Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Geoforum
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geoforum

Struggles over family land? Tree crops, land and labour in Ghana’s
Brong-Ahafo region
Ruth Evans a,⇑, Simon Mariwah b, Kwabena Barima Antwi b
a
Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, UK
b
Geography and Regional Planning, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Agricultural land use in much of Brong-Ahafo region, Ghana has been shifting from the production of food
Received 24 February 2015 crops towards increased cashew nut cultivation in recent years. This article explores everyday, less
Received in revised form 8 October 2015 visible, gendered and generational struggles over family farms in West Africa, based on qualitative,
Accepted 13 October 2015
participatory research in a rural community that is becoming increasingly integrated into the global
Available online 24 October 2015
capitalist system. 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
Keywords:
land tenure arrangements governing food crop cultivation. The tendency for land, cash crops and income
Gender and intergenerational relations
Land access
to be controlled by men, despite women’s and young people’s significant labour contributions to family
Property rights farms, and for women to rely on food crop production for their main source of income and for household
Division of labour food security, means that women and girls are more likely to lose out when cashew plantations are
Rural community resilience expanded to the detriment of land for food crops. Intergenerational tensions emerged when young people
West Africa felt that their parents and elders were neglecting their views and concerns. The research provides
important insights into gendered and generational power relations regarding land access, property rights
and intra-household decision-making processes. 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.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction (Rocheleau and Edmunds, 1997; Berry, 2009). While higher income
may increase access to education and enable people to buy food,
In rural spaces in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, access to land cashew cultivation reduces the land available to grow food crops,
signifies group membership, belonging and exclusion (Cooper revealing both benefits and trade-offs for rural communities.
and Bird, 2012; Lentz, 2007). Questions of land access need to be While literature on large-scale land acquisitions has burgeoned
understood within the context of the division of labour, social recently (Li, 2014; Doss et al., 2014), few studies have investigated
inequalities and wider changes that are re-shaping rural land- less visible, everyday struggles over family farms. An extensive
scapes (Amanor, 2001), such as greater integration into the global literature documents the gendered division of labour in rural
capitalist economy and climate-related pressures. Agricultural Sub-Saharan Africa (Koopman, 1997) and recent research and pol-
land use in much of Brong-Ahafo region, Ghana has been shifting icy has revealed the significance of young people’s labour on family
from the production of food crops towards raw cashew nut cultiva- farms in the global South (Kielland and Tovo, 2006; ILO, 2013). Few
tion in recent years. Global demand for cashew is growing and an studies, however, integrate analysis of gender and generational
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT, 2011: 2) report relations. In this article, we seek to develop a nuanced understand-
argues that ’the crop has the potential to reduce poverty among the ing of gendered and generational inequalities in labour and access
rural poor’ in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. As a tree crop which is to land in the context of globalisation and provide insight into the
regarded as ‘property’, however, the expansion of cashew planta- views of rural young people from the global South, which have
tions may lead to greater individualisation of property rights been somewhat overlooked to date. We first give an overview of
our conceptual approach to gender and generational relations,
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Geography & Environmental Science, the division of labour and land access, within the broader frame-
University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading RG6 6AB, UK. work of sustainable livelihoods and the resilience of rural commu-
E-mail address: [email protected] (R. Evans). nities. We then discuss the qualitative participatory methodology

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.10.006
0016-7185/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35 25

used to investigate labour, intra-household resources allocations 1.2. Intergenerational relations, young people’s labour and access to
and land access on family farms in Ghana’s Brong-Ahafo region. land in Sub-Saharan Africa
We analyse the views and experiences of young people and middle
and older generations regarding current practices and how they Recent literature expresses concern about conflicts between
responded to increased commercialisation of communally-held generations in diverse contexts (Vanderbeck and Worth, 2015;
resources. Reynolds Whyte et al., 2008). In many African societies, the
everyday lives of different generations are often integrated and
1.1. Gendered division of labour and land access in Sub-Saharan Africa based on generational hierarchies (Reynolds Whyte et al., 2008).
Historically, the relationship between the generations in African
Rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa are often characterised societies has been based on ’the value of the knowledge, respect
by a complex gendered division of labour, whereby women com- and experience that the younger generation receives from the
bine their reproductive role in subsistence agriculture, with their older generation’ (Oheneba-Sakyi and Takyi, 2006: 14). ‘Genera-
productive role in selling any surplus in markets and producing tion’ can be understood as a genealogical relation of kinship; as a
cash crops, working as unpaid family labourers on male relatives’ principle for structuring society; and as a historical generation
fields (Koopman, 1997). Gender and development analysts have (Reynolds Whyte et al., 2008: 4–6). It is thus a relational term that
challenged classical economic models of the ‘unitary household’ may denote generational position within families, social categories
and revealed that rather than being characterised by altruism of seniors and juniors in society, as well as a historical cohort. In
and harmony, intra-household relations and decision-making this article, we draw predominantly on the first and second notions
processes are characterised by unequal power relations and often of generation, using the third meaning when referring to future
conflicting interests (Sen, 1987; Kandiyoti, 1997). Patterns of generational cohorts.
labour, income earning, resource allocation and expenditure Geographies of children and youth have demonstrated that
within households thus differ according to gender (Shah, 1998) young people make significant contributions to the household’s
and significantly affect the wellbeing of different family members productive and social reproductive work in the global South
(Soto Bermant, 2008). (Katz, 2004; Robson, 2004). Children often do the low status activ-
Although women are responsible for household food production ities associated with ’women’s work’ according to conventional
in many rural communities across Sub-Saharan Africa, customary gendered divisions of labour (Bradley, 1993; Evans, 2010). Sub-
law often excludes women from owning and inheriting land Saharan Africa is the world region with the highest proportion of
(Cooper and Bird, 2012). Customary law, which can be defined the child population (aged 5–17) in employment (30%) and in child
as, ’a body of rules governing personal status, communal resources labour (21%)1 (ILO, 2013). ’Child labour in agriculture’ consists pri-
and local organisation’ (Joireman, 2008, p.1235), affects individuals marily of work on smallholder family farms and agriculture is
as members of kinship groups and lineages, in contrast to the regarded by the ILO (2013) as one of the three most dangerous
individual nature of statutory law. In many Sub-Saharan African sectors due to work-related fatalities, non-fatal accidents and occu-
countries, women usually have secondary usufruct access rights pational diseases. The type of work that young people are involved
to land gained through their husband and/or father or other male in, the hours they work, labour relations, the setting, remuneration,
relatives (Yngstrom, 2002; Meinzen-Dick et al., 1997). Rights to degree of hazard, among other factors, are key to assessing the
land often involve ’a series of overlapping claims, dependent on extent to which work may be harmful (Ansell, 2005).
customary use, season and negotiation’ (Toulmin, 2008: 12). Few studies explicitly focus on young people’s access to land or
Berry (1997) argues that in Asante, Ghana, as in much of Africa, intergenerational wealth transfers in rural spaces, yet inheritance
land rights are subject to intermittent or on-going negotiation, represents a critical mode for the transfer of land between gener-
and social institutions (including the ’household’, ’family’, ’commu- ations (Cooper, 2012). The little available literature tends to focus
nity’ and so on) should be understood as processes rather than as on orphaned young people’s land (dis-)inheritance in the context
sets of fixed rules or structures. Carr’s (2008a,b) research among of the HIV epidemic in Eastern and Southern Africa (Rose, 2007;
the Akan in Ghana’s Central Region has revealed that it is the com- Evans, 2015). In Babo’s (2010) study in Cote d’Ivoire, young
plex interplay of access to land, local understandings of how to people’s introduction of cashew (without elders’ permission) on
manage economic and environmental uncertainty, and local gen- lineage land (usually used for yam cultivation) was found to
der roles which shape agricultural decisions and intra-household threaten established land tenure norms. Within two years, village
resource allocations. chiefs found that the portions of their land they had loaned to
Increased commercialisation and privatisation of land often young people had become cashew plantations and found them-
consolidates men’s control of land (Lastarria-Cornhiel, 1997; selves in an impasse, since, at the time, there were no customary
Yngstrom, 2002). The introduction of a tree crop with a long life regulations over the use of permanent (tree) crops and disposses-
span (such as cocoa, teak or in our research, cashew) on family land sion or other sanctions would harm the lineage. This created
may distil communal property rights into an individual’s (often intergenerational tensions, but ultimately led to a process of nego-
men’s) sole ownership (Rocheleau and Edmunds, 1997; Berry, tiation and consensus-building to introduce new regulations to
2009). As Quisumbing et al. (2001) note in Western Ghana, under limit the rapid monopolisation of soils by cashew plants and
customary land tenure institutions, relatively strong individual protect land for food crop cultivation (Babo, 2010).
ownership rights are granted to those who plant trees. Community In rural Southern Ghana, Amanor (2001) argues that the lineage
members who have ’acquired family land through inheritance and system of redistribution is breaking down, resulting in fragmented
allocations from the extended family may have strong incentives households and struggles between elders and youth, and men and
to plant trees to strengthen his [sic] individual land rights’ women. Indeed, van der Geest (2008) suggests that intergenera-
(Quisumbing et al., 2001: 158). Women do not necessarily lose tional relations are becoming more strained in rural Eastern Ghana,
out in such shifts towards greater individualisation of land tenure; as knowledge about farming, medicinal herbs, customs, family
a woman’s labour on her husband’s plot may represent a form of
’sweat equity’ that confers individualised land rights. Furthermore, 1
Children in child labour are a subset of children in employment and are defined as
gift transactions, usually in return for labour on a husband’s plot, those in the worst forms of child labour and children in employment below the
are the most important mode of land acquisition for women, rather minimum age, excluding children in permissible light work, if applicable (ILO, 2013:
than land inheritance (Quisumbing et al., 2001). 45).
26 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35

