-- ICDD WP14_Gordana Kranjac_03.qxp_ ICDD WP_14_ 28.10.15 13:06 Seite 1 ICDD | Transformations of traditional landuse systems in Northern Ghana ICDD Working Papers | Paper No. 14 | Nov. 2015 Gordana Kranjac-Berisavljevic Transformations of traditional landuse systems and their effects on development opportunities and people’s livelihoods in Northern Ghana The International Center for Development and Decent Work 1 -- ICDD WP14_Gordana Kranjac_03.qxp_ ICDD WP_14_ 28.10.15 13:06 Seite 2 Prof. Gordana Kranjac-Berisavljevic is a Professor of Agricultural Engineering. She has about 30 years of working experience, out of which 25 years in Ghana. She works at University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana, since 1995 and currently as Direc - tor of Office for Linkages and International Relationships at UDS. Her main areas of interest include water and ecosystem management, irrigation, climate change, and new approaches to tertiary education in developing countries. She has also collaborated on several projects with local and international partners. She has published about 80 pro - fessional papers in books, journals and made numerous conference presentations. Editorial Board Khayaat Fakier (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa) Béatrice Knerr (University of Kassel, Germany) The ICDD Working Papers are peer-reviewed. Contact Address Prof. Dr. Christoph Scherrer ICDD – University of Kassel, Germany Mailing address: Mönchebergstr. 19, D-34109 Kassel Visitors’ address: Kleine Rosenstr. 3, D-34117 Kassel Contact: [email protected] Design / Layout: Nina Sangenstedt, gestaltvoll.de ICDD Working Papers ISBN: 978-3-7376-0032-3 (print) ISBN: 978-3-7376-0033-0 (online) © International Center for Development and Decent Work. All rights reserved. The material in this publication may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted without the prior permission of the copyright holder. Short extracts may be quoted, provided the source is fully acknowledged. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the ones of the ICDD or of the organization for which the author works. First published 11 / 2015 in Kassel, Germany Publishing House: kassel university press GmbH www.upress.uni-kassel.de -- ICDD WP14_Gordana Kranjac_03.qxp_ ICDD WP_14_ 28.10.15 13:06 Seite 1 Gordana Kranjac-Berisavljevic1 Transformations of traditional landuse systems and their effects on development opportunities and people’s livelihoods in Northern Ghana 1 Faculty of Agricultural Technology, University for Development Studies, Tamale, P.O. Box TL 1350, Tamale, Ghana -- ICDD WP14_Gordana Kranjac_03.qxp_ ICDD WP_14_ 28.10.15 13:06 Seite 2 ICDD | Transformations of traditional landuse systems in Northern Ghana Inhalt Abstract .......................................................................................................... 3 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 4 Land and population resources in Northern Ghana ....................................... 4 Land ownership arrangements ........................................................................ 6 Bio-physical characteristics of Northern Ghana and traditional small holder agriculture .......................................................... 7 2 New developments .................................................................................... 9 Energy crops ...................................................................................................... 9 Mining developments ..................................................................................... 11 On-going agricultural initiatives and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Northern Ghana ................................... 14 New agricultural developments ..................................................................... 16 Savanna Agricultural Development Authority (SADA) and commercial agricultural schemes in Northern Ghana .................................. 17 Developments in the Sissili Kulpawn Basin .................................................. 18 Other irrigation developments ....................................................................... 19 3 Conclusions ................................................................................................. 20 4 Acknowledgements .................................................................................. 21 5 References .................................................................................................... 22 ICDD Working Paper Series .................................................................... 