Landowners’ willingness to supply agricultural land for conversion into urban uses in peri-urban Ghana

ABSTRACT

Agriculture in the peri-urban area is a significant source of income for peri-urban dwellers; however, peri-urban development raises land prices, making it difficult for small-scale farmers to keep their land. Still, studies on peri-urban development and consequent rapid land conversion have not given enough attention to the factors that impact landowners’ willingness to provide land for conversion, especially within the context of communal land ownership in sub-Saharan Africa. Through quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this study investigates landowner willingness to give agricultural land for conversion in peri-urban Wa, Ghana. Between 2009 and 2019, 14.0% of households had sold all of their lands, according to the findings. The supply of land was influenced by economic incentives and land rent. According to the study, local landowners should plan for future generations of the same family to have equitable access to land while still attempting to meet their current socioeconomic demands from it.

KEYWORDS:

• Agriculture
• customary land
• land conversion
• peri-urban areas
• Wa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Tindamba (Tindana for singular) in northern Ghana is considered the landowner and known by the land spirits.

2 At the time of study, GH¢5.28 was equivalent to US$1.00.