This report is the outcome of a study undertaken on men and women’s access to and control over land in seven districts of the Volta Region in Ghana. The study evolved out of a need for increased insight into gender differences in access to and control over land and the implications of insecure access to land for households within the Volta Region of Ghana.
The objective of the study was to obtain an improved understanding of gender-specific constraints that exist in the Volta Region with regard to land tenure. It was anticipated that such information could contribute to: (i) an enhanced decision making power of women in their efforts to obtain more secure access to land within the framework of existing legal, customary rights, regulations and practices, (ii) increased female utilisation of legal aid and other legal services, and (iii) improved agricultural productivity, of especially women farmers, and improved food security at the household level due to an increased security of land tenure.
This study confirmed that faming activities were the main source of income amongst the communities studied in the Volta Region, a region that is well known for the production of a wide variety of food and cash crops. A clear division of labour existed between men, women and children on the farms. Women had become more involved in farming activities after independence due to changes in the division of labour, their greater involvement in food crop and cash crop farming and their greater involvement in farming related trading activities. This did not necessarily result in a betterment of their socio-economic position or an increased control over their farming activities. It has, however, increased their workload and responsibilities.
Significant differences were observed with regard to women’s and men’s access to and control over land in the Region. These gender inequalities were largely ascribed to men’s dominance in decision-making processes, their dominance in leadership positions within the communities and households, the advantages accorded to them by local tradition, custom and the patrilineal inheritance system, men’s greater opportunities to acquire land, their relatively better financial position and the greater status ascribed to men by society. Most men and women had access to farmland, but their degree of access differed. Men often had full (primary) access rights to land and women often had partial or conditional (secondary) access rights to land. Differences in access rights were also observed between different categories of women. Widows with children and biological daughters had greater access to land than widows without children, stepdaughters, adopted daughters, women involved in a consensual relationship and physically challenged women. Furthermore, men had greater control over land than women as this was strongly determined by land ownership. Land ownership was largely vested in lineages, clans and family units and control over land was generally ascribed to men by lineage or clan heads. Landownership among women was still an exception rather than the rule, although land ownership among women had augmented due to an increased purchase of land by women and an increased receipt of land by women as gifts from parents, grandparents and/or spouses.
Both men and women acknowledged the fact that if women were to obtain greater access to and control over land, this would have a positive impact on the household food supply, household income and family welfare. At the same time, it was noted that if women were to effectively and substantially increase their agricultural productivity, they also required increased access to and control over other resources such as labour, credit, agricultural inputs, information and knowledge.
Regional differences were observed in men’s and women’s access to and control over land due to regional variations in demographic, social, economic, cultural, ethnic and historic developments. The study revealed that men’s and women’s access to and control over land in the Volta Region were affected by factors such as: gender, land ownership, the patrilineal inheritance system, local traditions and customs, decision-making powers, perceptions, marital status, land disputes, demographic developments, the resource position of the individual, farming systems and agricultural commercialisation. Other factors such as knowledge of land legislations and education were expected to have a positive impact on men’s and women’s access to and control over land, but could not be proven by the study.
Existing legislation affecting land was seldom applied to the benefit of the communities studied, possibly because of their limited knowledge of the existing laws. Men generally had greater knowledge of the laws than women, although men also rarely had specific knowledge of the laws. The Interstate Succession Law and the 1992 Constitution of Ghana were the best-known laws, whereas the Administration of Estates Law was the least known law. Most laws seemed to exist mainly in name and on paper. The low level of knowledge of existing legislation affecting land explained to some extent why the registration of land and the drawing of wills were uncommon practices in a Region where land disputes were common. Most disputes were solved through customary methods of conflict resolution as opposed to the State court system, which was considered to be too slow and only necessary if conflicts could not be solved locally.
In order to increase food production in the Volta Region, as well as improve food security at the household level, strengthen women’s capacities to defend their land tenure rights and to enhance women’s access to and control over land within the context of natural resource management, it is recommended by the study to increase the security of land tenure, especially among women, and to address gender inequalities in access to and control over land in the Volta Region. This can be done by: (i) increasing the utilisation of existing land legislations, legal aid and legal services; (ii) strengthening women’s capacities to obtain and defend their land rights; (iii) promoting gender equity in access to and control over land; and (iv) improving the socio-economic status of women. The recommendations are to be implemented by the Government, Development Organisations, Donors, NGOs, Civil Organisations, Traditional Authorities and Local Communities.
