This blog has outlined the different types of land ownership in ghana. A brief history of land tenure in ghana and cote divoire. Ghana is characterized by a pluralistic legal system in which customary and statutory systems governing land overlap. Each land deal whether transparent or opaque deprives customary land users of two of their most relevant resources. Customary and statutory land tenure and land policy in ghana. Customary land administrator in ghana challenges and. Ghana landlinks landlinks was created by e3land, a usaid. The different types of land tenure and the land administration prevailing in ghana today.
Native reserves were designated for the exclusive use of africans. The chapter used secondary data obtained from the world bank website, national bureau of statistics nbs and other sources. There are also public lands, forming the remaining 20 percent, which is made up of state lands and vested. Acta universitatis agriculturae et silviculturae mendelianae brunensis, 646. Since 1980 the northern region of ghana has witnessed intermittent. Throughout history, zambia has followed a dual system of land tenure. Land is limited and therefore a very valuable resource and need to be managed on an efficient system that has a solid legal framework and clear policies on how it is to be owned, shared, transferred and used. Ladies and gentleman, the issues and challenges of land tenure and reform in africa are very complex and more than often bewildering minefield. Tf053449canadian international development agency cida cofinancing for ghana. It draws on historical and contemporary sociolegal and. Up to the 1850s, the only major native settlements in botswana were in those regions generally east of where the railway line now runs. In 1482 the first european fort was established by the portuguese at elmina. Land is affiliated to international association for landscape ecology iale and members receive a discount on the article processing charge. Ghana, underscoring the historical antecedents of land tenure reform and policies.
In this connection, arthur young has rightly observed, the magic of private ownership turns dust into gold. Land tenure is a collection of relationships which exist between members of a society by virtue of their occupation and use of land ezigbalike and benwell, 1995. To counter the problems of tenure insecurity and land conflicts, subsequent policy reforms notably the national land policy nlp in 1999 and its operationalisation framework, the land administration project lap have been introduced gog government of ghana, 1999. A reduced kingdom continued to exist after almoravid rule ended, and the. History early history to independence in precolonial times the area of presentday ghana comprised a number of independent kingdoms, including gonja and dagomba in the north, ashanti in the interior, and the fanti states along the coast. The land tenure system practised in kunsu promotes effective management system for sustainable fuelwood collection in the kintampo north district of ghana. This is particularly important in a context where the land tenure system is highly layered and characterised by severe inequalities in the sizes of. Assessing customary land tenure institutions for land administration in ghana. Feudal land tenure is a system of mutual obligations under which a royal or noble personage granted a fiefdom some degree of interest in the use or revenues of a given parcel of land in exchange for a claim on services such as military service or simply maintenance of the land in which the lord continued to have an interest. The main forms of land tenure systems are explained and the positive and negative impacts of each. Examining the relationship with landuse planning delivery. Land tenure and related institutions gender and land rights. For convenience, land is used here to include other natural resources such as water and trees. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
During the precolonial era, the population of ghana was small and land was in abundance. Tf noname bbfaofood and agriculture organization fund. Ghana land insecurity has not contributed to agricultural inefficiency. The second part looks at land conflicts in ghana, with specific reference to the alavanyonkonya, and nawurigonja land cases as protracted land resources conflicts in ghana. A study of the institution of the customary land tenure. The land tenure system in ghana is an amalgam of customary rules and recent statutory overlays 1,2,3. Digital land records can be indexed, simplified, and made available at the national and local levels. Individuals in this region primarily obtain land for. By contrast, the traditional communal land tenure system in ghana, in which land is. Apr 30, 2009 the land administration project lap1 is the first phase of a commitment by the government of ghana to use the land administration programme to reduce poverty and enhance economicsocial growth by improving security of tenure, simplifying the process of acquiring land by the populace, developing the land market and fostering prudent land. Ghana landlinks landlinks was created by e3land, a. Land reform has become particularly prominent in development discourse in recent times.
