| Abstract: |
Links between land rights and agricultural development providea conceptual framework to analyze land rights systems in Sub-SaharanAfrica. The discussion demonstrates that land rights in Sub-SaharanAfrica evolved in response to changing political, social, andeconomic conditions, often the results of governmental interventionsthat may not have been conducive to efficiency or equity. The evidence dispels some popular misconceptions about landrights systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is increasing individualizationof ownership, and in many areas possession has always been individual.Even in areas where communal ownership has been imposed, cultivationand possession remain with individual households and an increasingrange 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 frequentlyin many areas where such transactions are not recognized underthe formal legal system. The lesson from others parts of the world is that efficiencyultimately requires formal recognition of individual land rights.That stage has not been reached yet in many parts of Sub-SaharanAfrica, but in many other parts the justification for a changein land rights arrangements already exists. The practical problemin such cases is the careful analysis of benefits and costs,including equity considerations. |