history that was traditionally passed down from elders to younger capital may enhance the resilience of rural communities. Wilson
generations becomes ’obsolete’; the new generation needs differ- argues that as rural communities become embedded into global
ent types of knowledge than previous generations in order to sur- capitalist systems, they ’may be forced/encouraged to intensify
vive and become successful, such as a school education or contacts agricultural production and/or to seek alternative means of income
to obtain a job or travel abroad. generation’ (Wilson, 2010: 373). While this does not necessarily
reduce the multifunctional quality of communities, social and
environmental capital may be weakened in the process, particu-
1.3. Sustainable livelihoods larly when outmigration of young people leads to a ’disintegration
of formerly close-knit communities’ (Wilson, 2010). Globalisa-
Our gendered and generational analysis of the empirical find- tion, however, may also offer opportunities for increasing the
ings is underpinned by the sustainable livelihoods framework. multifunctional quality of rural communities through improved
Livelihoods are viewed holistically as encompassing the capabili- infrastructure, education or diversification of livelihoods.
ties, assets and activities required to make a living (Chambers In this article, we draw on the conceptual framing of the
and Conway, 1992). Assets have been conceptualised as different sustainable livelihoods framework and the multifunctional quality
forms of capital, including physical assets and material resources, and resilience of rural communities, combined with a gendered
such as livestock and property, human, financial, socio-political and generational perspective, to analyse the empirical findings.
and environmental capital, including land, trees, and water We first give an overview of the research methods used.
resources.
Despite widespread adoption in policy, the actor-orientated
local focus of the sustainable livelihoods framework has been 2. Research methods
critiqued for its tendency to downplay structural constraints, such
as politics and power, and for its failure to engage with processes of A qualitative, participatory methodology was considered most
economic globalisation, the challenges of environmental sustain- appropriate to investigate the division of labour, land tenure and
ability, and transformatory shifts in rural economies (de Haan, inheritance practices in a rural community in Ghana’s Brong-
2007; Scoones, 2009; de Haan and Zoomers, 2005). Further criti- Ahafo region.3 The research explored how and why labour and land
cisms of the approach include an under-theorised and implicitly access may be changing for men, women and young people and
unitary model of the household, instead of utilising a model based analysed their perceptions of the shift towards cashew cultivation.
on co-operative conflict (Prowse, 2010). While recent research in Carr (2008b) argues that a poststructural feminist approach is
Ghana has drawn attention to gendered power relations within needed to provide a more nuanced picture of the vulnerability of
the household which mediate livelihood strategies and land access sub-divisions of the categories of ’man’ and ’woman’ than that
(Carr, 2008a,b; Quisumbing et al., 2001), few studies combine anal- usually provided by ’mainstream development thinking’. A diverse
ysis of gendered and generational inequalities, which our research purposive sample of community members of different generations,
seeks to address. genders, ages and social status and with varying sizes of cashew
We also draw on Wilson’s (2010) model of multifunctional plantations was therefore identified in the study location in order
quality and the temporal evolution of rural systems, which builds to provide insights into the heterogeneous experiences of ’men’,
on the sustainable livelihoods framework of interrelated ’capitals’. ’women’ and ’young people’.
Resilient rural communities are characterised by a balance of well- During Phase 1 (August–October 2012), the sample was identi-
developed economic, social and environmental capital,2 including: fied using snowball sampling and fieldwork was conducted by the
authors and research assistants with a total of 60 participants.
 Economic capital: economic wellbeing, diversified income Focus groups and participatory mapping activities were conducted
streams, integration into the global capitalist system; with 24 participants in three workshops, comprising groups of
 Social capital: close interaction between rural people; availabil- men, women (both of middle and older generations), and young
ity of skills training and education, good health and sanitation, people. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26
good communication between stakeholder groups, transparent participants (age range: 14–85 years old) involved in cashew culti-
land ownership regulations; vation from 13 households. Two participants of different genders
 Environmental capital: good water quality and availability, and/or generations from each household were selected where
sustainable soil management, predictable agricultural yields, possible to provide insight into intra-household divisions of labour
sustainable management of environmental resources. and land access. The majority of interviewees were of Bono ethnic-
ity, a sub-grouping of the Akan, while one was Fante, another sub-
These broad categories can gloss over more nuanced under- grouping of the Akan, and two were of Nkona (Nkorang) ethnicity.
standings of the characteristics of diverse rural communities. All interviewees were Christian, belonging predominantly to the
Rather than regarding ‘integration into the global capitalist system’ Presbyterian, Roman Catholic or Pentecostal Church. The majority
as a form of economic capital, for example, we argue that this is a of households were headed by married men, with three de-jure
process which is often characterised by global inequalities and may female-headed households, headed by widows and one de facto
take different forms of integration which may or may not increase female-headed household, headed by a married woman whose
economic capital in rural communities. Furthermore, ‘close inter- husband usually stayed in Sefwi, Western region, Ghana.
actions between rural people’ could be exploitative and lead to Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with ten key
conflict and poor governance, rather than being seen only as a informants at the village, district and national levels, including
positive aspect of ‘social capital’. elders, leaders of local cashew associations, representatives of the
While we acknowledge, therefore, the limitations of these broad District Agriculture Office, Ministry of Food and Agriculture and
categorisations of economic, social and environmental capital an international NGO. Table 2.1 provides a breakdown of partici-
identified by Wilson (2010), the overall framework nevertheless pants. All audio-recorded interviews and focus groups were
helps to highlight how the combination of different forms of 3
This collaborative research project led by the authors was funded by the
University of Reading and Walker Institute for Climate System Research. Ethical
2
It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss in detail the extensive literature on approval for the research was granted by the University of Reading Research Ethics
social and ecological resilience; see Adger (2000) and Wilson (2010). Committee in 2012 and 2014.
 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35 27

Table 2.1
Research methods and number of participants.

Research method No. of young No. of young No. of men of No. of women No. of men No. of women
men women middle of middle of older of older
(aged 14–25) (aged 14–25) generation generation generation generation
(aged 26–50) (aged 26–50) (aged over 50) (aged over 50)
Phase 1
Focus groups and community mapping 3 5 5 4 3 4
Household interviews 6 2 2 6 7 3
No. of men No. of women
Key informant interviews:
Village 5 1
District 1
National 3
Total participants in Phase 1: 60 9 7 26 18

