Poverty Dimensions of Public Governance and Forest Management ...

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the northern transition zone where land does not attract high rents, and can be easily gained since
population densities are low, lack of rights in land is not a serious barrier for migrants with
capital. Ability to invest in labour is often the major constraint in agricultural production in this
zone. In the semi-deciduous forest areas of southern Brong Ahafo, land is scarcer and
sharecropping arrangements become dominant in land transactions. In these areas availability of
land may be more a constraint for migrants, particularly in the cocoa growing areas.
Agricultural development policies have tended to favour richer farmers and provide few options
for small farmers. While soft loans and subsidised inputs for large farmers have not been in force
in recent years, attempts to develop cashew and timber plantation projects favour those with land,
and those with the capital and influence to gain land and hire labour or tractor services in clearing
the land. The expansion of the plantation sector is likely to create land pressures for food crop
farmers. The focus of agriculture on monocropping and row planting tends to favour farmers
growing commercial crops, and not those engaging in mutiple cropping as a risk reducing
strategy or attempt to maximise investments in scarce labour. This category includes a large
number of women, who are unable to secure prime land for commercial crops and who have
insufficient land to higher the necessary labour to make large commercial farms. Farmers who are
able to develop monocropping extensively by investing in labour and expanding areas of acreage
are those that tend to benefit from monocropping technologies, although their profits are variable
according to the vagaries of climate. Farmers without sufficient capital to take risks of expanded
production tend to focus on growing hardier crops and a range of crops on smaller farm plots.
Small and middle farmers who used to use inputs and ploughed their lands are among the losers.
They are unable to use inputs successfully now, but have difficulty in cultivating their lands
without inputs. Their plight has not been addressed by agricultural services. The agricultural
services tend to work within a framework of the need to transform agriculture in relation to
population pressures rather than the impact and failings of previous policy frameworks. Growing
concerns with post harvest technology and storage tend to favour large farmers who can afford to
store crops over months and not small farmers who must sell a large proportion immediately after
harvest to meet debts, social responsibilities and to hire labour for clearing the next season’s farm
plot.
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