Rural Transformation Risks Excluding Smallholder Farmers —UN experts

News in brief:

—UN experts said Ghana’s push for mechanised and export-oriented agriculture risks excluding smallholder farmers, fishers and pastoralists.

—The delegation urged stronger implementation of land, environmental and social protection policies to address poverty, land insecurity and climate-related threats in rural communities.

United Nations experts have warned that Ghana’s ongoing rural and agricultural transformation could marginalise smallholder farmers, artisanal fishers and pastoralists unless stronger political commitment is demonstrated to protect vulnerable communities and enforce existing laws and policies effectively.

The UN Working Group on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas raised the issue following a 10-day official visit to Ghana from May 5 to 14. Carlos Duarte, a professor and coordinator of the Line of Applied Research in Rural Development and Land Management, heads the group and includes members such as Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile, Geneviève Savigny, Shalmali Guttal and Davit Hakobyan.

The delegation met government agencies, farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists, civil society groups, traditional rulers and rural communities to assess the human rights situation of peasants and rural workers.

Experts Warn of Unequal Agricultural Transformation

In a preliminary statement released in Accra, the experts acknowledged Ghana’s progress in strengthening legal and policy frameworks relating to agriculture, human rights and social protection.

They highlighted reforms such as the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act 2025, the Social Protection Act 2025, the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act 2024 and Ghana’s ratification of the International Labour Organisation’s Work in Fishing Convention No. 188.

However, the Working Group warned that smallholder farmers, artisanal fishers and pastoralists continue to face poverty, exclusion and weak institutional protection despite their role as the backbone of food production.

According to the experts, Ghana’s increasing emphasis on mechanised and export-oriented agriculture could widen inequality if adequate safeguards are not introduced for family-based farming systems.

“The current transformation model risks entrenching a dual food system in which large-scale, input-intensive commercial agriculture serves an integrated export sector, while the family-based agrarian sector is left increasingly marginalised,” the statement said.

Land Insecurity, Gender Exclusion Raise Concerns

The experts identified land insecurity as one of the major threats confronting rural communities under Ghana’s customary and statutory land tenure systems.

They noted that weak enforcement mechanisms continue to expose smallholder farmers to land dispossession and livelihood losses, especially in rapidly urbanising and economically valuable rural areas.

Women and young people were also identified as particularly vulnerable groups within the agricultural and fisheries sectors. According to the Working Group, women remain largely excluded from land ownership and decision-making processes despite playing significant roles across agricultural value chains.

Illegal Mining Threatens Rural Livelihoods

The delegation also linked the rise in illegal mining activities, locally known as galamsey, to worsening rural poverty and unemployment among young people.

The experts described illegal mining as the most acute, rapidly expanding and politically charged environmental emergency facing the country.

They warned that pollution from mining activities is contaminating rivers, destroying farmlands and exposing communities to mercury, cyanide and other hazardous substances.

The Working Group stressed that enforcement measures alone would not solve the problem unless the government also addresses unemployment and broader development failures pushing young people into illegal mining activities.

Climate Change, Seed Reforms Under Scrutiny

The experts further raised concerns about shrinking grazing lands caused by climate change and agricultural expansion, noting that it is increasing tensions between herders and farming communities.

They warned that erratic rainfall, declining fish stocks, post-harvest losses and weak rural infrastructure continue to threaten livelihoods and food systems across Ghana.

The Working Group also expressed concern over recent seed and biotechnology reforms, cautioning that increased dominance of commercial seed systems could weaken traditional seed preservation practices relied upon by smallholder farmers.

UN Calls for Inclusive Rural Governance

Despite the concerns, the experts commended some inclusive governance efforts, including community-based natural resource management initiatives and alternative livelihood programmes targeting rural youth.

They urged the Ghanaian government to establish formal consultation platforms at district and national levels to ensure farmers, fishers, and pastoralists actively participate in policy design and implementation.

“The policy and legislative framework that Ghana has assembled constitutes a foundation that commands respect. The open question before us is not whether Ghana possesses the tools. It is whether it commands the political will to apply them,” the experts stated.