Abstract:
Despite the positive development, the Rain Forest-Agro-ecological Zone
(RFAZ) is characterised by a loss of natural resources and inadequate food
security systems. Studies conducted in the Ahanta West Municipality of the
RFAZ concentrated on the biophysical features as a drive for landscape
changes without highlighting how policies shape landscape dynamics. The
study used various methods, including documentary review, structured and indepth
interviews, and geospatial techniques. The study specifically assessed
Rubber Outgrower Plantation Project (ROPP) and Norpalm Smallholder
Scheme Project (NSSP) due to their deterrent development to the ecological
growth of the landscape. The result established that ROPP does not satisfy the
conservation pillar of sustainable landscape management. The transitional
probability analysis showed that by 2032, the landscape will experience a shift
from oil palm farming to rubber cultivation under the economic benefit
scenario. Again, oil palm cultivation will be reduced under the social benefit
scenario by 15.52%, while there was an increase in the ecological protection
scenario (16.83%). The study also identified that crop production, population
growth, and land tenure were the main factors that drove the adoption of
ROPP and NSSP on the landscape. The results further pointed out that
converting croplands to rubber might affect future food security and human
well-being. The study recommends that the Food and Agriculture Department
of the Ahanta-West district assembly regulate cash crop farmers' activities in
the landscape. Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority should also educate
farmers on land use decision-making toward rubber cultivation.
