Ghana's Land Reform Agenda and Local Realities of Women's Land Access for Irrigation Farming in Garu

Policy reforms in Africa are crucial for land rights. Ghana's land administration project (LAP) seeks to modernise land administration, improve tenure security, and reduce poverty. However, little research explores its impact on women's land rights under customary tenure. This paper reviews documents to assess how gender issues are integrated into the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), a key LAP outcome. It also combines interviews and focus group discussions to examine, from an intersectional perspective, women's experiences in accessing land for dry-season irrigation in Garu. We uncovered a reform paradox: despite the Land Act banning gender discrimination in land access, rural women of different marital statuses remain marginalised because patrilineal inheritance practices restrict their land ownership to protect family interests. Consequently, we argue that land reform in Ghana must bridge the statutory–customary divide through a comprehensive, legally robust and culturally sensitive strategy. Practical measures to realise these are proposed.