Global Restructuring and Land Rights in Ghana : Forest food Chains Timber and rural livelihoods.

Abstract

The changing political economy of land has become a central focus of debates on the dynamics of social and economic change in contemporary Africa. Much of this debate has pitted single-minded anti-statistic, who have put all of their faith in the "free" market, against the advocates of various forms of endogenous land market that grow or are expected to grow out of indigenous agricultural practices and land relations. This report, drawing on empirical evidence accumulated in Ghana, challenges both perspectives and, in doing so, also points to the limitations of the arguments that have been made in favour of dualistic systems of land tenure that simultaneously recognize individual and communal titles. The report highlights the long history of co-modification of land and labour in Ghana, linked initially to speculative activities and more recently to the activities of international capital, agribusiness, international agricultural centres, and agencies of the state. It makes the...