Colin Korst
Entering the Cashew Economy: An Agrarian Transformation of Landscape and Livelihood in Central Ghana
Fellowship Year:
2019
Degree:
MESc
Research Country:
Ghana
Research Continent:
Africa
Partner Organizations:
Nature Development Ghana
Fields of Interest:
Agriculture, Land-Use Decision Making, Swidden Cultivation, Cashew Markets, Land Tenure, Agroforestry
Abstract:
| Abstract: Over the past ten years, cashew exports from Ghana have quadrupled. This growth has emerged largely ‘from below’ by smallholders without significant government or business sponsored programs pushing adoption. In the Kintampo North District of the Bono East Region, many farmers are planting cashew trees on their land normally reserved for food crops. My research was conducted by living and working with farmers in one community in the Kintampo North District over the course of 10 weeks, relying on qualitative methodology such as farm work participant observation, and both semi-structured and structured interviews. My findings detail the differences in land-use practices between swidden yam cultivation and cashew plantations, in terms of ecological function, land tenure, and labor relations. Additionally, I unpack the heterogeneity of the ‘farmers’ in this area in terms of ethnicity, gender, and class, and how this transition to cashew production manifests itself differently for different farmers. I argue that this transformation is a continuation of constantly evolving relationships with outside markets, however it presents unique opportunities and challenges for farmers as they enter into a truly global market dominated by large agribusiness companies, with end consumers residing in the global north and processors located in India and Vietnam. Ecologically, the varied landscapes with a mosaic of savannah, forest, and polycropped farm systems are being replaced by monocropped plots of cashew and mango plantations. |