Phase 2
Participatory feedback workshops in rural 5 6 10 11
community
No. of men No. of women
Strategic stakeholder workshop in Accra 1 10
Key informant interview 1
Total participants in Phase 2: 44 5 6 11 22

transcribed into English. An analytic summary of each transcript currently the largest producer in Africa and second in the world
was written and further thematic analysis undertaken to assist in (ACi, 2014). Although projected climate-related changes are sub-
reading across the dataset. ject to great variability in West Africa, Ghana and other countries
’Active’ participatory dissemination may enable participants to which depend heavily on rain-fed agriculture may experience
prioritise research findings and engage in policy dialogue (Van more frequent and intense droughts, altered rainfall patterns and
Blerk and Ansell, 2007). During Phase 2 (March 2014), participa- increases in temperature as this century continues, which is likely
tory feedback workshops were held with men, women and young to affect yields of food crops currently cultivated and increase
people in the rural community and with national and international vulnerability to poverty (Codjoe et al., 2012; Owusu and Waylen,
stakeholders in Accra. A total of 32 community participants (see 2009). Projected increases in temperature due to climate change,
Table 2.1), most of whom had participated in Phase 1, were invited however, will increase the suitability of most of the current
to discuss the preliminary findings, rank their priorities and cashew-growing areas in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire by 2050 (CIAT,
participate in a short video that aimed to generate discussion 2011). These environmental conditions, alongside growing global
and disseminate messages for policy and practice.4 The workshop demand, suggest that cashew cultivation is likely to continue to
discussions in Accra and an additional interview were transcribed expand in Brong-Ahafo and other cashew-growing areas in Ghana
and analysed. and Côte d’Ivoire in future.
We acknowledge that the small sample recruited from one rural Seketia, a small rural community in Jaman North district, Brong-
community could be seen as a limitation of the study; funds did not Ahafo region, was selected as the research location, due to its
permit fieldwork in other rural communities which might have pro- relatively recent involvement in cashew nut production (see
vided a contrasting context elsewhere in the district/region. The Fig. 2.1). As is the case for the whole District and most of Brong-
findings cannot therefore be regarded as representative of young Ahafo, Seketia lies in the forest savannah transition zone of Ghana,
people, middle and older generations involved in cashew cultivation which is highly suitable for cashew production (Dedzoe et al.,
in Brong-Ahafo region or Ghana more generally. The diversity of the 2001) and is very close to the border with Côte d’Ivoire, which is
purposive sample, as well as the participatory dissemination process important for trade. The lands in the District are owned by the
we engaged in, however, provides rigour and enhances the validity three ’paramount traditional authorities’ (term used for chiefdoms
of the findings. Rather than seeking to map variability in terms of in Ghana) who are custodians of the land and have control over the
patterns, the small, but heterogeneous sample enables us to provide use of land within their jurisdictions. The majority of land
in-depth qualitative insights into a range of views and experiences surrounding the village is used for farming and most residents
regarding changing land use and the division of labour in a specific are farmers, as are 70% of residents in the District (District
rural context in Brong-Ahafo region. Assembly, 2014). The population of the village was estimated to
be 2088 in 2013 (GSS, 2005, 2013) and is composed mainly of
2.1. Case study Bonos, a sub-grouping of the Akan ethnic group, who are the
indigenes, and other minority ethnic groups.
Agricultural activities contribute to over a third of Ghana’s The study location is in the Sunyani and Wenchi area, which has
Gross Domestic Product and the majority of the population (60%) experienced a significant decline in mean annual rainfall over the
are involved in agricultural production (African Cashew Initiative last sixty years (Owusu and Waylen, 2009). Despite this downward
[ACi], 2010). Alongside cocoa and other cash crops established trend, Dezdoe et al.’s (2001) analysis of mean monthly rainfall from
during the colonial era, non-traditional export crops, such as the nearest station of Wenchi from 1960 to 1995 and TAMSAT
pineapple, mango and cashew nuts, are of increasing significance satellite-based monthly rainfall estimates from 1983 to 2012 show
to the Ghanaian economy (ACi, 2010). Africa’s production of similar patterns (Evans et al., 2014). The time period covered by
cashew has grown rapidly over the last decade, with Côte d’Ivoire the research (2011 and 2012) does not appear to deviate substan-
tially from long-term average rainfall conditions, though there may
4
The accompanying video is available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch? have been locally variable rainfall patterns that could have
v=KqZLmwkN3LM&feature=youtu.be. impacted on cashew and food crop yields.
28 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35

Fig. 2.1. Map showing the research location in Jaman North district, Brong-Ahafo region, Ghana.

3. Research findings ties to land in more than one locality, linked to the colonial legacy
of the establishment of cocoa monoculture and increased commer-
3.1. The division of labour and intra-household resource allocations cialisation in recent decades (Quisumbing et al., 2001).
Cashew was usually harvested in the period from February to
3.1.1. Livelihood networks and the gendered and generational division April each year. Participants sold the cashew to agents (intermedi-
of labour aries) of large cashew export companies who came to the village to
The livelihoods of many rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa buy raw cashew nuts. Participants welcomed the additional
are increasingly characterised by diverse, multi-local networks, income stream that cashew provided during the ’lean season’
along which flow remittances, information and goods (de Haan, following the cocoa harvest, which had helped to improve living
2007). Community mapping revealed that most men and women standards and enabled them to pay for children’s education. This
relied on farming for their livelihood and subsistence, but they suggests cashew cultivation helped to provide ’income smoothing’,
usually had more than one source of income. Family farms where whereby households diversify livelihoods to stabilise incomes
they cultivated cashew and food crops were located an estimated throughout the year and thereby decrease their vulnerability to
1–4 miles from participants’ homes in the village. Several partici- different kinds of shocks (Knudsen, 2007).
pants were also engaged in non-farm employment (teachers, Research in Ghana has revealed that the gendered division of
nurses), skilled work (tailors, carpenters, mechanics, timber opera- labour varies according to different crop types, household head-
tor, driving) or trading or other small business activities, alongside ship, access to land and labour resources (Carr, 2008a,b). In the
farming. According to focus groups and interviews with elders, an study location, pruning cashew trees was regarded as ’hard work’
estimated half or more of residents in the community also had and more ’men’s work’ than women’s, but widows or women
cocoa farms in Sefwi, Western region of Ghana, which they had whose husbands or other male relatives were away either hired
cultivated, inherited or purchased. Some household members labour or did this work themselves. Women and children were
engaged in seasonal migration during the cocoa harvest, left other usually responsible for weeding and gathering the cashew nuts
family members in charge of managing the farms or lived there on and/or labourers were hired to harvest the cashew. Middle gener-
a more permanent basis. The majority of families interviewed (8 ation men were usually responsible for the management of cash
out of 13) were engaged in cocoa farming and received regular crop fields (cashew plantations in the study location and cocoa
remittances from family members in Sefwi. Half of the young peo- farms in Western region) and larger scale food crop cultivation
ple reported that one or both parents worked on cocoa farms in for sale. Older men were often retired or only had light duties
Sefwi at the time of the interview; young people lived with their overseeing others’ work or allocating land and labour resources.
remaining parent and siblings or other relatives. This demonstrates Of the thirteen households interviewed, just over half (7) were able
the fluidity of agricultural households and the strength of familial to pay for hired labourers to work on the family farm during
 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35 29

