Sand Winning and Land Degradation: Perspective of Indigenous Sand Winners of Wa, Ghana

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of sand winning by combining qualitative methods and descriptive statistics. Key informant interviews, observation, photography plus questionnaire survey targeted 50 sand winners (drivers). The findings revealed that 56% of sand winners have mined sand/gravel for at least five years, 78% do 6-10 trips of sand and 70% make 6-10 trips of gravel daily. About 96% of sand winners employed labourers from Wa and 82% employed 6 labourers per day. About 30% of the sand winners own the vehicle/truck whilst 70% drives on contract basis. Majority of the driver-respondents (52%) disagree with the proposition that sand winning degrade the land. Another 70% argued that sand winning does not make farmers unemployed.  Furthermore, 74% disagree with the view that sand winning causes food shortage. Also, 76% disagree that sand winning increases mosquitoes and malaria cases. However, 84% agree that sand winning is a profitable business.

Key words: sand winning, land degradation, farm land, Wa, Ghana