1. Securing Land Tenure and Access for the Youth to Modernize African Agriculture
Frank F K Byamugisha and Yaw Ansu
African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET)
Accra, Ghana
Conference on Land Policy in Africa
UN Conference Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
14-17 November 2017

2. Outline Introduction Challenges to youth access to land
Opportunities to accessing land
Policy Actions to overcome the challenges
Conclusions

3. Introduction
Agriculture can lead Africa’s economic transformation if, among other things, it is modernized to attract the youth (ACET 2017), who are:
More educated to handle modern technology & entrepreneurship;
Predominant & energetic – the under 24 make up 60% of total population; and
Key to replenishing the ageing farming population
But the youth have limited access to land; hence:
No land to farm; and
No collateral for loans to do farming as a business

4. Challenges to Accessing Land
Customary tenure and customary practices – largely communal & biased against youth, girls & young women
Over-reliance on inheritance: Unpredictable & offers limited choices
Poorly developed sales and rental markets
Lack of resources to buy or rent land
Limited legal protection and access to information on their land rights
Marginalized in land reform programs

5. Opportunities to Accessing Land
Surplus arable land
Potential to increase employment & incomes
Potential to replenish ageing farming population (average age is 60) with educated youth

6. Policy Actions to Overcome Challenges
Objective - Provide access to land, credit & entrepreneurial skills
Policy Menu:
Market-Improving (land sales & rental)
Market–based (land & credit markets)
Government-based (state-owned & controlled land)

7. Market-Improving Policy Actions - To Improve Market Access and Transparency (ACET 2017)
Register communal land rights eg. Mexico
Register individual land rights eg. Rwanda
Develop local land governance institutions to allocate & lease land eg. Botswana, Fiji, Mexico
Reduce restrictions on land rental markets eg. China, Viet Nam, Ethiopia
Computerize land information systems to reduce transaction costs eg. Rwanda, Uganda
Bring idle land into use – land tax; infrastructure access; better mechanisms to allocate state lands
Strengthen formal and traditional institutions to resolve land disputes
Enhance and protect land rights of women

8. Market-based Policy Actions – Augment markets to deliver to Youth
No experience in Africa
Experience mainly in Latin America with Land Fund Programs for youth, especially:
Brazil
Mexico

9. The Brazil Land Fund Program
Started 2003 to serve youth
WB support of $202m up to 2008, but continued funded by Brazil Gov’nt:
Commercial loans for land purchase/rental
Grants for entrepreneurship training & on-farm group investments
World Bank project results:
2,500 youth supported
Commercial loan repayment: 97%
Economic rate of return: 12.6%

10. The Mexico Land Fund Program
Started in 2004 in ejidos, with WB support of $100m up to 2010, but continued funded by Mexican Gov’nt:
Initially subsidized loans for land purchase
Grants for entrepreneurship training & on-farm group investments
Incentives for older farmers (65 plus) to participate in social welfare schemes so as to bequeath inheritance land early (land sales allowed only within community members)
WB project results:
4,526 youth received loans for land purchase/rental
Land rental was successful; loan purchases declined due to removal of loans subsidies
Incentives for early inheritance were successful (80% of land transfers were from farmers aged 65 plus)

11. Government-based Policy Actions
Aim: Transfer state-owned or controlled land:
Legal mandate to allocate to youth eg. Ethiopia
State-owned land allocation to the youth eg. Senegal under IFAD project
State-controlled customary land allocation eg.:
Gambia under IFAD project
Togo as part of physical planning & allocation
These programs are typically small and uncommon due to:
Lack of state funds or state land
Too costly to provide at scale and sustain as they are normally grants in kind or cash

12. Conclusions
Youth land access challenges are formidable but not insurmountable
Pay-off is high – employment & income
Policy menu for African policy makers:
Market-improving policy actions
Market-based policy actions
Government-based policy actions
Specific policy choices will vary depending on country circumstances

13. THANK YOU