Land Trade And Large Land Acquisitions Phenomenon: Ghana’S Experience Since Colonial Era

The challenges of the twenty-first century are enormous. Ensuring adequate food supply, energy, secure livelihoods, water among a host of essential needs of mankind have remained a daunting challenge of many governments across the world. Land is emerging as the point of attraction to solving the many problems emanating from the increasing population. The scramble for land by both the poor and the rich at the household, local community and national levels has in recent times become a topical issue in both local and international political discourses. Ghana has not been insulated from this new paradigm of land investments and thus far had had its fair share. It is ranked fourth among the top ten countries in the world targeted for mixed deals (agrofuels and other purposes) with 421, 808 ha of agricultural land already under acquisition contract. This paper assesses the development of land trade in Ghana from the period of colonial rule to the current democratic dispensation. Using a desktop approach in gathering relevant data, the study found that large acquisitions are not a new phenomenon in Ghana. Large acquisitions occurred in Ghana during the colonial era caused by the abolition of slave trade and industrial revolution, colonial land policies and influence on traditional headship system and economic policy orientations. The current phenomenon is a reawakening of the already existed practice under a different political and economic environment. The customary land owners have been the key suppliers of land in this land trade during both the colonial era and the period after the independence. There is a greater recognition of customary claims to land by the state through constitutional and policy enactments. This recognition however falls short of regulating the customary authorities in their land dispositions especially rural land which are of much interest to the investors. It is recommended that, efforts should be made by government to provide enough structures at the local level to supervise and control land trade by the customary authorities to curb abuse and mismanagement.