important agricultural periods, while female-headed and some European countries or the USA), attracted to the possibility of more
male-headed households with smaller farms (6) struggled to afford lucrative employment opportunities outside Ghana (Jones and
this. Chant, 2009). These findings support Amanor’s (2001) argument
Young people often make significant contributions to the that the lineage as an organisation redistributing wealth,
household economy through their unpaid agricultural labour, usu- land and labour services within specific community localities is
ally doing low status activities associated with women’s work being replaced in Ghana by more amorphous and mobile
(Bradley, 1993). Young people in the study location worked kinship networks extending over large areas of towns, villages
predominantly with their mothers and other female relatives and and cities.
siblings to plant and harvest tomatoes and pepper for sale, weed
cassava, plantain and cashew farms, raise yam mounds and harvest
food crops, vegetables and cashew on the family farm. Boys and 3.1.2. Intra-household resource allocations and decision-making
young men were often responsible for small livestock. These processes
findings are supported by secondary data; in Brong-Ahafo region, Gendered patterns of expenditure and resource allocations
over two fifths of children aged 5–17 (41.7%) were reported to be often accompany the gendered division of labour in agricultural
engaged in economic activity in the previous seven days in 2012, households in Ghana and other African countries, which has a
the third highest in the country following Upper West (45.1%) significant impact on the health, education and wellbeing of
and Upper East (44.5%) regions (GSS, 2014).5 household members (Shah, 1998; Koopman, 1997; Carr, 2008a).
In addition to providing unpaid family labour, young men, It is thus important to understand how access to, and control
widows, older women and children in situations of poverty often of, intra-household resources are influenced by gendered and
worked as day labourers on others’ cashew farms during the generational relations.
harvest to earn money to buy food or other basic necessities. They In the study location, focus group discussions revealed that
usually earned 2–6 GHS [equivalent of £0.66-£2] per day. Indeed, a income from the sale of farm products that had been cultivated
Guardian news report from Brong-Ahafo region suggests that jointly by the husband, wife and children was usually pooled to
children are ‘attracted to’ (or rather are compelled by poverty to meet the family’s needs, but when men and women engaged in
engage in) the low paid work of gathering the fruits from the separate activities, they maintained separate accounts. Women
ground during the cashew harvest, although they are usually only usually earned their own income from the sale of peppers, toma-
employed after school (Hirsch, 2013). Ill health and frailty of other toes and garden eggs and produced food staples such as yam,
family members may heighten the need for young children and cocoyam, maize and cassava predominantly for household con-
older women to work as casual labourers on cashew plantations, sumption. Participants reported that insufficient rainfall had badly
as was illustrated by one older woman whose husband was blind affected the maize and yam yields during the year of the research.
and her grandchildren who appear in the accompanying video. This As Carr (2008b) notes, since women have a greater reliance on food
reveals how gender, ill health, age and generational identities may crops which are very vulnerable to small fluctuations in precipita-
intersect to exacerbate vulnerability to chronic poverty. tion than their husbands, women in these households appear to be
Young people generally combined their part-time unpaid work more vulnerable to environmental change than to changes in the
on the family farm, and sometimes paid work on others’ farms, market price of the crops that affect ’men’s crops’. Women also
with their schooling. Some young people’s day labour could be sometimes earned their own income from the sale of cooked food,
an important source of income that enabled young people to trading or other small business activities.
continue their education, supporting previous research findings In focus groups, women and young people reported that tradi-
in Africa (Kielland and Tovo, 2006). Many adults and young people tionally, men controlled the income from cash crops such as
placed a high priority on education, and adults sought to ensure cashew and cocoa, as one woman commented: ’The men do not usu-
that the work children did on the family farm was not overly ally disclose income from the sale of cash crops. He uses his discretion
strenuous and only took place after school, at weekends or in the to spend the money. The woman has little say’. Some women
school vacations. There was little evidence of ’hazardous’ child reported that husbands allocated a portion of the cashew planta-
labour in the study location, although children aged under 12 were tion to their wife for her to cultivate and earn money from inde-
observed working on cashew plantations at weekends during the pendently, while others reported joint control of income if
harvest and young people reported significant work responsibili- financing or labour on the farms was shared between husband
ties on family farms, which could have harmful effects on their and wife: ’If the two of you jointly financed or worked together on
education, health and development. It should also be noted that the farms, he makes you aware of how much income is generated
the average age of starting work nationally and in Brong-Ahafo and the two of you take decisions regarding how to use it’. Women’s
region was 9 years old in 2012, which is defined by the Ghanaian labour on plots owned by individual men was not only used to bar-
Government as child labour, and a significant proportion (7.1%) gain for joint decision-making about income within households,
of children (aged 5–17) in the region worked for 43 or more hours but could also represent an important means of women negotiat-
a week, which is considered ’hazardous work’ (GSS, 2014).5 ing ownership of land through so-called ’sweat equity’
Older youth, particularly young men, regularly engaged in sea- (Quisumbing et al., 2001).
sonal migration to Western region to work on their parents’ and According to interviewees, male heads of households were usu-
relatives’ cocoa farms, while young women often worked there ally responsible for paying for children’s schooling and other
during the cocoa season as seamstresses, traders or engaged in household expenses, while in female-headed households, widows,
sexual relationships with men for financial support. Some older grandmothers and young people struggled to meet these costs
youth also sought work, training or apprenticeships in other towns themselves and sometimes received remittances from adult chil-
and cities in Ghana or migrated abroad (Nigeria, Libya, Spain, other dren. One married couple had moved back to the community to
pursue cashew and food crop cultivation, following difficulties
obtaining good yields from cocoa farming in Western region. Their
5
According to Ghanaian law, children are considered to be in ’child labour’ when comments demonstrate the control men may have over income
they are doing ’hazardous work’, are aged under 12 years old and involved in
economic activity, or are aged 12–14 years and involved in economic activities that
and expenditure within households, as well as how women may
are not defined as ’light work’. Hazardous work includes children working long hours be forced to use their small income to support the family. Addo,
(42 h or more per week) (GSS, 2014). a married man explained:
30 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35

’When we get any money from our farming or other activities, you which was allocated to different family members in large extended
know that I am the man of the house. So as the man of the house, I family/clan groups by the family head. Chiefs were regarded as
keep the money. But if any of us need money for something, then custodians of these ’stool’ or ’family lands’ (Berry, 2009) and had
the person will contact me and I will then give out the money’. an important role in resolving land disputes. The average farm size
in the District was approximately 1 hectare (2.5 acres) and the pro-
His wife commented: ’The little money I get is from the sale of the portion of women with access to land for cultivation was estimated
pepper on the farm. But I end up using all the money to pay hospital to be 30% (District Assembly, 2014), significantly higher than in
bills because my son and husband have been falling sick frequently this other parts of Ghana (Doss et al., 2011). Women usually had
year’. Thus, as Carr (2008a) found in Central region, while men and usufruct rights to land that belonged to their husband, father or
women had distinct gendered responsibilities, men may not be in a other male relatives, although they were often granted their own
position to pay for all of the household costs and may exert plots of land to cultivate food crops or sometimes cashew. The
influence over women’s use of their own income. Women may male migrants participating in the study had gained access to land
therefore often pay for children’s school fees, healthcare or other through their wife’s male relatives or through share-cropping
costs, despite these usually being regarded as ’men’s responsibili- arrangements with local residents. As the chief explained: ’We do
ties’ (Carr, 2008a). not sell land here, if you come as a stranger in need of land for farming,
Despite young women’s significant contributions to the house- we would give you or if you also want it for growing cashew too we
hold economy through their unpaid labour on family farms, young give you but for selling of land, we don’t do it here’. There were no
women appeared to be at a greater disadvantage in intra- large-scale commercial cashew plantations in the community;
household resource allocations compared to brothers the same the chief commented that there was insufficient land available
age, as observed by Korang-Okrah and Haight (2015). In the focus for this.
group, young women said that some parents stopped providing for Most participants had been cultivating cashew for between
their children when they were aged between 12 and 16 years old three and ten years at the time of the research. The estimated size
and expected them to pay for their own needs for clothing, of participants’ cashew plantations varied considerably, although
personal hygiene and schooling, which led to girls engaging in many participants were not aware of the exact size of their farms.
relationships with older boyfriends to meet their material needs, Estimates varied from 2 acres cultivated by one widow, to 40 acres
placing them at risk of early pregnancy. As one young woman com- cultivated by a middle-aged married man not originally from the
mented: ’At a certain stage, if I need something, my parents cannot get community who had gained access to the land through his wife’s
it for me so I go out for a boyfriend who can provide what I need’. family. Participants commented that the climate and soil were
While young people said that they usually decided how to particularly favourable for cashew cultivation, especially since
spend the money they had earned/acquired, often using it to pay many of their cocoa farms were becoming less productive and
for their school uniform or other needs, they were not usually the food crops, such as maize, that they used to rely on for sale
involved in household decisions about the use of income earned as well as consumption, were not producing such good yields in
from cash crops or food crops they had helped to cultivate. Kinship recent years. They linked the decline in productivity of food crops
relations, co-residence and mobility also influenced young people’s to insufficient rainfall, a downward trend supported by Owusu and
involvement in decision-making processes. As Kwafo, a young man Waylen’s (2009) analysis of mean annual rainfall in the area. One
(aged 18) whose parents had both died and who stayed in his elder also commented that relatively unproductive ’waste’ land
deceased father’s house adjacent to his uncle’s household, could be used for cashew cultivation.
explained: ’I cannot actually tell [how much income family Few interviewees had land titles or had registered their family
members earn] because my uncle does not discuss the amount of lands, except for those who had cocoa farms in Western region,
money he earns from the farm with me. The other issue is that I do which they had bought, obtained through share-cropping arrange-
not stay here during vacations. I go to spend the holidays with my ments or inherited. Some widows and young people whose parents
sister who lives in Sefwi’. had died had inherited or expected to inherit cocoa farms in Sefwi,
Moreover, young people’s unpaid labour on family farms did Western region. In these cases, the land had been divided between
not appear to confer rights to participate in decision-making the widow, children and husband’s family, sold to pay off debts, or
processes about land use, as is illustrated by Yaw, a young man continued to be managed by the extended family or by farmers
(aged 17) who lived with his grandfather and whose parents lived engaging in share-cropping arrangements.
in Sefwi: ’I think because I am considered to be a young person, I am
not involved in the decision-making process in my family’. Hierarchies 3.2.1. Adherence to patrilineal inheritance practices and the
of sibling birth order and age, as well as school attendance, also individualisation of property rights
played a role, as Kwafo’s experience suggests: ’Usually when it is Assets, such as land, ‘not only allow survival, adaptation and
time to make such decisions, I am not around [because he was at poverty alleviation’, they are also ‘the basis of agents’ power to
school], when I come to meet them, the issues are decided, which I act and to reproduce, challenge or change the rules that govern
accept. After all, I am the youngest amongst my siblings’. the control, use and transformation of resources’ (Bebbington,
The previous sections reveal how gendered and generational 1999: 2022). The research therefore sought to understand the rules
power imbalances shape the division of labour and intra- governing land use, access and inheritance and how such custom-
household decision-making processes in the case study rural ary practices may be changing in the light of the shift towards
community. Such inequalities were mirrored in the differential cashew cultivation.
positions of men, women and young people regarding ownership, Traditionally the Akan ethnic group (which represents almost
inheritance and use of land, as we discuss in the next section. half [48%] of Ghana’s population (Kutsoati and Morck, 2012), a
sub-grouping of which reside in our study location) practised
3.2. Access to land, tree crops and the individualisation of property matrilineal inheritance. According to such practices, land is trans-
rights ferred from a deceased man to his brother or nephew (sister’s son)
in accordance with the decision of the extended family or matrilin-
Land represented a vital asset (a key component of environmen- eal clan (Quisumbing et al., 2001; Berry, 2009). Concerns that
tal capital) that participants depended on for agricultural matrilineal inheritance practices did not protect widows and their
livelihoods. The land they cultivated was regarded as ’family land’, children from poverty, among other arguments, led to reform of
 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35 31

