The structure and function of the land and tree tenure systems and Agroforestry in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana

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Date
1999
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Abstract
Increasing population in the country has led to pressure on land in some parts of the country which has resulted in short fallow periods and low crop yields. Agroforestry has the potential to solve some of the land use problems faced by farmers in the Brong Ahafo Region, yet its adoption depends on several factors of which important ones are land and tree tenure. A study was therefore conducted in 1995. The aim of the study was to provide information which could assist the development of new policies to encourage agroforestry adoption. The results of the study indicate that natives have no difficulty acquiring land for farming since they can cultivate family or stool lands. Tenants on the other hand do not have permanent interest in their farmlands and cannot adopt agroforestry without the prior knowledge and consent of the landowner. Some farmers were prepared to integrate fruit and nut trees like cashew on their farms. Many farmers would not adopt introduced agroforestry technologies which were new to them. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has not been able to reach out to most rural areas on agroforestry due to perhaps shortage of extension personnel. The results suggest that there is the need to formulate laws to protect the interest of tenant farmers and to regulate land prices to encourage tenants to purchase land for agroforestry. The MOFA should engage the services of more extension personnel to reach out to farmers with new technologies.
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A thesis submitted to the Board of Postgraduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of Master of Science Degree in Agroforestry,
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