The local impacts of land grabbing for biofuel feedstock plantations in Ghana

The recent large-scale land acquisition by mainly foreign investors in developing countries for the agricultural production of food or biofuels is known as 'land grabbing'. This thesis examines the literature and looks at the local impacts of land grabbing in Ghana, with a special focus to the biofuel investments. The impacts from plantation development are mainly associated with land use change and plantation employment. The investments are expected to bring employment, technology and knowledge to rural areas with often-­antiqued farming practices, along with land fees for the community. However, cooperate irresponsibility, poor regulatory enforcement, under-regulation of land deals and elite capture can have severe impacts on local livelihoods, and undermine these benefits. Inadequate land tenure systems and poorly set-­up contracts can aggravate the food-insecurity in poor rural areas.