the Intestate Succession Law (PNDCL 111) in Ghana in 1985 Table 3.2
(Kutsoati and Morck, 2012). The distribution of residue property6 Men’s and women’s perspectives about changing land access in the study location,
based on focus group discussions.
under the law specifies 16th shares to be divided between the
spouse, children, parents and lineage, although it is commonly inter- Middle generation men’s Middle generation women’s
preted as specifying one-third each of the farm and other assets for perspectives perspectives

the spouse, children and maternal family should a husband die intes- ’The government introduced the ‘We prepare a will. Some people
tate (Kutsoati and Morck, 2012; Quisumbing et al., 2001). The Intes- Intestate Succession Law, which indicate which assets should be given
changed our system of inheritance. the extended family and which ones
tate Succession Law thus strengthened the process of We also spotted such move as we should be given to the spouse and
individualisation of land tenure institutions in Ghana (Quisumbing realised that it will help us and children’
et al., 2001). reduce the conflict associated with
In the study location, land was traditionally transferred to inheritance’
younger generations through matrilineal inheritance, as practised ’Previously when people passed away, ‘With the coming into force of the
by the Akan. Since the introduction of the Intestate Succession their cousins and nephews took over Intestate Succession Law (PNDC law
their assets to the detriment of their 111), whether the will is written or it is
Law in 1985, participants reported that matrilineal inheritance
children. So when the government oral, the people must obey what the
practices were rarely observed in the rural community. The change changed the inheritance system, we deceased person said before death’
in law, combined with the expansion of cashew cultivation in the all supported it since we realised
community, had led to a shift towards patrilineal inheritance so that will help us’ ‘There are situations where you own
that widows and their children (sons and daughters) could inherit the land but someone will use force and
intimidation to eject you out of it and
assets directly from the husband/father (see men’s quotations in
use the land’
Table 3.2). This suggests that statutory law may ’work as a ‘‘mag-
‘Previously, we can inherit the lands ‘I was sick and did not visit my farm for
net” in pulling customary practice in its direction’ (Cooper and that our grandfathers farmed on. some time. Later when I went there, I
Bird, 2012: 536; Evans, forthcoming). But now that is not possible since realised that someone had expanded
As Table 3.2 shows, men welcomed the change in practice to nobody will allow his cashew his farm and taken over parts of my
predominantly patrilineal land inheritance, a shift which was plantations to be inherited by land. I could not take the land back
external relatives. It is for only your because I did not have the resources to
strengthened by the planting of cashew trees, since these were
wife and children, not for the challenge him in court’
regarded as important assets to be passed on to heirs. Matrilineal external relatives’
customary practices were regarded by men as having detrimental
’The land has been allocated to ’This year alone I invested GHC 80 to
impacts on widows and children, who might be forced to leave individual members of the family. At slash my land and prepare it for
the home and land they had shared and worked on with their the moment we practise patrilineal farming. But someone with more
deceased husband/father. Such shifts away from matrilineal inheritance, so there is no way I will resources has seized the land from me
towards predominantly patrilineal land inheritance practices have give my assets to other family and there is nothing I can do’
members’
also been observed in the contrasting context of rural Senegal, dri-
ven by different influences (Evans, forthcoming). Furthermore,
men’s and women’s perspectives (see Table 3.2) suggest that com-
fallow or under-used, despite changes in the law to safeguard wid-
munity members were aware of the Intestate Succession Law,
ows’ inheritance rights, as the next section explores.
which protected widow’s and children’s inheritance rights, but
they also increasingly made written or verbal wills to further safe-
guard the inheritance of their property and avoid future disputes. 3.2.2. Women’s access to land and tree crops
As Osei, an older man reported: ’I have already made that arrange- Not only was cashew associated with more secure, individu-
ment so if I pass on they know what to do. I have dedicated portions of alised property rights, its lifelong nature and dense canopy prohib-
my farms to my wife, children and my siblings. Each one knows his or ited other uses of the land (such as growing food crops). Due to
her area and so there will not be any conflict’. these reasons, women requested land for growing cashew from
As a tree crop, cashew was regarded as an individual man’s their natal families rather than from their husband’s family.
property to be passed on to his wife and children, and sometimes Adwoa, a woman, said: ’I have been farming on my husband’s land
extended family, in the same way as cocoa and teak, rather than for some time. But later I wanted to engage in cashew cultivation so
regarding the cashew trees and land on which they were planted I went to my father for land and he granted me access to some portions
as belonging to the matrilineage to allocate and use as they wished. of the land’. Widows were usually able to continue to grow food
One male interviewee summarised how cashew cultivation was crops on their deceased husband’s land following his death, espe-
changing the nature of land ownership and inheritance in the com- cially if they had children to support, but could be subject to regu-
munity: ’If a man dies without a cashew farm, then the land goes to lations about growing cashew and other tree crops on land to
the family but if he had cashew on the land, it will go the children which that they only had usufruct rights: ’A widow is allowed to
as their property’. This suggests that cashew plantations were asso- farm on her late husband’s land but only for cultivation of food crops
ciated with more secure, individualised property rights than family and not cash crops like cashew’ (Ama, young woman). Widows’ usu-
farmland, which was subject to a bundle of overlapping communal fruct rights to their deceased husband’s land were lost if they
use rights (Berry, 1997; Toulmin, 2008) allocated by family heads. remarried. Married women’s continued labour on their father’s
Increased cashew cultivation thus appeared to be changing land was regarded as a vital strategy to safeguard their livelihood
communal property rights into more individualised systems of security and protect them from potential asset loss in widowhood.
property ownership. In comparison to men’s perspectives, how- Indeed, some instances were reported where widows’ continued
ever, middle generation women (see Table 3.2) were much more access to their deceased husband’s land was denied by his rela-
concerned about tenure insecurity and the risk of encroachment tives, resulting in disinheritance, as Korang-Okrah and Haight
by wealthier neighbours or relatives, especially when land was left (2015) also observed among the Akan in Ghana.
Widows who moved to the community following their hus-
6
band’s death also found it difficult to access farmland, as was the
’Residue property’ is defined as all property not classified as household chattels or
lineage property including business-related and investment assets: business proper-
case for Serwaa, a middle-aged widow: ’I was in another town with
ties, commercial vehicles, non-primary residential properties, bank accounts, savings, my husband. When he passed away, I came home but I was not given
and investments (Kutsoati and Morck, 2012: 14). land by his relations since they were already farming on the land
32 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35

