Artisanal small scale mining: Farm household welfare and coping strategies in Asutifi North district of Ghana

Abstract

Artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) in Ghana has caused harmful effects on natural  resources and the livelihoods of the rural farm households. These effects necessitate the search for and implementation of remedial solutions. This study investigated the  perceived effects of ASM on households’ welfare in the Asutifi North District using  descriptive statistic. The study also identified the drivers of coping strategies to ASM activities using multivariate probit. The study showed that majority of the respondents
perceived moderate to high deterioration in food security, food consumption, water quality and access to land whilst over 50% perceived moderate to high improvement in income and employment generation. The results from the multivariate model  revealed that majority (75%) of households adopted coping strategies. The drivers of the coping strategies were household size, marital status, level of education, extension visits, engagement in off-farm activitie and years of stay in the area. The study  recommends the need to prioritize and encourage the formation of cooperatives and FBOs to ensure improved access to joint resources that could be used to cope with ASM induced shocks. There is the need to provide credit facilities to farm households in mining communities.

Keywords: Artisanal small-scale mining, galamsey, Ghana, welfare