This thesis is made up of five theoretical and empirical manuscripts organised into chapters to form a coherent piece of academic research. Paper 1 on Systems Approach to Pro-
poor Land Reforms is presented in Chapter 2. This paper theoretically engages with the
polarised views on land reforms in the academic literature. It identifies three key traditions which provide the theoretical basis for land reform initiatives. The paper argues that constructing land reforms based on the superimposition of community, state and/or private ownership models can have disastrous consequences for various land based actors. The conceptual paper fundamentally argues that land tenure systems of various countries are an embodiment of diverse influencing variables, ranging from legal cultures through to planning practices, socio-cultural belief systems and developmental and environmental goals. In line with the work of Chigara (2004: 39) the paper argues for an integrated, holistic and organismic approach to land reforms, involving all key actors on the grounds that “that which touches all must be agreed to by all”.
While paper 1 examines land reform theory, paper 2, presented in Chapter 3, looks at poverty theory and seeks to establish the appropriate realm within which land studies with poverty relevance should be conducted. Both theoretical papers provided a basis for the formulation of a conceptual framework for the empirical studies. Chapter 3 establishes that there are three key approaches for measuring poverty – income concepts, basic needs concepts and capability concepts. The Chapter then examines the relevance of each of these concepts for analysing poverty in land reform environments. The Chapter argues that land
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issues are multidimensional; encompassing social, cultural, political and economic realities. Land reforms, however, have the potential to concentrate efforts on political and economic goals to the neglect of the social and cultural dimensions. The Chapter therefore concludes that given that both land and poverty issues are multi-dimensional in nature, poverty can be better understood in land reform environments using a multi-dimensional approach to poverty measurement. As such the capability approach is deemed appropriate for such an analysis. An analytical framework (The Capability Approach Applied to Land Reforms and Poverty Reduction) is proposed as an appropriate framework for analysing poverty in relation to land reform studies.
The three other papers are empirical papers organised such that they respond to the research questions. Chapter 4, presents the first empirical paper which examines the impacts of land reforms on land rights change. It seeks to respond to the first three research questions about the impacts of land reforms on the access and use rights of women farmers, migrant farmers, and pastoralists. The paper presented in Chapter 5 responds to the fourth research question about the livelihood impacts of land reforms. It uses empirical data on household livelihood assets within the Welfare Composite Index to examine the impacts of land reforms on the livelihoods of the land stressed. The third empirical paper, in Chapter 6, then looks at the unique situation of pastoralists in terms of both land/pasture access rights and implications for pastoral livelihoods. The final research question, which is about the impact of land reforms on customary land governance institutions, is discussed in all three of these empirical chapters.
The paper presented as Chapter 4 is based on fieldwork conducted in the Nkoranza South Municipality of Ghana between June – August, 2013. The Chapter examines the impacts of land reforms on the ability of poor land users to access and use land resources. It utilises the capability framework for measuring poverty in land reform environments,
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developed in Chapter 3, to examine the real opportunities available to land stressed land actors in the NSM to exercise their rights of access and use over land. Examining the social conversion factors (public policies, social norms and powers structures and relations) associated with land reforms in the NSM, the paper details the extent to which land reforms inhibit and/or enhance the ability of the land stressed to attain beneficial functionings, in the form of access to and use of land. It argues that land reforms that are neo-liberal in orientation expose the resources of hitherto close-knit communities to metropolitan capital investments and global commodity demands. These weaken the ability of land stressed actors to effectively engage in the land market. As such their land access and use rights, which were formerly driven by community dynamics, are now driven by monetary incentives. These limit the rights of the land stressed to access and use land and can have serious consequences for local livelihoods.
The paper presented as Chapter 5 seeks to understand the relevance of land reforms for rural livelihoods. This paper utilises the analytical framework developed in Chapter 3 to provide evidence from the field to support the claim that land reforms that have neo-liberal inclinations can worsen the poverty/ deprivation state of the poor. This analysis is achieved using household level data of study participants sub-categorised into ownership of durable goods, housing characteristics and education. The paper initially argues that land reforms as being undertaken in the NSM seek to replace communal land tenure systems with private systems, drawing generally from conclusions of Chapter 2. The paper then uses indicators drawn from the Welfare Composite Index (WCI) to assess the impacts of land reforms on poverty/ deprivation in the NSM.
The paper concludes that while poverty alleviation remains the goal of development interventions in the developing world, land reforms in Ghana can have adverse consequences for the poor. This is because the poor land based actors in the NSM are heavily dependent on
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land to meet livelihood needs, possess minimal to no technical skills and possess minimal capital and livelihood assets. Liberalising the land market, therefore, exposes the poor to a competitive resource access regime to which they are unable to effectively participate. Land reforms, however, can be made pro-poor; if they are part of broader development initiatives that seek to strengthen voice and accountability, promote inclusiveness, and enhance accountability around communal resource use.
The final empirical paper in Chapter 6 examines the contestations over pasture resources in the NSM under the conditions of changing land governance systems as well as communal dynamics in Ghana. This paper utilises the concept of basic capabilities espoused in Chapter 3 as the framework for data analysis. Within such an analysis, the study focused on examining the freedoms that pastoralists have under the emerging land governance system to engage in the basic activities (grazing animals) that provide an escape route from poverty. The paper observes that land reforms has led to growing individualisation of land resources leading to a disappearing commons and restrictions over entry into leased fallow lands. Pastoralism, which traditionally depended on access to the commons, has come under severe stress and there are growing contestations between farmers, land owners and pastoralists.
The final paper argues that the problems facing pastoralism are compounded by the lack of attention to the relevance of pastoralism to the national economy. There is no mention of pastoralism in the national land policy document and no efforts to alleviate the problems that pastoralists go through in seeking pastures for their animals. The study recommends that land reform initiatives should build on sustainable communal land tenure practices by enhancing local land use dynamics and cultures and increasing participation over land use decision making.
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