-0 3 Jllm 1996 ~ Lf.01 .0 j s:;~~5 POPULATION AND AGRICULTURAL LAND USE IN THE MANYA KROBO DISTRICT A thesis present.ed in :fu1.f'i1ment of the requirements for admission to the Doctor 0£ Phi1osophy Degree in Geography and Resource Deveiopment, University of Ghana. LIBRARY - O1 AVR. 1996 David Kene Bede1e CODESRIA Department 0£ Geography and Resource Deve1opment, University 0£ Ghana, LEGON. JUNE, 1 '993e LIBRARY DEDICATED TO NY -AILING WIFE: MRS ELIZABETH NAMLE BEDELE ----- CODESRIA tL,f 1'1/6 /"LL DECLARATIOM I declare that, except for references to other people's worlr.: which have been duly acknowledged, this work is the result 0£ my own research; and that this thesis has neither, in part or in whole, been presented elsewhere for another degree. LIBRARY - • ,r • •"" • r~ r ,r r r r r r,, r r .. r CandiBate's Signature Signatures of Supervisors: CODESRIA ....... &?,~ .......... PROF. JOHNS. MABILA PROF. S. TETTEH-ADDO Date: . ................. ,. .. ,,. ,, ,,. iii ABSTRACT The Manya Krobo District is in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The predominant people of the district are the Krobo who are mostly £armers. Indeed a number of researchers have described the Krobo as industrious £armers. Another characteristic :feature of the district is the rapid population growth. The two variables: the rapid population growth of the Krobo and their agricultural activities, make the Manya Krobo District an ideal rural area :for the examination a£ the relationship between population growth and agricultural land use. By 1731, the Krobo had become :firmly established on the Krobo Mountain in the north-eastern part 0£ the Accra Plains. As a result o:f rapid populaton increase, they acquiredLIBRARY agricultural land :from their Akan neighbours. By 1950, the -Krobo had penetrated Akan lands as :far as the southern parts o:f the A:fram Plains, about 300 kilometre~ north-west o:f the Krobo Mountain. The land acquisition process was greatly in:fluenced by the changing attitude o:f the Akan landowners. Thus while the process was peace:ful at some stages, at other stages, it was characterised by clashes. The rapid population growth 0£ the district has great impact on the landCODESRIA use. Indicators o:f population stress like; land :fragmentation, changes in :frequency o:f cropping, environmental degradation, changing landholding patterns, decreasing crop yields, changing crop patterns and disputes over land ownership are now common :features o:f the agricultural landscape. iv The population, in turn, does not remain static: it is responding to the agricultural land use change. There are signs 0£ population mobility, changing perception about fertility levels and the use of the family as a source 0£ labour, rising educatonal levels and occupational change. To address the problem a£ population pressure in the district, there is the need £or care£ully planned programmes to tackle both the problems 0£ rapid population growth and ine££icient agricultural land use. LIBRARY - CODESRIA PREFACE The total world population of about 5,128 million in 1988 has increased rapidly to 5,508 million by 1993 with an annual natural growth rate of 1.6 percent (World Population Data Sheet, 1988 and 1993}. Ironically, about 76.3 per cent (4,276 million} of this large world population is found in the less developed world where resources are less abundant. It is also in this part of the world where annual growth rates are high. For e~,::ample Ghana's total population of 14.4 million in 1988 has increased to 16.4 million by 1993 with an annual growth rate of 3. 1 per cent (World Population Data Sheet, 1988 and 1993). Generally, it is not the crude population :figure which is alarming. Rather it is the high rateLIBRARY at which the population is growing annually. There exists the- :fear that soon the world's resource might be inadequate to sustain this rapidly increasing population. This :fear underscores the close relationship that e::,dsts between the human population and the resources o.:f the earth. While in the developed .-10rld the relationship between the population and agricultural supply might not be very obvious, in the developing countries, particularly in the communities where agriculture isCODESRIA the predominant occupation, the relationship is very close. The Manya Krobo District in Southeastern Ghana is one of the rural areas in the developing world where such close relationship between the population and agricultural land use exists. In this vi district, the population is increasing rapidly and agriculture is, essentially, the occupation of the people. Indeed a number of researchers have described the Krobo of the district as industrious farmers. This thesis examines the relationship between the rapidly growing population and the agricultural land use. There e::,dsts a general debate on the direction of the causal relationship between population growth and agricultural change CMalthus, 1798; Beserup, 1965 and Matzner, 1982 >• This debate is used as a research :framework within which the e::,camination is made. Operationally, however, the term "population growth" is