25 2 -- ICDD WP14_Gordana Kranjac_03.qxp_ ICDD WP_14_ 28.10.15 13:06 Seite 3 ICDD | Transformations of traditional landuse systems in Northern Ghana Abstract Agricultural land in Northern Ghana was under the traditional arrangements till recent times. Small-scale farmers and their families could collect water, firewood, fodder and seasonal fruits or carried out hunting on communal lands, owned by local chiefs and fetish priests, under the provisions made by customary laws. Recent developments in this area include up-scaling of the mining industry, large scale commercial agriculture projects and cultivation of biofuel crops. All these development schemes are affecting access to natural resources by the local people as they affect water, land and even vegetation in the project areas. This paper discusses some recent projects in Northern Ghana and their positive and negative effects as well as impacts on the local population and their livelihood. Role of government as well as civil society in these transformations is also considered. 3 -- ICDD WP14_Gordana Kranjac_03.qxp_ ICDD WP_14_ 28.10.15 13:06 Seite 4 ICDD | Transformations of traditional landuse systems in Northern Ghana 1 Introduction This paper is discussing various recent and on-going land acquisitions in Northern Ghana, for purposes of mining, biofuel and commercial large-scale crops farming. Most of these changes are taking place on traditional lands, owned by chiefs but promoted by the govern ment. Various examples presented below show that these changes affect tradi tional small-scale farmers mostly negatively, reducing their livelihood options. Similar process is affecting other African countries and findings can be relevant in their own environment. Land and population resources in Northern Ghana Northern Ghana comprises about 41 % of the total land area of the country, with about 20% of the country’s population living within its three regions – Upper East, Upper West and Northern Region (Yaro, 2010, Figure 1 ). The population is unevenly distributed within this area, with the highest rural density in the Upper East, and moderate to low in Upper West and Northern Regions, respectively ( Table 1 ). The uneven distribution of population results from various historical reasons such as the slave trade, the prevalence of the tsetse fly (Glossina spp.) and other factors (Benning, 1995, Gyasi, 1995, Mahama et al., 2003), as well as current economic disparity (Jatoe et al., 2012), which make migration to southern Ghana, with its large urban centers, attractive. Table 1 : Land area and population density, Northern Ghana. Region Land area as Land area (km 2) Population Population percentage of (x 1000 density Ghana total persons) (persons km -2 ) land area (%) Northern 29.5 70,390 2,479 35 Upper East 3.7 8,842 1,047 118 Upper West 7.7 18,318 702 38 Total for 40.9 97,550 4,228 three regions (Source: Yaro, 2010; GSS, 2012) 4 -- ICDD WP14_Gordana Kranjac_03.qxp_ ICDD WP_14_ 28.10.15 13:07 Seite 5 ICDD | Transformations of traditional landuse systems in Northern Ghana Figure 1 . Political map of Ghana. Source: Nations Online Project Source: UN Cartographic Section (downloaded 08.11.2014) 5 -- ICDD WP14_Gordana Kranjac_03.qxp_ ICDD WP_14_ 28.10.15 13:07 Seite 6 ICDD | Transformations of traditional landuse systems in Northern Ghana Land ownership arrangements There are two major land ownership types in Ghana: customary and public land tenure. Customary land holdings in Ghana involve allodial titles given to traditional rulers, such as chiefs. The holders of the title are trustees, holding the land on behalf of the whole community. Land is sacred, hence there is the obligation, as well as responsibility, to use it judiciously and hand on to the future generations; customary trustees fully recognize communal property rights enjoyed by the community (Paaga, 2013). It is esti - mated that 80 percent of Ghana’s lands are held under customary land tenure systems (Sarpong, 2006). However, the state has power to acquire and hold land in the public interest or for public purposes, through legislation. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana puts all public lands under presidential rule in trust for the people of Ghana (Article 257). A non-citizen cannot be granted leasehold longer than 50 years. Disposition of the stool / skin lands has to approved, both by the Land commission and the Office of the Administrator of Stool Land (Sarpong, 2006). Despite these provisions, especially in urban and peri-urban areas of Ghana, traditional arrangements are rapidly eroding in the face of increased demand for land as a result of urbanization and population growth (Yaro, 2010, Kumbun-Naa Yiri II, 2006), as well as commercial developments. Increasingly, land has become a commodity to be bought and sold in response to a high demand, leading to break down of traditional norms and arrangements exercised by land holding authorities (Kasanga &