Large-scale land acquisition and farmland access nexus: evidence from agricultural households in northern Ghana

In the wake of 2007-08 food and oil price hikes, and the subsequent financial crises, Africa saw an upsurge in large-scale land acquisition (LSLA). This generated debate among development practitioners who raised mixed concerns about the implications of such acquisitions on local occupants. In response, empirical studies investigated the effects of LSLA. However, information comparing the farmland access effect of LSLA by different actors is missing in the literature even though such information could be relevant for policy. Using data from 526 households and 6 group discussions, this study examined and compared the farmland access effects of direct and indirect exposure to LSLA by domestic entities (DE) to the farmland access effects of direct and indirect exposure to LSLA by foreign entities (FE) using bar charts, crosstabulations with Chi-square and Welch's t-test. The results revealed that households directly and indirectly exposed to LSLA by DE and FE are both less likely to access farmland for production. However, households directly and indirectly exposed to LSLA by DE are much less likely to access farmland in the area than households directly and indirectly exposed to LSLA by FE. Based on the findings, we argued that concerns about any impacts of LSLA should be directed to all actors involved.