given a wider scope to encompass other pertinent demographic variables. "Agricultural change/intensification" is equally given a broader definition to include relevant agricultural variations.LIBRARY Though the study focuses principally- on the relationship between population and agricultural land use, the involvement of other variables like the external market, transportation and industrialization is also comparatively examined. To the Krobo farmer, agriculture is a way of life. The Krobo year calendar is a re£lection of the agricultural activities of the people. Similarly the traditions, aspirations and values of the people are closely relatedCODESRIA to their agricultural practices. For a clear understanding of the relationship between the people and their agricultural land use, therefore, it is considered pertinent to relate these traditions, rites, aspirations and values to the interaction between the two variables. Obviously it could not be vii rightly argued that the interaction between population and agricultural land use is e2~clusive and that it precludes the involvement 0£ other £actors. In Chapter One, the problem is clearly de:fined and the methodology is care:fully outlined. Inclusive in this chapter are the objective, the literature review, the statement o:f the research hypothesis and a short background to the study. Chapter Two examines the growth o:f the population, its distrib1Jtion, sex and age composition, mobility, and other demographic characteristics which are :found to be pertinent to the study. The land that the Krobo now occupy :formerly belonged to their Akan neighbours. Chapter Three thus traces the processes o:f land acquisition and examines the pertinent concepts like, group formation :for land acquisition and individualLIBRARY land ownership. In Chapter Four, the analysis- of the inter-relationship between population and agricultural land use in the district is done whilst Chapter Five looks at the demographic responses to the agricultural change. Chapter Six concludes the study. University 0£ Ghana, Da,dd K. Bedele Legan. June, 1993. CODESRIA viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The thesis owes so much to so many people that it would be impossible to mention them all. Any omission is therefore a matter o:f oversight rather than ingratitude. I must acknowledge, with gratitude, the debt I owe to the Council for the Development o:f Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA>, Dakar, Senegal and the University of Science and Technology (UST}, Kumasi, Ghana. CODESRIA granted me a generous :fellowship under the Small Grants for Thesis Writing Programme while the University of Science and Technology, in addition to a study leave, gave me appreciable research grant. I am equally indebted to my supervisors~ Professor John S. Mabila, a Population and Medical GeographerLIBRARY and the Head o:f the Department of Geography and Resource- Development, University of Ghana, Legon; Prof. E.A. Gyasi, an Agricultural Geographer; and Professor Samuel Tetteh-Addo, all of the same Department. Pro£essor Tetteh-Addo is a Transportation Geographer with in-depth knowledge on the Manya Krobo District. The patience, motivation and devotion to duty of these scholars will fore•;er remain a shining example to me. On a number of occasions when I virtually got on theirCODESRIA nerves, it was only their devotion to work that sustained their patience. Mine alone, howe•1er, is the responsibility £or any error. To the other lecturers 0£ the Department 0£ Geography and Resource Development, I am really thank£ul. Pro£essor Raymond B. Bening, former Head of the Department and now Acting Vice- Chancellor of the University for Development Studi~s, Tamale, needs special mention. He propped me up and gave priceless counselling during times of frustration and despair. Dr. Paul W.K. Yankson, Prof. Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandoff and Mr. S.K. Kufogbe remained faithful friends who gave encouragement and ad•,ice. Dr. G. T. Agyepong readily gave me access to the computers in his section. I should not forget the invaluable services provided by other staff in the Department. Mr. D.J. Drah drew my maps with professional skill and patience often drawing my attention to errors. Miss Margaret Boateng typed my script with diligence. Numerous people outside the Department equally deserve to be mentioned. Outstanding among such people are Professor Jonathan N. Ayertey, Head of the Department ofLIBRARY Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, and Professor E. Laing- of the Department of Botany, Faculty of Sciences, all of the University of Ghana, Legon. They re-constructed my confidence and spurred me on at the time vhen I nearly abandoned the programme. I am mindful of my indebtedness to people who offered assistance and provided service in the field. Such people include the chie£s and elders of the various localities I visited. Among them was the CODESRIAlate Oklemekuku Azu Mate Kale, former Konor of Manya Krobo, who patiently briefed me on the pertinent traditions, aspirations, rites and values of his people.