Geography and Resource Development
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Yaro, J. A. and Abraham Z. 2009. Customary land tenure, Investment and livelihoods adaptation in Northern Ghana. Ogua Journal of Social Science (JOSS) Vol. 4. No.3.pp. 59-82.
The land tenure practice of any place is important for the economic well-being of its citizenry. This article assesses... more The land tenure practice of any place is important for the economic well-being of its citizenry. This article assesses the investments of farmers on different categories of lands deemed to have less or more security in order to inform the debate on the relationship between tenure security and investments. We also delineate the changing livelihood portfolios of families resulting from changing access forms to land via livelihood adaptation. Quantitative data from a national survey conducted by Institute of Statistical Social and Economic research in addition to qualitative information from nine villages is used as evidence for the study. Investments in land tend to be constrained by a host of motivations and factors rather than just security. Poverty was the most important factor which prevented farmers from investing in a wide range of land improvements necessary for increasing productivity. As a result of pressure on land resources and scarcity of farmland in urban and peri-urban areas many people are diversifying from agriculture to non-farm activities. In the rural areas, this pressure on land has led to migration by the youth to the cities and changes in land relations between land owners and other land users.. The economic mix of northern Ghana is becoming complicated and in tune with global trends. The deagrarianisation trend does not automatically lead to improvement in people’s livelihoods but is contingent on social, economic and environmental factors.
Yaro. J. A. 2006. Is Deagrarianisation Real? A study of livelihood activities in Rural Northern Ghana. Journal of Modern African Studies. Vol. 44, (1)125-156. Cambridge University Press
This article examines the livelihoods, portfolios and degree of deagrarianisation of the peasantry in three villages... more
This article examines the livelihoods, portfolios and degree of deagrarianisation of the peasantry in three villages in northern Ghana. It argues that deagrarianisation should be seen as a process embedded in social change, bearing in mind the reversibility between farm and non-farm livelihood strategies used by households (reagrarianisation ?). A livelihoods research approach involving qualitative household interviews and quantitative surveys in three villages in the Kassena-Nankani district constitute primary data for this study. Contrary to the deagrarianisation thesis, this study found that livelihood adaptation, implying both a diversification to new or secondary livelihood activities and changing the form, nature and content of the farm sector, characterised rural livelihoods in the area. The adaptation process involves not just a move from the farm to the non farm sector, but also an intensification of efforts in the farm sector with seasonal diversification into other livelihood activities. The supposedly ‘booming non farm sector ’ is not entirely real, for reasons of marginalisation and exclusion of
the poor peasantry, resulting from spatial, capital, infrastructural and market limitations.
Yaro. J. A. 2008. An examination of theories on Savannasation and the peasant-environment debate. West African Journal of Applied Ecology. Vol. 13: 1-20.
This paper examines man-environment relations in the African savannah. It argues that it is important to look at the... more This paper examines man-environment relations in the African savannah. It argues that it is important to look at the relationship in a wider dimension involving conceptual frameworks that incorporate the dynamics of rural livelihoods, institutional factors, resource diversity, environmental variability and global influences on local socio-politico-economic landscapes. Land management decisions and investment patterns of diverse peasant representations are reflected in land use changes. Investigating these relationship has moved from the biased technocratic objective assessment of virgin lands and so called mapping of human impacts to studies identifying the environment as an arena for synergistic interaction between ‘man’ economics and ‘nature’. A conceptual shift to a ‘people in places’ paradigm allowing the experiences of people in differentiated environments to influence the analyses of social phenomena in savannah landscapes is underway. These shifts in thinking have multiple implications for designing policies for both rural development and environmental sustainability in the Ghanaian savannah. Ensuring sustainable livelihoods through institutions that grant secure and regulated access to resources, provide skills, capital and appropriate technology is key to environmental health and prosperity.
Yaro. J. A. 2007. Peasant livelihoods and land degradation: Evidence from a participatory assessment in the Gia-Kajelo Community in Northern Ghana. West African Journal of Applied Ecology. Vol. 11: 109-128.
The relationships between peasant livelihoods and land degradation in the Gia-Kajelo community were examined in a... more The relationships between peasant livelihoods and land degradation in the Gia-Kajelo community were examined in a wider context of the man-environment relations in the African savanna. The relationship has to be looked at in a wider dimension involving conceptual frameworks that incorporate contemporary understanding of rural livelihoods, institutional dynamics, resource diversity, environmental variability and macro level influences on local socio-politicoeconomic landscapes. Investigating these relationship should move from the biased technocratic objective assessment of virgin lands and so-called mapping of human impacts to studies identifying the environment as an arena for synergistic interaction between ‘man’ and ‘nature’. Based on the later approach results showed that all wealth groups experienced land degradation on their fields, reflecting the type of land investments made and mediated by levels of access to resources and opportunities. Being poor reduced the ability of most people to invest in land improvement, but being rich did not automatically lead to good environmental health.
Yaro, J. A. 2010. Customary tenure systems under siege: contemporary access to land in Northern Ghana. Geojournal: Vol. 75. Pp. 199-214. DOI 10.1007/s10708-009-9301x.
Land in most of Africa is controlled under the customary tenure system which is governed by well intentioned social... more
Land in most of Africa is controlled under the customary tenure system which is governed by well intentioned social and cultural rules meant to grant equal access to families within groups with
common interest in land. Rapid changes in the domestic situation of countries resulting from both refractions of policies and influences from the global economy and emerging complexities within the local socio-economic context has altered the traditional land tenure systems in most parts of Africa. In the
rural setting and for agricultural purposes, the customary tenure system seems to be crumbling slowly, while in the urban centres and for housing, industrial and commercial purposes the system has collapsed in favour of a commoditised one. The
emerging patterns of access in Northern Ghana show growing inequalities in access, control and ownership. There is the need for a new architecture of land rights negotiated by a participatory process and regulated by both state and traditional institutions
Yaro. J. A. and Hesselberg J. 2010. Poverty and land degradation linkages in the Developing World. Ghana Journal of Geography Vol. 2. Pp. 25-46.
Northern Ghana has remained the poorest part of the country. The gains from macro-economic adjustment seem to have... more
Northern Ghana has remained the poorest part of the country. The gains from macro-economic adjustment seem to have impacted minimally on the landscape as the area has the highest percentage of the people being poor. The dynamics of regional development have maintained an extractive tendency, siphoning labour to more resource-rich parts of the country. The data from the Ghana Living Standards Surveys provide ample justification for denoting northern Ghana a marginal area. The
extent and depth of poverty in the area reflects its dire food insecurity position. Development policies are needed that enhance both agricultural production and greater participation of the poor in urban economic activities. It is argued that urbanisation and its associated spin-offs are necessary in order to achieve improved food security.
