University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF GHANA INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES AGRICULTURAL COMMERCIALIZATION AND ITS IMPACTS ON LAND TENURE RELATIONS IN THE NANUMBA NORTH DISTRICT BY ALIU AMINU (10508519) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN AFRICAN STUDIES JULY, 2016 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own research work and I remain solely responsible for any shortcomings in this study. The research was carried out in the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, under the supervision of Professor Kojo S. Amanor and Dr. Osman Alhassan. All relevant references cited in this work have been duly acknowledged. This work is not presented in full or in part to any other institution for examination. Aliu Aminu (10508519) …………………… ………………….. Student name and ID Signature Date Principal Supervisor Professor Kojo S. Amanor ……………… …………………. Signature Date Co- Supervisor Dr. Osman Alhassan …...……………… ………………....... Signature Date i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION This research work is dedicated to my late Father, Mumuni Aliu (Zori Aliu) who died during my course work on this programme and my late Mother, Mahama Azara, for the faith and confidence she reposed in me at early hours of my education. ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My special thanks go to my two supervisors, Professor Kojo S. Amanor and Dr. Osman Alhassan for accepting to supervise this thesis and the professional manner they guided me through this research work. But for their suggestions and critical lenses, I do not think this research could have seen the light of day. I also wish to acknowledge the financial support I received from Volkswagen Foundation through the candid effort of Dr. Micheal Ayamba, African Post-Doctoral Fellow from UDS-Tamale and Dr. Wolfram Laube, European Post-Doctoral Fellow, Bonn-Germany who equally provided constructive criticisms that eventually shaped and opened my mind towards this work. Another person who deserves mention is Professor/Dr. Friederike Diaby Pentzlin, who encouraged me to work hard to merit the confidence reposed in me. I will also like to acknowledge the parental guidance I have received from Mr. Silas Natomah and his wife, Mrs. Nyadiya Ayi for providing me accommodation throughout the course period. Finally, I will like to thank the Almighty Allah for bringing me this far in the academic cycle. This achievement could not have been possible without His gift of life, determination, and fortitude to fight on to this level. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT The focus of recent literature is on land grabbing through international investment in African agriculture that has attracted much attention in the media but overlooks the processes of social differentiation in rural communities, which is also resulting in processes of accumulation of large expanses of farmland by emerging commercial farmers. There are multiple pathways by which agricultural commercialization and land consolidation can occur. This study explored emergent land markets within rural areas and the impact of agricultural commercialization on various forms of land transactions and labour relations, and the extent to which this results in the dispossession of smallholder farmers in the Nanumba North District. Appropriation of agricultural land can occur through accumulation from (1) below, by investments of smallholder farmers within a process of investing farm profits in further expansion of farming activities. It can also occur from (2) above, by investments of other actors who have accumulated capital outside of agriculture into agriculture, which they see as a profitable venture. Farmland appropriations can also occur through (3) rental markets, neo-customary and informal mechanisms based on notions of a moral economy rooted in reciprocity, obligations, exchange of services and gifts, and debt. This thesis argues that, the main source of accumulation within agriculture occurs from investments of traders, civil servants, bureaucrats who use their savings to gain access to farmlands. The research employed both quantitative and qualitative methods of data gathering. The sample size was sixty farmers which comprised of twenty commercial farmers, fifteen women, and ten labourers as well as fifteen small-scale farmers. The findings revealed that the new path ways in which people accumulate agriculture land from poor farmers is through the hiring of tractors and providing ploughing services to land owners in exchange for land which reveals that land owners lack the necessary capital to hire tractor services. The study concludes that majority of the farmers who have tractors were civil servants who accumulated their capital from non-farm activities and use this to influence land owners to appropriate vast expanse of farmlands through the provision of ploughing iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh services and hiring out of tractors. It is recommended that government facilitates access to market agricultural services such as tractor ploughing for smallholders, ensuring that these are widely available and not controlled by a class of aspiring large-scale farmers with political connections. v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................................ i DEDICATION .............................................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Statement .............................................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Conceptual framework ........................................................................................................................ 3 1.4 Research Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 6 1.5 Research Questions ............................................................................................................................. 7 1.6 Research Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 7 1.6.1 Research Design ........................................................................................................................... 7 1.6.2 Sampling Design .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.6.3 Data collection methods and techniques .................................................................................... 10 1.7 Relevance of this Study .................................................................................................................... 11 1.8 Organization of this Study ................................................................................................................ 12 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................................ 14 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Concept of Agricultural Commercialization ..................................................................................... 17 2.3 Land and Labour Markets in Agricultural Commercialization ......................................................... 21 2.4 Land Tenure Systems in Africa ........................................................................................................ 27 2.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 30 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................... 31 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh THE NANUMBA NORTH DISTRICT ..................................................................................................... 31 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 31 3.2 Background Information on Nanun and its history ..........................................................................