They mainly exercise the overall authority over land ownership and related issues. In ghana, land is vested in families and chiefs in the traditional land sector. Land tenure and related institutions gender and land. In this article we will discuss about land tenure system. Land tenure system in nigeria has been described as those systems which represent the relationship of man in society to land even though actual patterns may differ from community to community but there are certain uniformities of type in relations involved which make it possible to apply a common scheme of analysis 1 6. Each type of land tenure has different implications for the development and planning processes. Despite the numerous attempts to reform the customary land tenure system, land ownership and management remains highly contested characterised by protracted land disputes. Land acquired through this means can be used for any means. As fisher 1993 noted, the major characteristics of customary tenure is that the land is regarded as belonging to the whole social group and not to an individual. Land tenure may be defined as the terms and conditions on which land is held, used and transacted. In africa, a large portion of arable land is in tenure by smallscale farmers often women. Any monies accruing out of any deed executed in respect of any such vested land were paid into the appropriate stool account for the purposes of the act.
The impact of cocoa cultivation on the traditional land tenure system of the akan of ghana. Introduction in africa, a large portion of arable land is in tenure by smallscale farmers often women. Land tenure reform refers to a planned change in the terms and conditions e. Ghana has a unique position in the political history of subsaharan africa, being the first country. These corporate bodies, referred to as customary landholding institutions control over 90% of the total land area in. Land in ghana is held from various stoolskin lands, families or clans, which are the allodial owners.
The scope of this paper is, however, limited to a consideration of the changes which have occurred in the traditional land tenure systems in response to the demand for land by migrant cocoa farmers in the new cocoa frontier of the western region of ghana and of the effects of these changes on the agrarian system. Trade was begun, largely in gold and slaves, and intense competition developed among many european nations for trading advantages. Public policy and the emergent african land tenure system. It was prepared jointly by the usaide3 land tenure and resource management office, the world cocoa foundation, and cocobod. Ghana, 1992 and issue of undue prerogative to chiefs helped see an. The role of the manhyia palace in traditional land resource. It is estimated that 80 percent of the land is governed by traditional rulers 22.
Land tenure system, precolonial, acquisition, ghana. Tenure rules help define how property rights to land are allocated within societies. May 11, 2003 ghanas land tenure system impedes the countrys socioeconomic development, and is completely out of place in a modern, progressive country. The land tenure and agrarian system in the new cocoa. Customary land tenure system in ikorodu land predates to the time of the creation of ikorodu. The vast majority 68% of ghanas land is used for agriculture and 15% of it is used as permanent natural pastures. Customary land administrator in ghana challenges and prospects shaping the change xxiii fig congress munich, germany, october 8, 2006 211 customary land administrator in ghana challenges and prospects matilda esi fiadzigbey, ghana 1. Complete report in english official version of document may contain signatures, etc official pdf, 64 pages 1. The empire became known in europe and arabia as the ghana empire after the title of its emperor, the ghana.
Ghana, officially republic of ghana, republic 2015 est. The land tenure system is often described as communal. These lands are known as customary lands and, according to appiah 2011, these lands make up about 80 percent of all lands in ghana. The great majority of land in ghana is held informally, under customary tenure systems. Interethnic conflicts and their impact on national.
Download customary and statutory land tenure and land policy in ghana or read online books in pdf, epub, tuebl, and mobi format. How does customary law define the very legal or cultural identity of indigenous peoples and local communities. The issue of land tenure, allocation, distribution and management since the colonial times has been a bone of contention often leading to conflict as people scramble for the fertile, mineral deposited lands in the republic of ghana. Machacha lands division, ministry of local government and lands, gaborone, botswana. Land administrations in burkina faso, ghana, and several other african countries, for example, have turned to geospatial cadastral surveys to create more accurate nationwide land. These relationships are dynamic and change with cultural. The empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the almoravid general abubakr ibnumar. This study therefore examined land acquisition and use in nigeria within the context of food and livelihood security. Land is affiliated to international association for landscape ecology iale and members receive a.
History of greed and grievance in land and sustainable. Customary land administrator in ghana challenges and prospects shaping the change xxiii fig congress munich, germany, october 8, 2006 411 concerned. Land tenure reform and customary claims negotiability in rural. Land tenure system meaning, types, advantages and disadvantages. A central tenet of the lap is the improving efficiency and equity in land. Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Questioning the link between tenure security and sustainable. Land development and colonization in latin america. This paper examines the land tenure system in ghana and its impact on the environment.
