Even though the biofuel industry in Ghana is still in its early stages of development, the paper reveals that commercial biofuel production impacts significantly on the livelihoods of local people. This paper draws on studies that have been conducted in Ghana to assess the socio-economic impact of large-scale production of biofuel crops, especially Jatropha, on the livelihoods of local communities and people in Ghana, focusing on land grabbing and alienation, impact on food production and security, and impact on employment and income generation. The spread of large-scale commercial production of biofuel crops in Ghana has raised concerns from civil society organizations, local communities and other parties. These plantations present potential socio-economic benefits, particularly in terms of agricultural employment, as well as risks. The production of liquid biofuels has become an issue of concern in many developing countries, due mainly to the establishment of large-scale biofuel feedstock plantations. Greater dialogue between genders and generations may help to tackle unequal power relations and lead to shared decision-making processes that build the resilience of rural communities. The research provides important insights into gendered and generational power relations regarding land access, property rights and intra-household decision-making processes. Intergenerational tensions emerged when young people felt that their parents and elders were neglecting their views and concerns. The tendency for land, cash crops and income to be controlled by men, despite women's and young people's significant labour contributions to family farms, and for women to rely on food crop production for their main source of income and for household food security, means that women and girls are more likely to lose out when cashew plantations are expanded to the detriment of land for food crops. As a tree crop, cashew was regarded as an individual man's property to be passed on to his wife and children rather than to extended family members, which differed from the communal land tenure arrangements governing food crop cultivation. ![]() This article explores everyday, less visible, gendered and generational struggles over family farms in West Africa, based on qualitative, participatory research in a rural community that is becoming increasingly integrated into the global capitalist system. The expansion of cashew plantations was leading to pressure on the remaining family lands available for food crop production, which community members feared could potentially compromise the food security of rural communities and the land inheritance of future generations.Īgricultural land use in much of Brong-Ahafo region, Ghana has been shifting from the production of food crops towards increased cashew nut cultivation in recent years. ![]() Cashew farmers however were subject to price fluctuations in the value of Raw Cashew Nuts (RCN) due to unequal power relations with intermediaries and export buyer companies and global markets, in addition to other vulnerabilities that constrained the quality and quantity of cashew and food crops they could produce. Global demand for cashew is projected to continue to grow rapidly in the immediate future and cashew-growing areas of Ghana are well placed to respond to this demand. Based on qualitative, participatory research with a total of 60 participants, the research found that increased cashew production had led to improvements in living standards for many farmers and their children over recent years. This research aimed to investigate the implications of changing agricultural land use from food production towards increased cashew cultivation for food security and poverty alleviation in Jaman North District, Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana.
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