allocated to him. So I have to beg somebody for a piece of land to inheritance, previously practised in the community, to justify the
enable me to farm’. Carr (2008b) highlights the vulnerability of seizure of land from children who were the patrilineal heirs. Fur-
female-headed households who lack a male head through which thermore, children were regarded by middle and older generations
to access farmland and who therefore often have little land on as more vulnerable to disinheritance if the deceased had died
which to grow crops for sale and to support themselves and their intestate, as one woman commented: ’Normally some people seize
households. This means that women heading households are the property from the children if the will is not made’. This provides
’forced to eat nearly all of their staple crop production’, resulting further evidence that the Intestate Succession Law has had little
in very low incomes and little, if any, annual savings, ’making them influence on customary inheritance practices at local level.
particularly vulnerable to economic or environmental shocks’ Planting tree crops may also be used as a strategy to further
(Carr, 2008b, p. 910). This reveals the complex, nested nature of strengthen adult relatives’ land rights, shoring up the confiscation
customary land and property rights (Lentz, 2007) which margina- of the land from young heirs. Baduwaa, a young woman whose
lise widows and other de-jure female-headed households and father had died, reported that her father’s brothers took the land
increase their vulnerability to external shocks. her father had cultivated and had planted teak and cashew trees.
In contrast to widows’ potentially insecure usufruct rights to In so doing, they further strengthened their individual ownership
land used for food crops gained through inheritance, widows’ rights to the land: ’Two years ago when my father died, his siblings
inheritance of cashew plantations, as a tree crop, appeared to be took over his land, growing teak and cashew on it so we the children
more secure. The planting of cashew on inherited land, or the have no share from our father’s side. We farm on our mother’s land’.
continued cultivation of a husband’s cashew plantation, albeit on Young people’s rights to land belonging to the maternal lineage
smaller plots obtained through inheritance, could represent an were likely to be usufruct in nature and subject to the regulation
important means of securing widows’ ownership rights to the land. of tree crops, and hence less secure than individually owned land
Akosua, a middle-aged widow interviewed commented: ’Even and trees gained through patrilineal inheritance. Young people
though it has its disadvantages, I am doing it to secure my late hus- identified the need to gain the support of family elders in order
band’s land to prevent people from encroaching on it in future...I am to pursue inheritance claims. Fear of witchcraft, however, may pre-
left with a small part of the land because people have been farming vent children from seeking redress, as Baduwaa commented:
on it, so if I don’t, they would take it from me’. Thus, the cultivation ’Sometimes the children are afraid of spiritual warfare [using witch-
of tree crops, such as cashew, could help to strengthen women’s craft/spiritual powers to harm someone] through asking for land,
tenuous ownership rights to the land, as Quisumbing et al. so they let go of it’. This reveals how land is much more than a mate-
(2001) report in relation to cocoa in Western Ghana. rial asset or ‘environmental capital’; it is entwined with complex
Widows’ experiences suggest that, despite men’s statements, socio-cultural webs of meaning, unequal power relations and
the Intestate Succession Law carries little weight for many resi- social hierarchies within particular places.
dents in the locality and is often not enforced in rural areas. As
the quotations in Table 3.2 highlight, women may lack the financial 3.3. Concerns about food security and intergenerational tensions
resources and face violence, intimidation and other institutional
and social barriers to seeking legal redress to reclaim their land A representative of the District Agriculture Office estimated that
(Whitehead and Tsikata, 2003). the majority (60–70%) of the land in the district was used for
cashew cultivation at the time of the research. The expansion of
3.2.3. Young people’s access to land and tree crops cashew plantations in the community was accompanied by consid-
The change in practice towards patrilineal land inheritance in erable concern about the impacts on food security and access to
recent years, and the individualised nature of property rights asso- land for future generations. Although intercropping of young
ciated with cashew trees that middle and older generations had cashew plants and food crops was possible in the first three to five
reported, were confirmed by young people’s experiences. In focus years, the dense canopy and root system of the tree meant that
groups, young people stated that they usually inherited land from intercropping was no longer possible when cashew trees matured.
their father, rather than through matrilineal inheritance practices. Participants were concerned that this would result in insufficient
As one young person commented: ’Even though we farm on our land remaining for food crop cultivation. Women, who are usually
mother’s land, we do it most often on our father’s lands. This is because responsible for household food production, explained: ’You cannot
we get our inheritance from our father’s side’. Due to the individu- grow crops on the land once it has been used for cashew. So it means
alised nature of tree crop property rights (Rocheleau and that we will run out of foodstuffs very soon and famine will increase’.
Edmunds, 1997; Quisumbing et al., 2001), younger generations Women had to travel to the nearby market town to buy more food-
usually needed the approval of family heads to change land use stuffs than previously and hence were more subject to price fluctu-
from food crop to tree crop cultivation. Family disputes could ations in world food prices.
develop when a younger sibling started planting tree crops on land Some younger and older participants spoke disapprovingly of
traditionally controlled by the eldest son, as one young man the actions and motivations of community members who had
explained: ’If you ask for a piece of land from your brother he will give ‘rushed’ to expand their cashew plantations at the expense of
[it to] you but if he sees that you are cultivating cashew but not food allocating sufficient land for food crops. Several interviewees and
crops, then he will begin to have conflict with you’. focus group participants recognised that some land needed to
Generational power imbalances also prevented some young be reserved for food crops and some families had allocated
people from inheriting land to which they had patrilineal inheri- specific portions for this purpose. Village chiefs had made public
tance rights. Some young people who had not inherited their announcements calling for people to stop the expansion of cashew,
deceased father’s land reported that it was very difficult, when as one male elder reported: ’There has been a ’gongon’ beating [pub-
they came of age, to re-claim their inheritance from relatives. lic announcement] to announce that already by the chiefs, but the
Kwame, a young man explained that his father’s nephews (consid- young ones don’t listen, before you realized the mounds are made
ered the heirs under matrilineal inheritance practices) had taken ready for planting the cashew’. Male elders thus blamed younger
the land he should have inherited: ’I lost my father at an early generations for not listening to their advice.
age, he had a big farmland but his nephews took it over by the time In the focus group and workshop, young people expressed
we the children were ready to farm on it’. Thus, older relatives may frustration about their parents’ actions that they thought were
exploit adult-child power relations and use traditional matrilineal jeopardising their future land inheritance: ’What our parents are
 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35 33