However some minor difference exist, for example,the issue of family property that is discussed in chapter two of these work gives clarity to the variation in family property in yoruba land and nigeria as a. The republic of ghana is named after the medieval west african ghana empire. List of books and articles about ghana history online. Bulletin of the ghana geographical association, 72. The lands commission, established under the 1971 lands commission act, as provided for by the constitution, is the authority mandated to regulate the size and duration of land transfers as well as to judge their fairness. Land tenure can be defined as the manner in which a party holds or occupies an area of land. The ndc government realised as far back as 1994 that the time for debate is over, and the time for action has come. Land acquisition and use remain a critical issue of great policy relevance in developing countries such as nigeria.
Throughout our history, the nations peasant farmers have done a wonderful job in feeding the country based on subsistence. This is a system whereby a person pays a certain sum of money for the right of ownership of a piece of land. Land tenure before cession history books inform us that the tribal wars which were often assisted by. Social sciences, general customary law usage economic development laws, regulations and rules land tenure property rights right of. Customary land tenure is as much a social system as a legal code and.
Pdf on nov 14, 2015, aphu elvis selase and others published land tenure system in the precolonial era. Land tenure policy and economic development in ghana joseph blocher this note addresses the intersection of customary and statutory land law in the land tenure policy of ghana. The role of the manhyia palace in traditional land. The land tenure system in ghana depicts the law of the jungle only the fittest of the fit can survive. I dedicate this book to my wife doris ampaduameyaw mrs and children jedidiah. Book attempt to assess relative efficiency of indigenous customary land tenure arrangements. The land tenure system ideally refers to how access is given in relation to land to either hold, own, rent or lease out to another party. In subsaharan africa, the dominant land tenure system is the customary land tenure. Land tenure system in ghana has been marred by some uncouth traditional institutions such as. Traditional political systems, titles to land and tenures in ghana.
Dec 01, 2008 the history of land tenure system in ikorodu land is not so much different from the customary land tenure system indigenous to nigeria. Ghana as a country has a peculiar land tenure system. The system of land administration in the country is currently undergoing restructuring under the land administration project lap, initiated in 2003. Vast areas of savannah and semidesert land are in tenure by pastoralists and indigenous communities. The institutional arrangements for land tenure in ghana can be. Land use regulations and urban planning initiatives in. The environmental effect of land use in the tenure systems in ghana.
History and evolution of land tenure and administration in west africa. Land tenure system makes the ownership of land more secure and permanent, which is very much important for the development of agriculture. Introduction land tenure system in nigeria from earliest time is one of the oldest systems in nigeria that have remained relevant until the coming of the europeans in the late 19th century. Click download or read online button to get customary and statutory land tenure and land policy in ghana book now. Land use regulations and urban planning initiatives in accra. Customary land tenure system in ghana and its problems yen. Reviewing the fate of customary tenure in africa rights and. Private ownership of land can be acquired by way of a grant, sale, gift or marriage.
It argues that improving the current land tenure policy demands integration of customary land law and customary authorities into the statutory system. Both male and female can acquire land provided the price is paid. Notwithstanding the african union aus 2009 framework and guidance on land policy in africa that advocates a leading role for customary tenure in land governance, an almost irreversible process that can possibly be best described as neoliberalisation of customary tenure has been quietly working its way across much of subsaharan africa. The rules governing land tenure are invented by societies to regulate land ownership behaviours. It is also referred to as a system of land relation in which the ownership of the. Land and people modern ghana comprises the former british colony of the gold coast and the former mandated territory of british togoland. Ghana land administration project english the world bank. Customarily, land is communally owned, and customary trustees, such as chiefs, earth priests, clan heads and family heads, hold the allodial interest in land in trust for the people. Customary land tenure download customary land tenure ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. It also championed the struggle for independence and the political and economic emancipation of the rest of the countries on the continent in the 1960s. Understanding these as well as our post on how to avoid land litigation will help to prevent any struggles when you decide to acquire land. Public lands are lands that are vested in the president for public use 24. Lessons of experience and emerging issues lorenzo cotula, camilla toulmin and ced hesse february 2004 copies of this publication can be obtained from. There have been numerous attempts to reform ghanas land tenure system, however land ownership.
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