Effects of commercial farming on livelihoods and woody species in the Mion district, Ghana

In Ghana, large-scale commercial farming is one of the strategies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 1 and 2). However, large-scale commercial farms have negative environmental consequences that undermine the attainment of SDGs13 and 15 at different scales. This study examined the effects of large-scale commercial farms on woody species diversity and livelihoods of the inhabitants in the Mion District. Interviews using structured questionnaires, Remote Sensing and GIS methods and vegetation survey techniques were employed in data collection and analysis. The results revealed commercial farming offered employment and community support to inhabitants. Notwithstanding commercial farming has reduced the available arable land for small-scale farmers. The landuse landcover analysis indicated close woodland areas (14.9%) had transformed to farm lands which now cover nearly half of the district's landmass (44.9%) since 2015. This has resulted in an estimated loss of 19, 117, 837 individual trees, shrubs and saplings of savanna woody species in the 12,084.6 ha of sampled commercial farms surveyed. The study concludes that large commercial farms causes deforestation and limits small-scale farmers' access to arable land. The study recommends the formulation of policies by stakeholders to help moderate the size of arable land leased out to large-scale farmers at the expense of small-scale farmers. [Display omitted] •Commercial farming creates employment and other opportunities for inhabitants of fringe communities.•Commercial farming reduces the acreage of arable land available to smallholder farmers.•Farmland areas have increased by about 45% while woodland areas have reduced by 20% between 2015 and 2021.•In the thirty (30) sampled farmlands, an estimated 1582 woody species were lost per hectare to farming.