doing now is not good, it will affects us and our children in future[...] I in household decision-making processes with their husband/male
think it’s about time to tell them enough is enough!’. Young people relatives, others were excluded. Despite young people’s consider-
explained that the pressure on the land meant that fallowing prac- able unpaid labour contributions to the household economy, their
tices were being abandoned and continuous cultivation of food work did not confer rights to participate in clan or family decision-
crops on the same plots was leading to declining soil fertility: making processes over cash crop incomes, land use or other
resources. The lack of dialogue between generations resulted in
’The land for food crop farming is now scarce so the crops do not get
intergenerational tensions when young people felt that their
enough nutrients from the soil to grow well after many years of
parents and elders were neglecting their views and concerns about
continuous farming. Most of the land has been used for cashew cul-
the expansion of cashew and loss of land for food crops.
tivation so we keep farming on the same land for food crops’.
The tendency for land, cash crops and income to be controlled
by men (Lastarria-Cornhiel, 1997; Yngstrom, 2002), and for women
Thus, the quality of environmental capital that younger genera- to rely on food crop production which is more vulnerable to insuf-
tions would inherit in future was perceived to be declining due to ficient rainfall (Carr, 2008a, 2008b) as their main source of income
the monopolisation of the soils by cashew trees and intensification and for household food security, means that women and girls are
of food crop cultivation. Young people thought that their parents more likely to lose out when cashew plantations are expanded to
and older generations were reluctant to recognise the problem the detriment of land for food crops. It is unsurprising, therefore,
and found it difficult to raise these issues with them: ’They [their that in the priority ranking exercise, women and young people
parents and elders] know but because of the present benefits, they were more concerned than men about the loss of land for food
do not want to talk about it’. They felt that direction was needed crops and future generations’ land inheritance. Many women and
from community leaders and elders in positions of power, such young people thought that chiefs and elders should halt the expan-
as family heads, who governed land use: ’Only the heads of families sion of cashew in the community, as one woman’s video message
can stop our fathers from growing cashew’. Young people suggested highlighted: ’We want to appeal to the traditional authority to forbid
that in vivos transfers of land to young people while their parents community members from further expanding their cashew farms.
and older generations were still alive might be a more equitable Otherwise future generations will not have access to land for farming’.
means of intergenerational transfers of land than via inheritance While customary practices and communal rules governing the use
practices. They felt this would help to ensure that young women of environmental capital in rural communities are characterised
did not lose out, thereby also contributing to gender equality, as by fluidity and on-going negotiation (Berry, 1997), they often
one young woman commented: ’Our fathers need to share the land reproduce existing gender, generational and class inequalities
for us while we are young so that men or women can have an equal (Whitehead and Tsikata, 2003; Evans, forthcoming) and may be
share in future’. weakened by changing economic, social and environmental
conditions (Rocheleau and Edmunds, 1997; Wilson, 2010).
4. Conclusion This case study of a rural community reveals some of the
benefits and trade-offs of increasing integration into the global
This article has revealed that the expansion of cashew planta- capitalist system in the context of environmental change. Cashew
tions on family land in a rural community in Brong-Ahafo region, provided an additional income for many households that comple-
Ghana is linked to a range of present and future concerns about mented their usual income stream from cocoa and/or food crops
gender equality, intergenerational justice, food security, tenure and other livelihoods. The widespread adoption of multi-local
insecurity and the resilience of rural communities. A gendered livelihood networks involving cocoa and cashew production, non-
and generational perspective, underpinned by a sustainable liveli- farm activities and rural–urban linkages appears to confirm
hoods and rural resilience approach, has provided a nuanced Knudsen’s (2007: 41) findings that, ’diversification of income
understanding of the vulnerability of differentially positioned seems to be a survival strategy for the poor as well as a strategy
’men’, ’women’ and ’young people’. Children, young women, for further accumulation for the more wealthy’. In the workshops,
widows, older and other women heading households who had young people, women and strategic stakeholders recognised the
more marginal access to land or lacked labour resources were par- importance of diversifying sources of income to spread risk and
ticularly vulnerable to chronic poverty, environmental shocks and adapt to changing economic and environmental conditions, which
the disinheritance or loss of their insecure usufruct land rights. is recognised as an important strategy to build resilience (Knudsen,
They were also more likely to work as low paid casual labourers 2007; Wilson, 2010; Carr, 2008a). Rather than continually expand-
on cashew plantations. ing cashew plantations and farming food crops more intensively on
Cashew plantations were regarded by many as an individual’s smaller plots, strategic stakeholders pointed to the need for greater
property to be inherited by a spouse and children, rather than by awareness about good agricultural practices in planting, maintain-
extended family members. Increased cashew cultivation was thus ing and pruning cashew trees (such as using the ’alley cropping’
further cementing the process of individualisation of customary method of 30 metre spacing of cashew plants to allow more sus-
land tenure and property rights put in motion by statutory legal tainable intercropping with food crops), as well as establishing
reforms in Ghana (Quisumbing et al., 2001). Experiences of disin- beekeeping and by-product processing, as important ways to
heritance and encroachment on land to which widows and increase the quantity and the quality of cashew production on
orphaned young people were entitled suggests however that the the existing land and to diversify livelihoods (ACi, 2010, 2013).
Intestate Succession Law appeared to carry little weight in rural Cashew may enhance economic capital in rural communities
areas. Widows in particular could sometimes face violence, intim- and, as a tree crop, may strengthen some women’s insecure usu-
idation and a lack of financial resources, among other barriers, fruct land rights. The expansion of cashew cultivation on family
which prevented them from seeking legal redress for loss of land land, however, appeared to be leading simultaneously to greater
and inheritance claims, as has been reported elsewhere in Sub- conflict and competition for land, and was exacerbating gender
Saharan Africa (Whitehead and Tsikata, 2003; Evans, 2015). and generational inequalities in land access and inheritance and
The research has demonstrated that gendered and generational the division of labour. This could potentially weaken social capital
inequalities in access to land cannot be divorced from questions of in rural communities. As is the case in many Sub-Saharan African
labour, intra-household resource allocations and decision-making contexts, continued population growth, more intensive land use,
processes (Amanor, 2001). While some women participated jointly monocropping and increased foreign direct investment in the
34 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35

agricultural sector, alongside environmental changes, may lead to Codjoe, N.A.S., Atidoh, K.L., Burkett, V., 2012. Gender and occupational perspectives
on adaptation to climate extremes in the Afram Plains of Ghana. Clim. Change
food insecurity, land disputes and a declining quality of environ-
110, 431–454.
mental capital for future generations. Cooper, E., 2012. Women and inheritance in Sub-Saharan Africa: what can change?
Participants valued the participatory spaces, facilitated as part Dev. Policy Rev. 30 (5), 641–657.
of the research process, to discuss the expansion of cashew planta- Cooper, E., Bird, K., 2012. Inheritance: a gendered and intergenerational dimension
of poverty. Dev. Policy Rev. 30 (5), 527–541.
tions and identify priorities for action at local level. A key priority Dedzoe, C.D., Senayah, J.K., Asiamah, R.D., 2001. Suitable agro-ecologies for cashew
for women was more dialogue between older and younger gener- (Anacardium occidentale L.) production in Ghana. West Afr. J. Appl. Ecol. 2, 102–
ations about land use and access, while young people wanted to 115.
District Assembly, 2014. Jaman North District Medium Term Development Plan
raise awareness about land use and food security concerns (2014–17). Jaman North District Assembly (Unpublished).
(Evans et al., 2014). Greater dialogue may help differently posi- Doss, C., Summerfield, G., Tsikata, D., 2014. Land, gender and food security. Fem.
tioned men, women and young people to listen to each other’s per- Econ. 20 (1), 1–23.
Doss, C., Deere, C., Oduro, A., Swaminathan, H., Suchitra, J., Lahoti, R., Baah-Boateng,
spectives and develop shared decision-making processes which W., Boakye-Yiadom, L., Contreras, J., Twyman, J., Catanzarite, Z., Grown, C.,
may move closer towards addressing the unequal gendered and Hillesland, M., 2011. The Gender Asset and Wealth Gaps: Evidence from
generational relations that underpin land access and the division Ecuador, Ghana, and Karnataka, India. Indian Institute of Management
Bangalore, Bangalore.
of labour and help them to adapt to changing economic, social Evans, R., 2015. HIV-related stigma, inheritance and chronic poverty: the
and environmental conditions. Such efforts may strengthen social, vulnerability and resilience of widows and caregiving children and youth in
economic and environmental capital, which are all crucial to the Tanzania and Uganda. Prog. Dev. Stud. 15 (4), 326–342.
Evans, R., forthcoming. Gendered struggles over land: shifting inheritance practices
resilience and sustainability of rural communities in future.
among the Serer in rural Senegal. Gender, Place and Culture.
Evans, R., 2010. Children’s caring roles and responsibilities within the family in
Africa. Geogr. Compass 4 (10), 1477–1496.
Acknowledgements Evans, R., Mariwah, S., Antwi, K.B., 2014. Cashew Cultivation, Access to Land and
Food Security in Brong-Ahafo Region, Ghana: Preventing the Intergenerational
Transmission of Poverty. Research Note 6. Walker Institute for Climate System
We are grateful to the University of Reading and Walker Insti- Research, University of Reading, July 2014, <www.walker-institute.ac.uk/
tute for Climate System Research for funding this study. We would publications/research_notes/WalkerInResNote6.pdf>.
van der Geest, S., 2008. Wisdom, an intergenerational gift? Notes from Kwahu-Tafo,
like to thank Dauda Suleman, Yvonne Ami Adjakloe and the Ghana. In: Alber, E., Van de Geest, S., Reynolds Whyte, S. (Eds.), Generations in
Department of Geography and Regional Planning, University of Africa. Lit Verlag, Berlin, pp. 381–398.
Cape Coast, for research assistance. We are grateful to the elders Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), 2005. 2000 Population and Housing Census of
Ghana: The Gazetteer Vol V (PA-ZU); Alphabetical List of Localities with
and community members of Seketia, Jaman North district and
Statistics on their Population, Number of Houses and Households and Average
other research participants for their contributions to the research Household Size. Ghana Statistical Service, Accra.
process. We also thank the University of Reading, University of GSS, 2013. 2010 Population and Housing Census Report. Children, Adolescents and
Young People. Government of Ghana. <http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/
Cape Coast and University of Ghana Advisory Group members,
publications/2010phc_children_adolescents_&young_people_in_Gh.pdf> (accessed
and Giuseppe Feola, Sophie Bowlby, Padraig Carmody and the 23.02.15).
anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on earlier GSS, 2014. Ghana Living Standards Round 6 (GLSS 6). Child Labour, GSS,
drafts of this article. Government of Ghana.
de Haan, L.J., Zoomers, A., 2005. Exploring the frontier of livelihoods research. Dev.
Change 36 (1), 27–47.
de Haan, L., 2007. Studies in African livelihoods: current issues and future
References prospects. In: Chabal, P., Engel, U., de Haan, L. (Eds.), African Alternatives.
Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, pp. 59–72.
Hirsch, A., 2013. Ghana’s cashew nut farmers struggle to profit from fruits of their
Adger, W.N., 2000. Social and ecological resilience: are they related? Prog. Hum.
labour. The Guardian. <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/
Geogr. 24 (3), 347–364.
2013/nov/25/ghana-cashew-nut-farmers-profit>, 25 November 2013 (accessed
African Cashew Initiative (ACi), 2010. A Value Chain Analysis of the Cashew Sector
} r Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GTZ), 23.02.15).
in Ghana. Deutsche Gesellschaft fu
ILO (International Labour Organisation), 2013. Making Progress Against Child
Eschborn, Germany.
Labour. Global Estimates and Trends 2000–2012. International Labour Office,
African Cashew Initiative, 2013. The Study of the Effects of Integrating Beekeeping into
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), Geneva.
Cashew Farms in Ghana and Benin. ACi, <http://www.africancashewinitiative.
Joireman, S., 2008. The mystery of capital formation in Sub-Saharan Africa: women,
org/imglib/downloads/140218_beekeeping%20study.pdf> (accessed 04.06.14).
property rights and customary law. World Dev. 36 (7), 1233–1246.
African Cashew Initiative, 2014. Market overview and trends, Unpublished slides,
Jones, G., Chant, S., 2009. Globalising initiatives for gender equality and poverty
presented at ACi, Accra.
reduction: Exploring ‘‘failure” with reference to education and work among
Amanor, K.S., 2001. Land, labour and the family in Southern Ghana. A Critique of
urban youth in The Gambia and Ghana. Geoforum 40, 184–196.
Land Policy under Neo-Liberalisation, Research Report No 116. Nordiska
Kandiyoti, D., 1997. Bargaining with patriarchy. In: Visvanathan, N., Duggan, L.,
Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala.
Nisonoff, L., Wiegersma, N. (Eds.), The Women, Gender and Development
Ansell, N., 2005. Children, Youth and Development. Routledge, London.
Reader. Zed Books, London, pp. 86–92.
Babo, A., 2010. Les jeunes, la terre et les changements sociaux en pays baoulé (Côte
Katz, C., 2004. Growing Up Global: Economic Restructuring and Children’s Everyday
d’Ivoire). Éditions Karthala, AfriMAP et CREPOS, Paris.
Lives. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Bebbington, A., 1999. Capitals and capabilities: a framework for analysing peasant
Knudsen, M., 2007. Making a living in the cocoa frontier, Western Ghana:
viability, rural livelihoods and poverty. World Dev. 27 (12), 2021–2044.
diversifying incomes in a cocoa economy. Geogr. Tidsskr. – Dan. J. Geogr. 107
Berry, S., 1997. Tomatoes, land and hearsay: property and history in Asante in the
(2), 29–44.
time of structural adjustment. World Dev. 25 (8), 1225–1241.
Koopman, J., 1997. The hidden roots of the African food problem: looking within the
Berry, S., 2009. Building for the future? Investment, land reform and the
rural household. In: Visvanathan, N., Duggan, L., Nisonoff, L., Wiegersma, N.
contingencies of ownership in contemporary Ghana. World Dev. 37 (8),
(Eds.), The Women, Gender and Development Reader. Zed Books, London, pp.
1370–1378.
132–141.
van Blerk, L., Ansell, N., 2007. Participatory feedback and dissemination with and for
Kielland, A., Tovo, M., 2006. Children at Work: Child Labor Practices in Africa. Lynne
children. Child. Geogr. 5, 313–324.
Rienner Publishers, Boulder.
Bradley, C., 1993. Women’s power, children’s labor. Cross-Cult. Res. 27 (1–2), 70–96.
Korang-Okrah, R., Haight, W., 2015. Ghanaian (Akan) women’s experiences of
Carr, E.R., 2008a. Between structure and agency: livelihoods and adaptation in
widowhood and property rights violations: an ethnographic inquiry. Qual. Soc.
Ghana’s Central Region. Glob. Environ. Change 18 (4), 689–699.
Work 14 (2), 224–241.
Carr, E.R., 2008b. Men’s crops and women’s crops: the importance of gender to the
Kutsoati, E., Morck, R., 2012. Family Ties, Inheritance Rights and Successful Poverty
understanding of agricultural and development outcomes in Ghana’s Central
Alleviation: Evidence from Ghana. National Bureau of Economic Research
Region. World Dev. 36 (5), 900–915.
(NBER), Working Paper 18080, Cambridge, MA. <http://www.nber.org/papers/
Chambers, R., Conway, G., 1992. Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts
w18080> (accessed 23.02.15).
for the 21st Century. IDS Discussion Paper No.296. IDS, Brighton.
Lastarria-Cornhiel, S., 1997. Impact of privatization on gender and property rights in
CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture), 2011. Predicting the Impact of
Africa. World Dev. 25 (8), 1317–1333.
Climate Change on Cashew Growing Regions in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Final
Lentz, C., 2007. Land and the politics of belonging in Africa. In: Chabal, P., Engel, U.,
Report. Decision and Policy Analyses Program, CIAT, Managua, Nicaragua,
de Haan, L. (Eds.), African Alternatives. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, pp. 37–54.
September, 2011.
 R. Evans et al. / Geoforum 67 (2015) 24–35 35

