Land grabbing and rural livelihood sustainability: experiences from the Bui dam construction in Ghana

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October, 2016
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Abstract
This study investigated the effects of the large scale agricultural land grabbed for the Bui Dam project on the livelihoods of the affected people. The methods used to carry out this study were the interviewer administered questionnaire and unstructured interview as well as observation. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through the use of interviewer questionnaire administration, interview guide, focus group discussions and observations. A total of 142 household heads were interviewed, while some key informants such as chiefs and community development officers of the district assemblies were also interviewed. The descriptive statistical tools and the t-test of the Statistical Package for the Social Scientist (SPSS) and excel software were employed to analyse the quantitative data whilst content analysis was applied to qualitative data with the result presented in the form of direct quotations. The study revealed that local food crop production and the quantity of fish catch have declined after the land grabs. Equally, it was found that income annual levels of the local people have fallen after the Bui Dam project. It was also found that the land grabbing incident in the study communities as a result of the Bui Dam construction has brought about improvements in the physical assets of the affected people. On the contrary, the local people’s access to the natural capital, especially the land for agricultural activities has been worsened. In addition, it was found that the land grabbing situation resulted in conflict between some communities and the Bui Power Authority. Finally, it was revealed that the most popular coping strategy for women after the Bui dam project was petty trading whilst that of the men was casual work, popularly called ‘by-day’ in the Ghanaian society. The study recommends the introduction of a comprehensive livelihood enhancement programme such as skill training for the youth and the landless group of people in the study communities by the Bui Power Authority and the district assemblies. This would enable them to promote their livelihood sustainability.
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A Thesis submitted to the Department of Geography and Rural Development of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master of Philosophy in Geography and Rural Development.
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