Poverty Dimensions of Public Governance and Forest Management ...

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environment. The framework of natural resource tenure largely excludes villagers from
ownership rights; the legislative system criminalizes their use of tree resources; and
environmental policies are prone to equate off-farm natural resource based incomes and
‘environmental degradation’. This is in marked contrast to the importance of forest resources in
national exports, and underlines the marginalisation of the interests of the small farmer majority.
4.1.12 Cropping Systems
Cropping systems in the transition zone of Brong Ahafo are complex and diverse. In the survey of
6 different settlements and 818 farm plots, over 150 different cropping combinations were found.
The dominant crops cultivated were: yam, cassava, maize groundnut, sorghum, plantain,
cocoyam, bambara beans, cowpea, tomato, okro, pepper, and garden egg. Small quantities of rice
are cultivated in valley bottoms. The dominant tree crop cultivated is cashew with some farmers
also investing in teak plantations.
The main crops (indicating % farmers cultivating, and % farm plots, in each case) are:
! Cassava – in both major ecosystems (76/45)
! Yam – mainly in the parkland zone (71/36)
! Maize – both zones (60/35)
! Groundnut – mainly parkland, though increasingly in the semi-deciduous forest fringes also
(48/24)
Groundnut is mainly a women’s crop (70% women, cf. 29% men). Yam, cassava and maize are
more likely to be men’s crops.
Intercropping is more common than monocropping in the transition zone (62% cf. 38%). This is
indicative of risk management strategies, primarily in relation to rainfall and pest attack.
Monocropping is dominant only in the Kokoago area, indicating the strong commercial
orientation of farmers in this area. Monocropping tends to be associated with high input use, as is
commonly the case with maize, though there are many exceptions (for example, groundnut
monocropping is not associated with use of inputs).
The main crops are as indicated in Figure 4.4. Table 4.5 gives the distribution of crops in male
and female plots, and Table 4.6, the dominant cropping systems.
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