Agricultural land use change in the Jaman North District of Ghana: Implications for land tenure, women’s rights and food security

Simon Mariwah, University of Cape Coast

The recent agricultural land use change from the production of food crops to the growing of cashew in Ghana raises a number of concerns. The study therefore sought to explore the causes and implications of such a change. Employing an exploratory design, the study used interviews and FGDs to collect data from purposively selected opinion leaders in a randomly selected village in the Jaman North District. The study found that the major causes of the change are decreasing food crops yields, resulting from decreased soil fertility, infrequent rainfall (climate change), and the increasing demand for cashew nuts. It was also found that the change has altered the land tenure regime, reduced women’s access to land, and has the potential to threaten food security in the village within a short time. It is recommended that massive educational campaign be embarked upon to avert the already worsened food shortages in the district.