© 2003 Oxford University Press and Community Development Journal Community Development Journal Vol 38 No 4 October 2003 pp. 323–331 323 Community groups and livelihoods in remote rural areas of Ghana: How small-scale farmers sustain collective action Fergus Lyon Abstract Community groups such as those involved in food trading, micro-finance and road building can play an important role in sustaining the livelihoods and reducing poverty in rural Africa. While many groups collapse without donor support, the factors that allow some groups to be sustained are examined by looking at a range of community development related groups. The use of subsidies is questioned as it can result in groups becoming dependent on donors. The ability to build up trust and co- operation is shown to be based on long-term learning processes, simple flexible rules established by members, the ability to enforce rules and allowing people to manage their own income. Introduction A common theme running through the past forty years of community and rural development intervention in Africa has been the formation and support of group activities. The interest in group-based activities has waxed and waned with a recent increase in the promotion of self-help groups and projects with a ‘community development’ component (Stringfellow et al., 1997). Group activities are required in many World Bank funded projects and Lucey (1997) estimates that 50% of British-aid-supported natural resource sector programmes incorporate a component of self-help organization. Group activities in remote rural areas can contribute to community development and reduce poverty through allowing members to have greater control of their own livelihoods, opening new economic opportunities and empowering people to determine their own priorities and organize them- selves. However, the benefit derived from groups is not always distributed evenly with some individuals excluded or not able to participate. This paper examines a number of group activities and local responses of resource-poor farmers that allow them to cope with the vagaries of global