Introduction
- Land is an important factor of production.
- Without land, it is impossible to practice agricultural business effectively.
- The efficiency of land utilization is greatly influenced by the conditions under which the land is held.
Land Tenure
- Land tenure is defined as the possession of legal rights to use land.
- Different kinds of rights to land use give rise to various tenure systems.
Land Tenure System
- All land tenure systems fall into two major classes:
Collective Tenure Systems
This includes:
Communal Tenure Systems
- This involves possession of rights over land by the entire community.
- It functions well under conditions of abundant land resources.
Advantages of Communal Tenure
- There is no landless problem.
- Land is not fragmented.
- Allows free movement of animals in search of better pastures and water.
- Promotes community spirit among members.
Disadvantages of Communal Tenure
- Users lack incentive to conserve land resources.
- Everyone strives to maximize returns without investing in soil conservation or fertility maintenance.
- Leads to overstocking and continuous cropping, causing soil erosion and loss of productivity.
- Communal grazing prevents improvements in livestock through:
- controlled breeding,
- proper feeding,
- disease and parasite control.
- Absence of title deeds makes it virtually impossible to secure loans for land development.
Co-operative Tenure System
- This includes collective arrangements under government or other authorities.
- Farmers voluntarily group together to buy land and operate it cooperatively.
- Examples include co-operative ranches.
Advantages of Co-operative Tenure
- No land disputes.
- Labour is efficiently utilized.
- Profits are distributed according to the number of shares held.
- Resource use is optimized for high production.
Disadvantages of Co-operative Tenure
- Poor management affects all members, leading to collective losses.
- No individual title deeds, so loans cannot be secured.
State Ownership
- Land is owned by the entire state and is referred to as government land.
Examples in Kenya
- Areas not allocated to individuals.
- Land under local county councils, cities, and towns.
- Land designated for forests, game reserves, parks, infrastructure, and public utilities.
Advantages of State Ownership
- Generates income for the state.
- All citizens benefit from the resources derived from the land.
Disadvantages
- Production tends to be non-competitive.
- Lack of individual motivation to work on the land.
Individual Tenure System
The various forms of individual land tenure include:
- Owner operator,
- Plantation and Concession,
- Landlordism/Tenancy.
Owner Operator
- This category includes persons who operate land to which they have absolute individual rights.
- Examples include most individual landowners in areas where land has been demarcated, registered, and title deeds issued.
Advantages
- The owner can make permanent production plans freely.
- The owner can pledge the land title deed to secure loans for development.
- Individuals are more motivated to work hard compared to communal arrangements.
- Managerial failures affect only small production units and are therefore minimal.
- It is easier for the owner to access agricultural advice.
Disadvantages
- Costs such as machinery for processing may be too high for individual owners.
- Innovation may be limited due to low levels of education.
- Lack of capital to invest in improvements.
Plantation and Concession
- Usually involves companies or corporations as landholders.
- Most focus on producing a single commodity.
- Production plans are rigid, and labour is often hired on a wage basis.
- Examples include coffee, tea, sugarcane, and sisal estates in Kenya.
Advantages
- High production leads to significant economic gains.
- Allows foreigners to use and develop land.
- No land disputes.
- Creates employment opportunities for local people.
- Generates government revenue through taxation.
Disadvantages
- Large landholdings by individuals can lead to landlessness for others.
- Some large areas of land may remain underdeveloped.
- Foreign owners may repatriate profits to their home countries.
Landlordism and Tenancy
- This arrangement involves ownership of land by one individual or group (landlord) who leases it to another individual (tenant).
- A legal lease specifies the duration of the tenure;
This lease serves as security of tenure for the tenant.
- Production efficiency depends on the lease length, its legal backing, and rent payable.
Advantages
- Allows persons without land to use land.
- Landlords who cannot operate the land can earn income by leasing it.
- Flexible arrangement allowing changes in production plans if needed.
- Security of tenure incentivizes tenants to invest depending on lease length.
Disadvantages
- Poor land use and low production if tenants lack funds to improve the land.
- Tenants cannot cultivate long-term crops.
- Landlords may exploit tenants by overcharging.
- Tenants lack incentives to improve land since it is not their property.
Land Reforms
Definition
- Land reform refers to organized actions designed to improve land tenure structures and land use.
Forms of Land Reform
Land Consolidation
- This involves combining fragmented parcels of land scattered over a large area into one piece.
The objectives of land consolidation include:
- Saving time spent moving between different land parcels.
- Facilitating effective and efficient farm planning.
- Creating incentives for land operators to invest in and develop land.
- Facilitating mechanization and improving production efficiency.
- Improving levels of production through better supervision and sound farming methods.
Land Fragmentation and Sub-division
- This is the process of subdividing a large piece of land into smaller portions.
- Subdivision may be necessary for various reasons, including:
- Selling part of the land.
- Distributing land among heirs such as sons, daughters, and dependents.
- Government subdivision of large farms to settle landless citizens.
Land Adjudication and Registration
- Land adjudication involves:
- Establishing legitimate ownership,
- Measuring land to establish permanent boundaries,
- Recording land details.
- Once adjudicated and disputes settled,
- Land is registered in the Register of Land.
- The owner is then issued a land title deed or certificate of legal ownership.
Importance of Land Title Deed
- Provides security of tenure, encouraging investment and productivity improvements.
- Allows farmers to mortgage land as security to obtain loans for development projects.
- Enables owners to lease land and earn income if they cannot operate it themselves.
- Reduces disputes over land boundaries and ownership.
Land Settlement and Resettlement
Definition
- Land settlement refers to occupying previously uninhabited land.
- Land resettlement involves relocating people from densely populated areas to sparsely populated ones.
Objectives
- To settle landless citizens.
- To relieve population pressure in densely populated areas.
- To increase agricultural productivity by cultivating previously unused or idle land.
- To create self-employment opportunities, improving living standards.
- To reclaim land, for example by creating tsetse fly barriers.
