Abstract:
The study is in two folds. It first examined the effect of land tenure security
dimensions on households‘ soil improvement and subsequently explored the
effect of soil improvement on maize output among smallholder farmers in the
Northern Region of Ghana. The data employed for this study were obtained
from the 2011 Innovation for Poverty Action survey. The endogeneous
switching regression model was employed for the analyses. The study found
that, households who had full land right had a significantly higher probability
of undertaking soil improvement than those with non-full rights. Again,
relative to households whose lands were disputed, households with undisputed
lands had a significantly higher likelihood of undertaking soil improvement. It
was also found that soil improvement by households proved to be positive in
influencing maize output of households in the region. It is recommended that
government should strengthen land disputes resolution and arbitration bodies
to amicably settle land related disputes as it adversely affects land tenure
security. Again government is advised not to perceive land titling as the only
means of improving land tenure security but should create a system that would
check and recognise customary claims to land.
