Reflecting on the impact of an artisanal and small-scale mining ban on impoverished agrarian communities in northern Ghana

•The paper explores the impact of a ban on ASM on impoverished rural communities in northern Ghana.•Data were sourced through face-to-face in-depth interviews with 35 informal miners.•Rural communities face declining agricultural productivity and depend on ASM for income.•The ban on ASM has undermined the livelihood structures in local communities.•The ban on ASM has increased economic hardships and heightened economic vulnerabilities. The study critically explores the impact of Ghana government's ban on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) on poverty-endemic communities in northern Ghana. The data were sourced through face-to-face in-depth interviews with 35 miner households across two ASM communities in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region. The findings revealed that the ban on ASM has mounted intense financial pressure on the rural households’ efforts to improve their incomes, supply their food needs, and cater for the households’ healthcare expenditure. The households are struggling to pay: (a) utility bills (water and electricity), (b) school fees and (c) apprenticeship fees. The siting of a military post in the study area prevents the local people from mining, and also their access to economic trees such as the shea (Vitellaria paradoxa), dawadawa (Parkia biglobosa), and baobab (Adansonia digitata) has been curtailed amidst the physical injuries and psychological trauma accompanying the military action. While formalisation of ASM is a major requirement, its rural livelihood prospects can be enhanced through financial and technological support and the creation of a conducive working environment for the local miners. This can be a major step towards poverty eradication in the poorest but mineral-rich regions in sub-Saharan Africa.