Land Rights Systems and Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Links between land rights and agricultural development provide a conceptual framework to analyze land rights systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The discussion demonstrates that land rights in Sub-Saharan Africa evolved in response to changing political, social, and economic conditions, often the results of governmental interventions that may not have been conducive to efficiency or equity. The evidence dispels some popular misconceptions about land rights systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is increasing individualization of ownership, and in many areas possession has always been individual. Even in areas where communal ownership has been imposed, cultivation and possession remain with individual households and an increasing range of rights to land are appropriated by the individual household. Existing and indigenous systems are not inherently equitable. Land sales and mortgaging by individuals are observed frequently in many areas where such transactions are not recognized under the formal legal system. The lesson from others parts of the world is that efficiency ultimately requires formal recognition of individual land rights. That stage has not been reached yet in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, but in many other parts the justification for a change in land rights arrangements already exists. The practical problem in such cases is the careful analysis of benefits and costs, including equity considerations.