How do farmers make decisions about selling farmland?

The presentation unpacks the complex decision-making processes amongst cocoa farmers who are giving away their farmlands for mining concessions in Southwestern Ghana. The study is premised on a qualitative research design involving primarily cocoa farmers, small-scale miners, and mining financiers. The discussion focuses on how and why state policies, land tenure, inheritance systems, and the decreasing value of cocoa relative to gold, influence farmers’ decisions to sacrifice the generational benefits of their farmlands for immediate wealth gains. Considering these findings, the study makes recommendations that will contribute to the growth and sustainability of the cocoa industry in Ghana.