This article examines the nature of agrarian change in the Kusasi area of north-east Ghana. In focusing upon the dynamic of population growth the study has relevance to the recently rejoined discussion concerning the relationship between population growth and agricultural change. The context in which population growth is proceeding in Kusasi is presented as significantly different from that of other parts of tropical Africa where population growth has been recognised as the dynamic bringing about more productive and sustainable systems. In Kusasi's peripheral and subsistence-oriented economy population growth has led to increased pressure on the biological resources of the region. The permanent compound farming system of the area is now increasingly unable to provide sufficient subsistence for household needs, and, although expansion of farmland into areas recently freed from onchocerciasis is taking place, this is interpreted as merely a temporary respite in the interrelated processes of continuing environmental degradation and declining productivity under the prevailing agricultural system. The article raises the question of how, in the absence of progressive change brought about by population growth, development for regions like Kusasi is to be envisaged. Current programmes of agricultural development are considered in the context of past initiatives.
