Razanamanana Philippine, a Madagascan bean farmer, says the land certificate has given her peace of mind about the investments she makes in her field. ©World Bank/Fireflies
Off the southeastern coast of Africa, on the vibrant island of Madagascar, a single document is creating significant change. Here more than 85 per cent of the population relies on agriculture, farmers have faced a persistent challenge: securing legal rights to their land.
When these rights are certified by the authorities, they become vital for protecting against disputes over land ownership. Moreover, they instill confidence in farmers to invest in their properties and to obtain loans from financial institutions, which typically require land as collateral.
Madagascar’s land tenure system was antiquated, consisting of fragile, yellowing documents piled high in neglected offices. Obtaining a legal land title was a daunting, protracted, and expensive process, leaving countless farmers unable to demonstrate ownership of the land they cultivated. This outdated framework frequently led to ongoing land disputes, deterred investment in agricultural areas, and stifled economic growth.
In 2016, the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) stepped in to offer technical support to the World Bank for the Madagascar Agriculture Rural Growth and Land Management project, commonly referred to as CASEF.
Recognizing the potential of land ownership reform to greatly benefit smallholder farmers, a USD 105 million initiative was launched to help Madagascar establish a modern land registry through digital technology, aiming to formalize ownership for a vast number of farmers. The country’s ambitious goal is to distribute eight million certificates by 2030.
Drawing on its expertise from similar initiatives in Latin America, FAO crafted a tailored methodology to support land tenure recognition. This included a systematic approach to land registration, the creation of management tools for data handling, and training programs for personnel in national institutions and local land offices. Hundreds of land para-surveyors were hired, and over 400 municipal land offices were established to streamline the certificate application process for farmers.
While farmers continue to receive paper documents, these certificates now come with a QR code that connects to their digital counterpart, which will be archived in a national register once the system is fully operational. Additionally, the project equipped local offices with computers for digital registration and installed solar panels to enhance energy supply and connectivity.
Peace of mind
The introduction of the new tenure system has significantly bolstered the sense of security among smallholder farmers, minimized disputes between neighbors, and dramatically cut the cost of obtaining each certificate from USD 600 down to just USD 32. Additionally, the time required to process applications has been reduced from six years to a mere six months.
So far, the initiative has successfully certified 1.1 million parcels, positively impacting 206,000 households and representing about 10 percent of Madagascar’s rural land. To put this into perspective, the government has managed to issue as many land certificates in just four years across six regions as were distributed throughout the entire country in the previous 17 years.
Rasolofo Andrianoarintsoa, a farmer based in Ambatotsipihana, a rural community south of the capital Antananarivo, says: “For so many years, I had no legal document proving ownership of my land. So, when we heard about the ‘land certificates operation,’ we applied, and we now fully enjoy our rights,” he says about the new system.
Rasolofo used his certificate as a guarantee to buy fertilizers for his crops and to obtain credit from microfinance institutions.
“They value land certificates enormously because oxen or carts or motorcycles can die or break down, which is not the case with land certificates,” he says, explaining why financial institutions are keen to use land as collateral.
“As a result, our income has increased because we were able to expand our fields and diversify our crops with corn and soybeans. We are more confident because the land belongs to us.”
Razanamanana Philippine, a widowed bean farmer, echoes these sentiments. She says that the land certificate has provided her with peace of mind and allowed her to double the amount of land she can cultivate.
“Now that I have a certificate, no one can question my right to cultivate this land,” she says.
In just a few years, digitization and the decentralization of certificate administration through communal land offices have led to a fivefold increase in smallholder land registrations for parcels under 10 hectares and promise even more success in the future.
Fabrice Edouard, FAO’s land tenure specialist, says: “The project’s success has been so clear that FAO is now providing technical assistance to a similar project, this time in cooperation with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). FAO has also taken on the role of advising the Madagascar government on future land tenure policies.”
Source: The FAO News and Media Office, Rome
