Unpacking land tenure security and smallholder farmers' investment in climate adaptation strategies: accounts from Northern Ghana

Purpose The influence of land tenure security concerns on smallholder farmers' investment in climate adaptation strategies remains unclear in the literature. This study adds to the existing debate by using multistage sampling to select 2,934 households to investigate the relationships between land tenure systems and smallholder farmers' investments in seven adaptation strategies in a changing climate. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in rural northern Ghana. The multistage sampling procedure was used to select the 2,934 farm households in northern Ghana. Multivariate probit and Poisson models were employed for data analysis. Findings The results reveal that smallholder farmers' perceived land tenure security is positively and significantly correlated with five climate adaptation strategies. Land use/ownership duration, land use right, transfer right and land exclusion right have a heterogeneous significant relationship with individual adaptation strategies. Notwithstanding, the land tenure systems' security has a significant positive relationship with climate adaptation intensity, except for land use duration and transfer rights. Policymakers should design context-specific land tenure reform policies that reflect local socio-economic realities to enhance farmers' land rights for effective investment in sustainable agriculture. Originality/value The novelty of the study is linking different land tenure systems to investment in climate adaptation strategies. Many studies employed a single land tenure indicator, such as land title or land ownership implication, to investment in agriculture. This one-size-fits-all might lead to wrong policy implications since different land tenure regimes have different implications for investment in agriculture, particularly investment in climate adaptation strategies. The study fills the gap.