Selorm Kobla Kugbega
Researcher
From Subsistence to Commercial Producers : Processes of State-led Agrarian Change, Land Tenure Dynamics and Social Differentiation among Smallholders in Ghana.
Från uppehälle till kommersiella producenter : Processer av statsledd jordbruksförändring, markinnehavsdynamik och social differentiering bland småbrukare i Ghana.
Author
Summary, in English
The empirical basis of the thesis is qualitative, utilizing key informant and household interviews, focus group discussions, participatory rural appraisal exercises and document analysis. Findings show how tense interactions between state and customary actors fuelled by narratives of traditionalization, non-interference and replacement reduce the opportunities for synergies in implementing agricultural policies. The thesis further shows how migrant farmers’ tenurial rights are weakened by processes of commercialization leading to the development of relational forms of land access depicted by in-kind food crop gifts to land owners. They are further engaged in taungya agreements in which they exchange their labour for “free” land access. These agreements are indicative of labour exploitation and the creation of transactional rather than the theorised landlessness and waged labour in the context of commercialization.
The thesis also shows how women’s possibilities for commercialization are limited by structural factors and with it their ability to hold cultivation claims over communal land. Men however do not face these constraints and tend to consolidate their hold on customary land. Nonetheless, women are incentivized by the unique nature of cashew cultivation in circumventing structural barriers as well as its proprietary attributes under customary law, to seek land for cultivation. With these outcomes, it is imperative that stakeholders give consideration to the synergies between land tenure actors and the potential polarizing effects of commercialization on the production possibilities of different groups and on land tenure.
Department/s
- Department of Human Geography
Publishing year
2022-10-01
Language
English
Full text
Document type
Dissertation
Publisher
Lund University
Topic
- Human Geography
Keywords
- Smallholder
- Commercialization
- Land tenure
- Social differentiation
- Chiefs
- Gender
- Migrants
- Ghana
Status
Published
Supervisor
- Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt
- Magnus Jirström
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISBN: 978-91-8039-420-8
- ISBN: 978-91-8039-419-2
Defence date
28 October 2022
Defence time
10:00
Defence place
Världen, Geocentrum I, Sölvegatan 10, Lund
Opponent
- Janine Ubink (Professor)