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Local Perceptions about the Effects of Jatropha ( Jatropha curcas ) and Castor ( Ricinus communis ) Plantations on Households in Ghana and Ethiopia

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  • Joleen A. Timko

    (Africa Forests Research Initiative on Conservation and Development (AFRICAD), Forestry of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T-1Z4, Canada)

  • Aklilu Amsalu

    (Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 150223, Ethiopia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Emmanuel Acheampong

    (Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University Post Office, Kumasi, Ghana
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Mesfin K. Teferi

    (HoA-REC&N (The Horn of Africa Regional Environment Centre and Network), College of Natural Sciences, Graduate Programme Building, Addis Ababa University, 9th Floor, Room 903, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 80773, Ethiopia)

Abstract

Biofuel plantations have been hyped as a means to reinvigorate Africa’s rural areas. Yet there is still apprehension about the negative environmental and social impacts of large-scale commercial biofuel production around rising food prices, land grabbing, ecological damage, and disruption of rural livelihoods. Given the extent of Jatropha curcas production in Ghana and Ethiopia and Castor bean ( Ricinus communis ) in Ethiopia, this paper presents the results of a study that assessed the socio-economic implications of industrial Jatropha plantations on local livelihoods in Ghana, and of industrial Jatropha and Castor plantations on local livelihoods in Ethiopia. This study used primary data collected from 234 households in Ghana and 165 in Ethiopia. The cultivation of Jatropha and Castor has had several important effects on local livelihoods in the study sites, most notably decreases in household landholdings due to the arrival of industrial Jatropha or Castor plantations; and the resulting changes these plantations have caused in household socio-economic status, food security, fallow periods, and fodder availability. We consider how a lack of meaningful consultation between local people, their traditional authorities and the biofuel company managers, along with shortcomings in each country’s broader land acquisition process and poor land use information, may have contributed to these overall negative effects on local livelihoods. We conclude by suggesting several ways that emerging biofuel industries could be improved from the perspective of local people and their livelihoods.

Suggested Citation

  • Joleen A. Timko & Aklilu Amsalu & Emmanuel Acheampong & Mesfin K. Teferi, 2014. "Local Perceptions about the Effects of Jatropha ( Jatropha curcas ) and Castor ( Ricinus communis ) Plantations on Households in Ghana and Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-18, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:10:p:7224-7241:d:41316
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Findlater, K.M. & Kandlikar, M., 2011. "Land use and second-generation biofuel feedstocks: The unconsidered impacts of Jatropha biodiesel in Rajasthan, India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3404-3413, June.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Marcin Pawel Jarzebski & Abubakari Ahmed & Yaw Agyeman Boafo & Boubacar Siddighi Balde & Linda Chinangwa & Osamu Saito & Graham Maltitz & Alexandros Gasparatos, 2020. "Food security impacts of industrial crop production in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the impact mechanisms," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(1), pages 105-135, February.
    3. Tola Gemechu Ango, 2018. "“Medium-Scale” Forestland Grabbing in the Southwestern Highlands of Ethiopia: Impacts on Local Livelihoods and Forest Conservation," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Goetz, Ariane & German, Laura & Hunsberger, Carol & Schmidt, Oscar, 2017. "Do no harm? Risk perceptions in national bioenergy policies and actual mitigation performance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 776-790.
    5. Christine Bosch & Manfred Zeller, 2019. "Large-scale biofuel production and food security of smallholders: Evidence from Jatropha in Madagascar," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(2), pages 431-445, April.
    6. Samia Sediri & Michel Trommetter & Nathalie Frascaria-Lacoste & Juan Fernandez-Manjarrés, 2020. "Transformability as a Wicked Problem: A Cautionary Tale?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Bottazzi, Patrick & Crespo, David & Bangura, Leonard Omar & Rist, Stephan, 2018. "Evaluating the livelihood impacts of a large-scale agricultural investment: Lessons from the case of a biofuel production company in northern Sierra Leone," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 128-137.
    8. Samia Sediri & Michel Trommetter & Nathalie Frascaria-Lacoste & Juan Fernández-Manjarrés, 2020. "Transformability as a Wicked Problem: A Cautionary Tale?," Post-Print hal-02907306, HAL.
    9. Richmond Antwi-Bediako & Kei Otsuki & Annelies Zoomers & Aklilu Amsalu, 2019. "Global Investment Failures and Transformations: A Review of Hyped Jatropha Spaces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-23, June.
    10. Ahmed, Abubakari & Campion, Benjamin Betey & Gasparatos, Alexandros, 2017. "Biofuel development in Ghana: policies of expansion and drivers of failure in the jatropha sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 133-149.
    11. Pamela Durán-Díaz, 2023. "Sustainable Land Governance for Water–Energy–Food Systems: A Framework for Rural and Peri-Urban Revitalisation," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-31, September.
    12. Biswas, Pradip & Verma, Jyotiprakash & Pohit, Sanjib, 2018. "India’s Biodiesel Programme: A Pathway for Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Employment Generation and Inclusiveness," MPRA Paper 94719, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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