Illegal Mining and Land Use Change as Drivers of Agricultural Land Scarcity in the Amansie South District in Ghana, West Africa

Mining plays an indispensable role in Ghana’s socioeconomic development; however, illegal gold mining activities, locally called ‘Galamsey’, have proliferated in recent decades, causing extensive land degradation with serious implications for land availability, agricultural productivity, and food security. While the environmental impacts of illegal mining have been well researched, empirical studies on the scarcity of agricultural land caused by it remain limited. This study combined land use/land cover (LULC) change analysis with survey data to assess the role of illegal mining in driving agricultural land scarcity in the Amansie South District. LULC maps for 1986, 2015, and 2024 were derived from satellite imagery, and accuracy was validated using Kappa coefficients. The results of the LULC changes showed that between 1986 and 2024, agricultural land declined by 22% and vegetative cover decreased by 52%, while mining areas expanded by 75%, making mining the dominant driver of land-use change in the study area Survey respondents estimated that three-fifths of farmlands and four-fifths of waterbodies had been adversely affected by illegal mining, highlighting a significant impact on land resources and biodiversity. Furthermore, 68% of respondents reported that agricultural land has become scarce due to illegal mining. The study found that the production of some food crops has declined due to land shortage faced by farmers. Respondents anticipate land scarcity to worsen due to low reclamation and increasing Galamsey activities. The findings highlight illegal mining as a critical driver of land scarcity, underscoring the urgent need for sustainable land use strategies to safeguard food security in Ghana.