摘要：The rapidly growing biofuel sector in Africa has, in recent years, been received with divided interest. As part ofa contemporary wave of agricultural modernization efforts, it could make invaluable contributions to rural poverty. Conversely,it could also engender socioeconomically and environmentally detrimental land use changes as valuable land resources areconverted to plantation agriculture. This research analyzes the impacts and impact pathways of biofuel feedstock developmentin Ghana. It finds that companies are accessing large contiguous areas of customary land through opaque negotiations withtraditional authorities, often outside the purview of government and customary land users. Despite lack of participation, mostcustomary land users were highly supportive of plantation development, with high expectations of 'development' and'modernization.' With little opposition and resistance, large areas of agricultural and forested land are at threat of being convertedto plantation monoculture. A case study analysis shows that this can significantly exacerbate rural poverty as communities loseaccess to vital livelihood resources. Vulnerable groups, such as women and migrants, are found to be most profoundly affectedbecause of their relative inability in recovering lost livelihood resources. Findings suggest that greater circumspection bygovernment is warranted on these types of large-scale land deals
关键词：biofuels; dispossession; Ghana; land grabbing; land tenure; rural development
