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Agricultural Investments and Farmer-Fulani Pastoralist Conflict in West African Drylands: A Northern Ghanaian Case Study

Author

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  • Sebastiaan Soeters

    (Faculty of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Utrecht, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Ruben Weesie

    (Faculty of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Utrecht, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Annelies Zoomers

    (Faculty of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Utrecht, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Abstract

In the Global South, there is a push to drive agricultural modernisation processes through private sector investments. In West African drylands, land concessions are required for such agri-businesses are often negotiated through customary authorities, and inject large amounts of money into localised rural systems with low cash bases. The article argues that such transactions serve to increase area under crop cultivation on an inter-seasonal basis, as financial spill-overs allow for farmers to purchase larger quantities of agricultural inputs and prepare larger tracts of land. Simultaneously, such direct and indirect cash flows also result in larger local herd sizes and an increase in the number of locally-owned cattle, as cash is exchanged for cattle, largely regarded as an interest-accruing, savings buffer. Larger herd sizes, in turn, attract Fulani pastoralists in search of employment as contracted herders for local cattle owners. Taking Integrated Water and Agricultural Development (IWAD), a private sector, large-scale irrigation initiative in northern Ghana as a case study, the article argues that there is an inevitability of the pathway, which leads from large-scale land acquisitions in West-African drylands, to an increase in conflict (and/or the risk thereof) between sedentary and Fulani pastoralists.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastiaan Soeters & Ruben Weesie & Annelies Zoomers, 2017. "Agricultural Investments and Farmer-Fulani Pastoralist Conflict in West African Drylands: A Northern Ghanaian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-19, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:11:p:2063-:d:118347
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steve Tonah, 2002. "Fulani pastoralists, indigenous farmers and the contest for land in Northern Ghana," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 37(1), pages 43-59.
    2. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, 2016. "European Union's Standards and Food Exports from Africa: Implications of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program for Coffee and Fish," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 18(1), pages 83-97.
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    Cited by:

    1. Annelies (E.B.) Zoomers, 2018. "Development at the Crossroads of Capital Flows and Migration: Leaving No One Behind?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Angela Kronenburg García, 2018. "Territorial Conflicts, Agency and the Strategic Appropriation of Interventions in Kenya’s Southern Drylands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, November.
    3. Mechiche-Alami, Altaaf & Yagoubi, Jihad & Nicholas, Kimberly A., 2021. "Agricultural land acquisitions unlikely to address the food security needs of African countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    4. Shizhen Bai & Xuelian Jia, 2023. "The Impact of the Cost-Sharing Contract on Capital-Constrained Agricultural Supply Chains," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, February.
    5. Marco D’Errico & Assad Bori & Ana Paula de la O Campos, 2021. "Resilience and Conflict: Evidence from Mali," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-21, September.
    6. Kandel, Matt & Anghileri, Daniela & Alare, Rahinatu S. & Lovett, Peter N. & Agaba, Genevieve & Addoah, Thomas & Schreckenberg, Kate, 2022. "Farmers’ perspectives and context are key for the success and sustainability of farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in northeastern Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

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