From conflict to cooperation: The trajectories of large scale land investments on land conflict reversal in Ghana

The Global Land Rush and Agricultural Investment in Ghana: Existing Knowledge, Gaps, and Future Directions

“…Other authors (see [23,48]) reinforced the point that the commodification of lands, coupled with its increasing value in response to the land rush, only exacerbated the underlying problems associated with land management in the country. A study by Abubakari et al [16] found that the implementation of CSR interventions and benefit-sharing mechanisms had de-escalating effects on land conflicts in host communities. Writing on the experiences in Agogo and Kpaacha, the authors highlighted the fact that the initiation of community projects, the establishment of formal rent payment system, the running of flexible and rotational job schemes for community members, and derestricted communal access to unused land spaces were some of the measures taken to soften local discontent and to mitigate the outbreak of conflicts.…”

“…However, an interesting finding in the reviewed literature points to the fact that some of these investors have used CSR initiatives as a mechanism to mitigate land disputes and conflicts. For instance, Abubakari et al [16] found that the implementation of CSR interventions and benefit-sharing mechanisms has had de-escalating effects on land conflicts in two selected communities that have experienced the land rush (i.e., Agogo and Kpaacha). In Agogo, for instance, measures include the decision of the investor to change the investment focus from biofuel to food crops, the establishment of a formal rent payment system, and the running of flexible and rotational job schemes for community members [86].…”

“…In Agogo, for instance, measures include the decision of the investor to change the investment focus from biofuel to food crops, the establishment of a formal rent payment system, and the running of flexible and rotational job schemes for community members [86]. Similar interventions in Kpaacha, including infrastructure development and de-restricted communal access to unused land spaces and economic trees for local livelihood sustainability, softened local discontent and served as a mitigation measure against the outbreak of conflicts [16]. The point is that there may be many such CSR interventions that help investors and agrarian communities address the multiple challenges posed by large-scale land deals.…”

“…Given the focal nature of Africa in the global land rush and the resulting scholarly attention, the focus of this paper on Ghana is justified to capture the growing literature on this West African country, which has experienced a significant share of land deals and Land 2023, 12, 132 2 of 17 ramifications over the past decade and half [11][12][13][14][15][16]. While the phenomenon described is neither new nor peculiar to the abovementioned period, the spate of land transactions has dramatically increased since 2007, warranting additional attention.…”

Land Use Conflict Identification Coupled with Ecological Protection Priority in Jinan City, China

“…Many studies have investigated the issue of land use conflict, including those addressing its relevant concepts [ 1 ]: land use conflict identification [ 15 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], influencing factors [ 21 , 22 , 23 ], conflict mediation [ 19 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], and practical applications [ 14 , 16 , 29 ]. The accurate identification of land use conflicts is the cornerstone of such research, but also the premise and basis of related research fields.…”