Concept:Land acquisition in West Africa is guided mainly by customary tenure, under which family or ancestral land is transferred across generations.
Explanation:The most common way individuals obtain land is inheritance, not by buying or renting.
After the death of a landowner, the land is shared among children or other relatives according to custom.
This practice is widespread because most rural land is held by families or lineages rather than by individuals with formal titles.
Methods such as mortgage, communal ownership, and leasehold are also used, but they are less frequent for ordinary farmers.
Communal ownership exists in some places, yet it gives the community joint rights, not personal acquisition.
Mortgage and leasehold involve money or legal contracts and are not the everyday method for most people.
Therefore, inheritance stands as the most common and culturally accepted way of acquiring land in West Africa.
Answer:D. inheritance