Exploring gender-based customary land tenure systems in Ghana: Results from focus groups with men and women farmers in the northern region
Gina Rico Mendez, Kathleen Ragsdale, Mary R. Read-Wahidi
Using focus groups research design, the research team investigated the effects of gender inequality within customary land tenure systems as they pertain to agricultural productivity among smallholder men and women soybean farmers in the Northern Region in Ghana. Previous studies of land tenure in other regions of Ghana indicated that, under current customary tenure systems, women farmers’ rights to land are fragile when compared to that of men. Analysis of focus groups confirmed this. The study shows that land tenure insecurity may be further heightened for women farmers in the Northern Region by the interplay of common yet complex cultural practices, such as plot allotment and polygamy. Our findings suggest that the prevalence of polygamous households may have an important yet understudied impact on land tenure security among women farmers. Further, despite variations in language, religion, district and ethnicity, a general consensus among the focus group participants is that customary tenure can deeply impact women’s agricultural decision making. Findings are relevant to develop interventions to improve food security and the economic well-being of smallholder farmers in rural Ghana.
Event: Land Governance in an Interconnected World_Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty_2018
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