University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh THE EFFECT OF MINING ACTIVITIES ON SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE: THE CASE OF MALE AND FEMALE FARMERS IN THE MPOHOR MINING AREA OF GHANA BY EKUA BENTSIWA SLIM ANKOMAH (10636350) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE DEGREE JULY, 2019 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis was carried out entirely by me in the Environmental Science Programme, University of Ghana. This thesis has never been presented for the award of a degree in this University or any other institution. All sources of information presented in this thesis have been duly acknowledged. …………………………………… ………………………………… Ekua Bentsiwa Slim Ankomah Date (Student) ……………………………………. …………………………………. Dr. Adelina Maria Mensah Date (Principal Supervisor) ……………………………………. …………………………………. Dr. Ted Yemoh Annang Date (Co-Supervisor) i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my mother, Nana Ama Botchey, my dear husband and children, Mr. Dennis Slim Ankomah, Johanna Slim Ankomah and Jayden Slim Ankomah for their love, inspiration and unflinching support throughout my education. ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to Almighty God for His protection and guidance throughout my life and education. My greatest appreciation goes to my supervisors Dr. Adelina M. Mensah and Dr. Ted Y. Annang for their expertise, direction, good guidance, and constructive criticism leading to the successful completion of this research. I also thank all the research fellows of the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies for their guidance and criticism during the course of my study. Special thanks also go to Mr. Emmanuel Ansah and Mr. Prince Owusu of Ecological Laboratory for their technical assistance and support during the laboratory analysis. My appreciation also goes to Mr. Thomas Tobil, Mpohor District chief cocoa farmer, all the Traditional leaders, chief farmers, and people of Mpohor, Awunakrom, Mpohor Yabiw, Obrayebona, and Adum Banso for their hospitality, participation and contribution towards the successful completion of the research. Also, my appreciation goes to staff of Mpohor District Assembly, Norpalm Ghana Ltd and the Department of Agriculture for providing valuable information during the field study. Finally, my thanks goes to my entire family, friends and colleagues at IESS M.Phil. Class of 2019, University of Ghana for their prayers, encouragement and inspiration. God bless you all. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT The study employed the sustainable livelihood approach to investigate the effect of mining activities on male and female smallholder farmers in the Mpohor District mining area. In addition, livelihood assets of smallholder farmers, heavy metal concentrations in farm soils, the livelihood strategies employed by the smallholder farmers and institutional support to the smallholder farmer in the management of the effect of mining activities were also assessed. Five communities namely; Mpohor, Adum Banso, Obrayebona, Mpohor Yabiw and Awunakrom within the mining area were selected for the study. The data collection tools used to assess the livelihood assets, effect of mining, livelihood strategies and institutional support were household questionnaire surveys, focus group discussion and structured interviews. A total of 206 farmers were administered questionnaires, three focus group discussions were held and six structured interviews were conducted for relevant information. The findings of the study indicated that male smallholder farmers have relative advantage in the acquisition of all livelihood assets (human, social, natural physical and financial assets) than their female counterparts. The study further revealed that, mining has caused more negative effects on the natural, human and physical capital of the male smallholder farmers than the female farmers, but it has equal effect on the socio-economic assets of the male and female smallholder farmers. In the selected farm soils, the concentrations of Pb, As, and Hg measured were within the acceptable limits recommended by WHO/FAO, while the concentration of Cd in all the samples were above the acceptable limit by WHO/FAO. There was also strong positive correlation between As and Hg (r=0.84) and Pb and As (r=0.65). The livelihood strategies employed by the male smallholder farmers were similar to that employed by the female farmers. It included intercropping, selling of raw agriculture produce and wage employment. Formal and informal institutional support identified were the use of law enforcement agencies, compensation and education. The study recommends that mainstreaming gender issues in the iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh agriculture sector must be done, taking into consideration the natural resources available to smallholder farmers as well as the socio-demographic context and livelihood assets of the female smallholder farmer. v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENT PAGE DECLARATION ................................................................................................................... i DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................. xv CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Problem ............................................................................................................ 3 1.7 Definition of Terms ......................................................................................................... 9 1.7.1 Smallholder Farmer ............................................................................................... 9 1.7.2 Livelihood ........................................................................................................... 10 1.7.3 Livelihood Strategy ............................................................................................. 10 1.7.4 Gender ................................................................................................................ 10 1.8 Organization of Thesis .................................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................ 12 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 12 2.1 Overview of Agriculture in Ghana ................................................................................. 12 2.2 Gendered Differences in Agriculture ............................................................................. 15 2.3 Overview of Gold Mining in Ghana .............................................................................. 16 2.4 Impacts of Mining on Smallholder Agriculture .............................................................. 19 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.4.1 Land Degradation ................................................................................................ 19 2.4.2 Chemical Pollution of Agriculture Land .............................................................. 21 2.4.3 Chemical Pollution of Irrigation Water Resources ............................................... 22 2.4.4 Land Use Conflicts .............................................................................................. 23 2.4.5. Influence on Livelihood Strategy ........................................................................ 24 2.4.6. Impact on Human Health .................................................................................... 26 2.5.1 Arsenic (As) ........................................................................................................ 28 2.5.2 Cadmium (Cd)..................................................................................................... 28 2.5.4 Mercury (Hg) ...................................................................................................... 29 2.6 Management of Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts of Mining........................ 30 2.6.1 Management by Higher Level Formal Institutions ..............................................