Ahmed Salim & Awokuse, Titus O. & Jayne, Thomas S. & Muyanga, Milu & Aromolaran, Adebayo & Adelaja, Adesoji, 2020. "Spillover effects of Medium-Scale Farms on Smallholder Behavior and Welfare: Evidence from Nigeria," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304606, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Derek G. Stacey, 2011. "Tenure Insecurity, Adverse Selection, And Liquidity In Rural Land Markets," Working Paper 1269, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    10. Wegenast, Tim & Richetta, Cécile & Krauser, Mario & Leibik, Alexander, 2022. "Grabbed trust? The impact of large-scale land acquisitions on social trust in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    11. Ahmed, Abubakari, 2021. "Biofuel feedstock plantations closure and land abandonment in Ghana: New directions for land studies in Sub-Saharan Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    12. Tilman Br�ck, 2003. "Investment in Land, Tenure Security and Area Farmed in Northern Mozambique," HiCN Working Papers 01, Households in Conflict Network.
    13. 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).
    14. Thomas E. Guerrero & C. Angelo Guevara & Elisabetta Cherchi & Juan de Dios Ortúzar, 2021. "Addressing endogeneity in strategic urban mode choice models," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 2081-2102, August.
    15. Thanyaporn Chankrajang, 2015. "Partial Land Rights and Agricultural Outcomes: Evidence from Thailand," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 91(1), pages 126-148.
    16. Kimura, Yuichi, 2021. "Shackles of Kinship Bonds: Land Tenure Institutions and Smallholders' Farm Investments in Ghana," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315049, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Yang, Qi & Zhu, Yueji & Liu, Ling & Wang, Fang, 2021. "Land tenure stability and adoption intensity of sustainable agricultural practices: Evidence from banana farmers in China," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315254, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Zeng, Di & Alwang, Jeffrey & Norton, George & Jaleta, Moti & Shiferaw, Bekele & Yirga, Chilot, 2018. "Land ownership and technology adoption revisited: Improved maize varieties in Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 270-279.
    19. Xinyue Qu & Wenfeng Zhou & Jia He & Dingde Xu, 2023. "Land Certification, Adjustment Experience, and Green Production Technology Acceptance of Farmers: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-20, April.
    20. Gasmi, Farid & Kouakou, Dorgyles & Noumba Um, Paul & Rojas Milla, Pedro, 2023. "An empirical analysis of the social contract in the MENA region and the role of digitalization in its transformation," TSE Working Papers 23-1423, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).

    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:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:4:p:737-:d:1106399. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.