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Access to land and land tenure security are at the heart of all rural societies and agricultural economies. Having land, controlling it and using it are critical dimensions of rural livelihoods, and determine rural wealth and rural poverty.

Land is not simply an economic resource. It is an important factor in the formation of social and cultural identity and in the organization of religious life. It is also an enormous political resource, defining power relations between and among individuals, families and communities under established systems of governance.

In rural societies, landless or near-landless people and people with insecure tenure rights often constitute the poorest and most vulnerable groups. Poorer and marginalized groups tend to have secondary rights that rarely extend beyond use rights. And what rights they have are often unprotected and weak, especially in the case of women. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has worsened this vulnerability, particularly in Africa.

Land issues have an impact on the everyday choices and prospects of poor rural people. For example, issues of land access and security of land tenure strongly influence decisions on the nature of crops grown, whether for subsistence or commercial purposes. Such issues also influence the extent to which farmers are prepared to invest (both financially and in terms of labour) in improvements in production, in sustainable natural resources management, and in the adoption of new technologies and promising innovations. They also have an impact on people’s access to financial services and on their capacity to interact and take advantage of markets. The structure and functioning of land tenure systems are important factors in determining how the benefits of agriculture-based activities are divided among various individuals and groups within households and communities.

Land tenure systems can therefore have a major impact on the outcomes of externally supported projects and programmes designed to improve the livelihoods of poor rural women and men. At the same time, externally supported projects could further threaten poor people’s access to land and tenure security. For example, the introduction of new technologies or irrigation schemes often increases land values.  If all existing rights, including secondary rights, group rights and multiple user arrangements, are not adequately considered, the technologies or schemes can result in the loss of access to land by poor and vulnerable groups.  Similarly, the opening up of new roads to facilitate market linkages can result in the influx of new, often better-resourced settlers and an increase in social conflicts.

Source: IFAD