Artisanal Mining, Smallholder Farming and Livelihood Diversification in Rural Sub‐saharan Africa: An Introduction

This special issue broadens understanding of the linkages between subsistence farming and artisanal mining in rural sub‐Saharan Africa. Drawing upon fieldwork carried out in Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi, the articles report findings that could help to inform a policy machinery that has failed to yield effective solutions to the region's mounting rural poverty problem. It imperative that the linkages that have emerged between artisanal mining and smallholder activity in sub‐Saharan Africa are preserved, not severed.