The effects of the land tenure reform programme on tenure security and agricultural development in Rwanda: the case of Musanze district, Northern Province

Abstract

This PhD thesis is a compilation thesis comprising a research frame of seven chapters, and four related papers. The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate the effects of the land tenure reform programme on the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, focusing on two of the main components, the land registration and titling programme (LRT) and the land use consolidation (LUC) programme. In order to achieve this aim, four research questions were formulated, the first two focusing on how the LRT programme affected the land tenure security of small-scale farmers, and how the LRT impacted small-scale farmers in terms of using their land titles as collateral for credits for agricultural investments. The third research question is related to the experiences of small-scale farmers of the LUC programme, while the fourth research question deals with the expected effects of the implemented reform programmes on tenure security, agricultural development and increased food security in the studied communities have been achieved. The study is based on field work conducted in Musanze district in Northern Rwanda between 2011 and 2014. It is mainly based on qualitative research methods, supplemented by some quantitative techniques. The field work was carried out in five sectors, and a total of 60 individual farmers, 32 key informants, and representatives of Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO), farmer cooperatives, and women’s associations were interviewed. In addition, 53 farming and 19 forest plots were mapped and measured with GPS equipment. The findings indicate that the LRT programme has resulted in the reduction of land conflicts based on demarcation of boundaries after the completion of the LRT programme in 2013. However, according to the post-2016 literature, land conflicts persist due to subdivisions of family land between siblings, still registered in a single land title certificate. Findings also show that the LRT resulted in land rental market rather than in a land market of selling/buying. However, informal land transactions have been noticed after 2016. Regarding the LUC programme, findings indicate that the programme has resulted in increased agricultural productivity due to the use of improved seeds and chemical fertilizers. However, there is also dissatisfaction among some small-scale farmers about the Government policy linked to the introduction of sole cropping of selected crops, which has affected both food security and income earnings of poor small-scale farmers negatively. The LUC programme has on the other hand benefitted the relatively better-off farmers, farmers with bigger and scattered land areas, who often are organized in farmer associations or cooperatives, and thereby have better access to credits that are used for renting more land in order to produce more. These farmers are much better positioned to tap into the growing market chains, compared to poor farmers with limited land, and low or limited access to credit.