Public Agenda (Accra)
25 April 2008
document
This is the final report of the article we published in April 21 edition titled "Investor Dupes Chiefs of 95,000 Acres. Below is the final part.
Rural livelihood in Northern Ghana is tenuous. Agriculture accounts for more than 90% of household incomes and employs more that 70% of the population in the region. Most of the agricultural production is by small-holders at subsistence level, reliant on seasonal rainfall which is unpredictable and sporadic.
During the dry season from November to May very limited farming activities take place and much of the population is idle forcing people to migrate to the more prosperous southern parts of the country where they are employed in menial jobs. The onset of climate change, insufficient rainfall and occasional uncontrollable floods results in frequent crop failures which are having a serious impact on the livelihood for the majority of the population in Northern Ghana.
Per capita income in this essentially subsistence agricultural economy continues to dwindle yearly, leaving the average farm family with no option but to face a six-month hungry period or migration either on a temporary or permanent basis. With limited formal sector employment and very few private companies, the bulk of the population of the northern sector have no alternative sources of income, apart from their meager farm produce. Literacy rates are also low:
Approximately 65% of adults not having had any formal education.
These are the circumstances that make Northern Ghana vulnerable to large-scale biofuel plantation development by outside investors in their search of land to produce alternative energy sources.
Unauthorized biofuel development in Kusawgu, Northern Ghana
As part of the investigations, the team visited the traditional ruler of the village to get information about any grants of the land he may have made to the proponents of the jatropha project.
At this stage, the identity of the company responsible for the development had not yet been disclosed. They were described simply as "some white men".
In this community, like in most parts of Ghana, over 80 percent of the land is held under communal ownership and more than 70 percent of this land is managed by traditional ruler-chiefs mainly on behalf the members of the their traditional areas. The chief was very categorical that he had not made such a grant and that he had also been battling with those "white people" to stop them - without much success. He confirmed that he "thumb printed" a document in the company of the Assemblyman of the area which had been brought to his palace by the "white people" but he did not confirm its contents.
The Chief was initially unwilling to go against the wishes of his people as his efforts to stop the developers were being interpreted by the community as driving away opportunities to earn an income during the current dry season". In that respect due to devastating effects of floods at the end of the rainy season, harvests had been very small.
RAINS then visited the surrounding villages to gather first hand information
about what the communities had been told about the project and how they felt about it. Interactions with the people revealed the same initial picture that the chief had given when we contacted him - there was so much euphoria about potential jobs that they did not counter the destruction of their communal lands and livelihood. Fortunately there were a number of skeptics who were convinced that "all that glitters is not necessarily gold" and that the way in which their land was being destroyed did not portend of good things.
The next Monday we assembled again before the Chief at the request of the biofuel company. Here another battle began - the battle as to whether a contract existed between the Chief and Biofuel Africa for 38 000 hectares of land in four locations in the traditional area. Here, due to the circumstances prior to the thumb printing of the document and the subsequent events which shrouded the documentation process in mystery, we eventually won a lengthy legal battle.
The ongoing threat of biofuels
But the questions we are asking ourselves hinge on whether we can ultimately win this battle. I am confident we can because the truth is our guide and the interest of the community is our goal. We cannot afford to fail otherwise there will be chaos. But the war is heating up. I have started hearing about large tracts of land being acquired in various parts of the Northern Region. This is the most expansive region with the lowest population density and is thus ideal for land grabbers. Another obstacle is the government policy to have 10% of the total fuel content in Ghana by 2015 consist of biofuel - a rather over-ambitious proposition.
We need a more aggressive campaign to halt land grabbing. We need to engage with traditional rulers, District Assemblies and Politicians about this ominous phenomenon.
We need visibility through print and electronic media to put our message across effectively to a wider audience. RAINS has a strategy to build on the rapport that it has developed through the OSIWA project with traditional rulers to open up another channel for engagement. We cannot afford to be caught unawares in this war with the biofuel companies. The ancestors are on our side and we shall win the war!
Community members gather for the public discussion in Kusawgu Village.
Lessons from the Kusawgu land acquisition
LESSON NO. 1
The devastating effects of climate change on the already poor rural communities renders local communities vulnerable to all sorts of situations thus making them easily amenable to all sorts of utopian promises.
LESSON NO. 2
The developers have the tendency to raise the hopes and temporarily win the support of local communities by enticing the villagers with the promise of jobs and income.
LESSON NO. 3
We cannot rely wholly on the District Assemblies to support us in this battle because of their vulnerability to political manipulation. A DCE who cannot convince his staff to accept a project of this nature could be readily dismissed from his job.
LESSON NO. 4
Documents should not be signed until the contents and the implications of the agreement are fully understood. As the Kusawgu Chief said, "they will use it to tie your hands" literally meaning you will be bound by the contents of the contract.
LESSON NO. 5
The strategy employed by the biofuel companies also appears to be to create conflict in communities by making community leaders appear anti-development which thus sets the people against them.
LESSON NO. 6
When interacting with communities it is important not to appear to oppose the project but go through an analysis of it with the people so they can understand for themselves the full impact the development will have on their lives and livelihoods.
Its oily seeds can be used to produce biodiesel. As it can be cultivated in poor soil it is seen as an ideal plant for biofuel production. The plant, particularly the seeds, is toxic to humans and animals.
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