Abstract:
Peri-urban areas are characterised by their prime locations and proximity to urban
centres. Due to scarcity of prime locations in urban areas; private investors have
immense interest in lands in communities that are closer to urban centres and such
investors are rapidly acquiring large-scale lands. This often creates distinctive
challenges related to land ownership, land use changes and dispossession leading to
peri-urban livelihood alterations and its consequences of loss of lands and farm exit.
This study explored the factors and the nuanced complexities surrounding the impacts
of livelihood changes and its upshot faced by peri-urban Jirapa dwellers of land
dispossessed, as there is a persistent denial and indifference of state institutions and
investors to the negative impacts of land grabbing. The study used theory of
accumulation by dispossession and sustainable livelihood approach. This study
employed a qualitative constructivist paradigm design to explore the livelihood
changes of land dispossessed residents at peri-urban Jirapa Municipality. Purposive
and snowballing techniques were used to select 49 participants at the household
levels. They were 33 land dispossessed (men and women), 2 chiefs, 7 opinion leaders,
2 members of Royal Cozy Hill and 5 relevant stakeholders. Data was analysed using
thematic analysis with the help of Nnvivo 12 software. Transcribed scripts were
uploaded into Nvivo 12 for thematic analysis. All codes and themes were developed
in the Nvivo software for analysis. The study's findings revealed that farm exit and
farmland sizes reduction, led to low farm production and increased poverty translated
into livelihood alterations. It also revealed that, land dispossession happens as a result
of land ownership systems, perceived community development, philanthropic support,
social and economic pressures. The socio-cultural changes observed in the study areas
were due to a development project leading to the transformations of sacred land,
economic and tourism development, and shifts in social relationships between
families and traditional authorities. The coping strategies adapted by the dispossessed
include; on and off-farm supplementation, gardening and migration. The study has
shed light on the intricate factors contributing to livelihood changes of land
dispossessed in the Jirapa peri-urban area. The study recommends that the private
developer should liaise with the Municipal Assembly to provide support for the
affected families for sustained alternative income-generating activities.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Geography Education,
Faculty of Social Science, submitted to School of
Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Geography with Education)
in the University of Education, Winneba
