The dynamics of tenure security, agricultural production and environmental degradation in Africa: Evidence from stakeholders in north-east Ghana

Many authors have blamed African land tenure systems for the poor agricultural production and environmental degradation in Africa, and therefore the resulting hunger, environmental refugees and the lack of socio-economic progress. The aim of this paper was to investigate the role of tenure security in north-east Ghana and the implications for agricultural production and environmental sustainability. The research used a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods including interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaires to collect and analyse data from stakeholders in two selected districts in north-east Ghana The study revealed that contrary to the mainstream view that lack of security of customary land tenure is the main cause of the poor agricultural production and environmental degradation, stakeholders’ perceptions of their security of tenure was generally high. Yet poor agricultural production and environmental degradation characterised the study area. Interviewees perceived the main causes to be due to non-tenurial factors including lack of finance, poor soil fertility, inadequate and unreliable rainfall, pests and diseases, inadequate farmlands, bush burning and excessive tree cutting. It was also shown in the study that women and strangers (i.e. non-community members) generally had little or no power and control over land use decision-making and management under customary land tenure. These findings have negative implications for tenure security and environmental sustainability in north-east Ghana, since most women are involved in food production. The paper concludes that current policy focus on enhancing tenure security may fail to lead to increased agricultural production and environmental sustainability if similar focus is denied the above non-tenurial factors. Tenure security is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for improvement in agricultural production and environmental management in north-east Ghana.