Land fragmentation and sustainable land governance in Ghana

Bibliographic Data

ID19213669
AuthorsRomanus Dogkubong Dinye (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Raphael Akponzele (0009-0009-9708-1997, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, corresponding author), Christian Kofi Sarpong (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology)
Year2026
Volume60
Issue2
Pages1-22
Publication date2026-04-15
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0008-3968 • E-ISSN: 1923-3051
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00083968.2026.2631480
OpenAlexW7154470544
LanguageEN
References cited31

Land fragmentation in Ghana, driven by intergenerational inheritance, peri-urban expansion and institutional mismanagement, undermines agricultural productivity and tenure security. Over 80% of land is governed under customary tenure, yet weak coordination between statutory and traditional systems fuels disputes and exclusion. This study combines a systematic literature review with fieldwork in Kpaguri and Sombo, Ghana, to analyse fragmentation's socio-economic and governance impacts. Findings reveal that customary authorities increasingly prioritise land commodification over communal stewardship, sidelining smallholders, women and youth. Despite reforms like the Land Administration Project, formalisation efforts remain inaccessible to rural communities, reinforcing elite control. The study highlights governance failures, overlapping mandates and unenforced policies that perpetuate insecurity. It advocates for hybrid models integrating participatory documentation, inclusive land boards and gender-sensitive reforms to reconcile customary legitimacy with equitable governance, addressing fragmentation as a governance crisis rooted in power imbalances.

Corporate governance · Fragmentation (computing) · Land rights · Land use · Sustainability · Work (physics) · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Land Rights and Reforms · Urban and Rural Development Challenges

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