HOUSEHOLDS’ LIVELIHOOD ADAPTATION STRATEGIES AFTER THE CLOSURE OF LARGE-SCALE JATROPHA INVESTMENT: A CASE OF MION DISTRICT IN THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

African possesses the largest land acquisition ratio as compared to other continents. Based on this, a Biofuel Africa Ltd a Norwegian biofuel company acquired over 23, 000 hectares of arable land for the cultivation of Jatropha in Mion District which created job opportunities, improved health care facilities and ensured access to quality education. All these resulted in the improvement of the livelihood conditions of the rural populace. However, due to due to lack of a ready accessible market, unfavorable weather conditions, pest and disease damages, low yield, and high cost of maintenance of farming logistics led to the seizure of operations by the Biofuel Africa Ltd. What then becomes the livelihood condition of the locals who depended on operations of the Biofuel Africa Ltd operations for survival. It is against this backdrop that this study sought to investigate the households’ livelihood adaptation strategies after the closure of large-scale Jatropha investment in the Mion District in the Northern Region of Ghana. The case study framework, simple random sampling technique, close-ended questionnaire as well as a semi-structured interview guide were used for this study. The study’s findings revealed that the adaptation strategies intensive farming, mixed cropping, shared land with relatives or friends, acquisition of land from other communities, petty trading, migration, encroachment, off-season farming and multiple strategies had a marginal positive effect on their livelihood outcomes. It is therefore recommended that land lease should be done within a midterm period with subsequent renewal. This will create an enabling environment to allow the rural population to return to their land if the company decide to stop operating