Li, T.M., 2014. What is land? Assembling a resource for global investment. Trans. Sen, A., 1987. Gender and Co-operative Conflicts’, Helsinki, World Institute for
Inst. Br. Geogr. 39, 589–602. Development Economics Research (WIDER) Working Paper No. 18 [online].
Meinzen-Dick, R., Brown, L., Feldstein, H., Quisumbing, A., 1997. Gender, property <http://www.wider.unu.edu/Offline/2009/previous-series/1987/en_GB/wp-18/>
rights, and natural resources. World Dev. 25 (8), 1303–1315. (accessed 21.02.10).
Oheneba-Sakyi, Y., Takyi, B., 2006. Introduction to the study of African families: a Shah, M., 1998. Gendered perceptions of well-being and social change in Darko,
framework for analysis. In: Oheneba-Sakyi, Y., Takyi, B. (Eds.), African Families Ghana. In: Guijt, I., Shah, M. (Eds.), The Myth of Community: Gender Issues in
at the Turn of the 21st Century. Praeger, Westport, pp. 1–23. Participatory Development. Intermediate Technology Publications, London, pp.
Owusu, K., Waylen, P., 2009. Trends in spatio-temporal variability in annual rainfall 141–151.
in Ghana (1951–2000). Weather 64 (5), 115–120. Soto Bermant, L., 2008. Intrahousehold Asset Dynamics and its Effect on the
Prowse, M., 2010. Integrating reflexivity into livelihoods research. Prog. Dev. Stud. Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty: A Select Annotated Bibliography and
10 (3), 211–231. Literature Review. Working Paper 115. Chronic Poverty Research Centre,
Quisumbing, A., Payongayong, E., Aidoo, J., Otsuka, K., 2001. Women’s land rights in Manchester.
the transition to individualised ownership: implications for tree-resource Toulmin, C., 2008. Securing land and property rights in sub-Saharan Africa: the role
management in Western Ghana. Econ. Dev. Cult. Change 50 (1), 157–182. of local institutions. Land Use Policy 26, 10–19.
Reynolds Whyte, S., Alber, E., van de Geest, S., 2008. Generational connections and Vanderbeck, R., Worth, N., 2015. Introduction. In: Vanderbeck, R., Worth, N. (Eds.),
conflicts in Africa: an introduction. In: Alber, E., Van de Geest, S., Reynolds Intergenerational Space. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 1–14.
Whyte, S. (Eds.), Generations in Africa. Lit Verlag, Berlin, pp. 1–23. Wilson, G., 2010. Multifunctional ’quality’ and rural community resilience. Trans.
Robson, E., 2004. Children at work in rural northern Nigeria: patterns of age, space Inst. Br. Geogr., NS 35, 364–381.
and gender. J. Rural Stud. 20, 193–210. Whitehead, A., Tsikata, D., 2003. Policy discourses on women’s land rights in Sub-
Rocheleau, D., Edmunds, D., 1997. Women, men and trees: gender, power and Saharan Africa: the implications of the re-turn to the customary. J. Agrar.
property in forest and agrarian landscapes. World Dev. 25 (8), 1351–1371. Change 3 (1–2), 67–112.
Rose, L., 2007. Children’s Property and Inheritance Rights, HIV and AIDS and Social Yngstrom, I., 2002. Women, wives and land rights in Africa: situating gender
Protection in Southern and Eastern Africa. HIV/AIDS Programme Working Paper beyond the household in the debate over land policy and changing tenure
2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. systems. Oxford Dev. Stud. 30 (1), 21–40.
Scoones, I., 2009. Livelihoods perspectives and rural development. J. Peas. Stud. 36
(1), 171–196.