Land Dispute and Resolution Process Among the Youth Under the Customary System in the Techiman Traditional Area of Ghana

Securing land rights of all including the youth to allow for investment is very imperative. This is because access to land is very fundamental to ending extreme poverty especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa where agriculture remains the economic backbone of majority of households.  To this end, access to fair and timeous land disputes resolution mechanism to adjudicate and resolve disputes which create tenure insecurity is critical. This study investigates land dispute cases and the resolution mechanisms among the youth land holders in the Techiman area of Ghana. Using a mixed method approach and multi-stage sampling techniques, the study sampled 455 youth respondents and 23 elders in 20 communities. The study revealed that, there were relatively few land disputes (20%) cases recorded among the youth respondents. The study also revealed that the youth do not have the sole capacity to pursue a land dispute case without the involvement of the family head especially when it relates to family land. Again, access to fair and timeous redress to land disputes under the existing customary structures was not felt evenly among all the youth segments. The study recommends a customary land adjudication system that is accessible and fair to all regardless of age, sex or community membership status to safeguard land rights for wealth creation.