Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining and Agriculture: Friends or Foes?

The policy brief examines the conflict between the boom in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and the sustainability of smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso. While ASM provides immediate income and employment, it often displaces farmers, contaminates water sources with mercury and cyanide, and draws young labor away from agriculture. The document highlights that ASM is frequently an unsustainable tool for poverty reduction due to the non-renewable nature of minerals and the shift toward capital-intensive operations funded by external investors. It recommends strengthening institutional capacity, implementing rigorous land-use mapping, and dismantling patronage structures to ensure the coexistence of mining and farming.

• Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is creating significant labor and land competition with agriculture in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso. ASM often pays up to three times more than farm incomes, leading to a shift in the workforce from an ageing farming population (55+ years) to young people (18-40 years). In Ghana, at least 50% of survey respondents lost their farms to ASM operators, with 53% of losses affecting cash crops and 40% affecting food crops.
• ASM causes severe environmental degradation and health risks that undermine future agricultural viability. The use of toxic chemicals like mercury and cyanide creates health hazards, while the diversion of streams and lowering of the groundwater table can leave arable land unfit for farming. Abandoned sites often become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
• The document argues that ASM is an unlikely tool for long-term rural poverty reduction for two reasons: the non-renewable nature of minerals like gold and diamonds, and a structural shift where mining is increasingly financed by urban and external sources. In Ghana, most earnings are invested in national or regional capitals rather than trickling down to rural communities.
• Land ownership structures influence the relationship between miners and farmers. In Sierra Leone, a 'farmer-miner' structure fosters harmony as farmers mine during the dry season. In Ghana and Burkina Faso, the dominance of non-indigenes and the itinerant nature of ASM lead to transactional relations and conflicts over land, water, labor, and capital.
• Regulatory failures and 'regulatory capture'—particularly in Ghana—hinder the effective management of ASM. None of the three studied countries possess comprehensive geological mapping or land-use plans. In Ghana, only about one-third of small-scale miners hold the required permits.

APA

Webmaster (2020). Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining and Agriculture: Friends or Foes? African Center for Economic Transformation. https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/artisanal-and-small-scale-mining-and-agriculture-friends-or-foes/

Chicago

Webmaster. Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining and Agriculture: Friends or Foes? African Center for Economic Transformation, 2020. https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/artisanal-and-small-scale-mining-and-agriculture-friends-or-foes/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Webmaster |title=Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining and Agriculture: Friends or Foes? |publisher=African Center for Economic Transformation |date=17 February 2020 |url=https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/artisanal-and-small-scale-mining-and-agriculture-friends-or-foes/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{webmaster2020artisanal, author = {Webmaster}, title = {{Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining and Agriculture: Friends or Foes?}}, institution = {African Center for Economic Transformation}, year = {2020}, month = feb, url = {https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/artisanal-and-small-scale-mining-and-agriculture-friends-or-foes/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }