Do Tenure Differences Influence the Improvement of Quality of Rented Land? Empirical Evidence from Rural Ghana

The implications of migrant agricultural production for the environment have interested policy makers in sub-Saharan Africa of late. The impacts in the region of migrant destination may be short-term including initial felling of trees, intensive land use, and application of techniques. In the longer term, tenants are expected to adjust their techniques to that of the indigenous landowners. This paper explains how migrant tenants manage the quality of rented plots in the absence of clearly defined property rights with a survey data from rural area in Ghana. An empirical model explaining the probability to invest in land improvements is formulated. The empirical results indicate that tenure differences and income levels of migrants and indigenous landowners play a critical role in investments in land improvements.