Gendered rights and challenges of women ownership, access, and investment in land and shea trees in selected peri-urban communities of Ghana

ABSTRACT

This study examined the gendered rights and challenges of ownership, access, and investments in land and shea trees in Ghana. It mainstreams women into policies regarding land and shea tenures. A qualitative approach through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders was used. From the study, women do not own land or shea trees, but they can exploit them. The loss of farmlands and shea trees through urbanisation worsens women's welfare, incomes, and bargaining power. To ensure the effective management of shea parklands, collaborative governance of land and shea trees between the landowners and local government is proposed.

KEYWORDS:

• Land
• shea trees
• peri-urban
• poverty reduction

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

K Blemayi Honya

Kristonyo Blemayi-Honya recently defended her Master of Philosophy in Development Management thesis at the University for Development Studies. She holds a Bachelor of Art Development Management and Diploma in Development Management from the same University. Her research interests are in women empowerment through access to critical natural resources. She has been involved in a number of development consultancies in rural Ghana.

E.D Kuusaana

Elias Danyi Kuusaana is a Senior Lecturer in Land Management and Land Tenure at the SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) – Ghana where he teaches principles of law, customary land law, land use planning, land administration, land policy, conflict management and compulsory acquisition and compensation. He holds a Doctor of Agricultural Science from the University of Bonn, Germany (2016), MSc. in Land Management and Land Tenure from the Technical University of Munich, Germany (2011) and BSc. in Land Economy from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana (2007). He has over 40 peer reviewed research papers published in top journals including: Land Use Policy, Rural Studies, Resource Policy, Urban Forum, Land Journal, Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, Journal for Development Studies among others. He is a professional member of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors as Valuation and Estate Surveyor since 2016, and an academic affiliate of the African Urban Planning Research Network (AUPRN), Network of Land Governance Researchers of Africa (NELGRA), Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) and African Property Tax Initiative (APTI).

E Yendaw

Elijah Yendaw is a Senior Lecturer and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Public Policy and Governance, SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Ghana. He has been involved in national and international collaborative research projects in population health, migration and entrepreneurship, migrant health, and climate change and sustainable livelihoods. He authored about 20 scholarly publications. He is a member of the Union of African Population Studies, Ghana Geographical Association, Association of Commonwealth Universities (Associate Member), International Society for Development and Sustainability and American Association of International Researchers.