The integrated approach
Combining activities to ensure land tenure and food security will
contribute to the conditions for sustainable development and lasting
solutions to land conflicts, particularly if they are based on strong
local ownership. The integrated approach proposed consists of land
management and farm planning in which land tenure registration and
collective land protection strategies - and sustainable land-based
activities are combined, using a combination of land conflict
resolution, land tenure registration and support for sustainable
agricultural practices and household based farm planning.
The overall objective of this integrated approach is to improve
resilience of farmer communities and to increase their stewardship and
intrinsic motivation to invest in their land. The two specific
objectives are:
- Specific objective 1: Reduction of land conflicts and improved land
security through systematic land tenure documentation and registration
(LTR).
- Specific objective 2: Increase of soil protection, combating of soil
degradation and increased agricultural productivity in a sustainable
and inclusive manner through accompanying farmer households and
communities with the participatory farm planning approach (PIP) to
plan and manage crop production in a sustainable and highly productive
manner (see: van Duivenbooden et al 2015).
The integrated approach strives to enable equal access to land and land
rights for all based on fit-for-purpose land tenure registration, with a
particular focus on the protection of women’s land rights, addressing a
population that is already mobilized and intrinsically motivated to
improve their lives and livelihoods through the PIP approach. Farmers
are trained in the PIP approach, and learn agricultural techniques to
improve soil fertility (Integrated Soil Fertility Management - ISFM).
These farmers are involved in peer-to-peer learning where they pass on
their knowledge and experience. Additionally, innovative technology that
supports farming and access to finance (AgriCoach, AgriMonitor and
UMVA11On AgriCoach and AgriMonitor see here:
https://www.icco-cooperation.org/en/news/icco-and-auxfin-boost-digital-financial-inclusion-in-rural-areas/
For information on UMVA see here: https://www.umva.org/) will
serve improve the integrated land management, to address climate change
effects, simplify payments for fertilizers and enable further inputs.
The focus on both land security and the fertility and productivity of
the land will contribute significantly to long term sustainability and
effectiveness in terms of poverty reduction.
The fit-for-purpose LTR will be connected to all three levels on which
the PIP approach has an influence:
- Household level : In the communities to which the PIP approach
is extend, the element of land tenure security will be integrated in
the trainings and awareness raising of the households. Men and women
will be triggered to discuss why and how to secure their land and how
to divide the land between the family members. They will include
tenure security aspects in their PIP.
- Colline (village) level : Connecting to the community vision for
continued awareness raising on (women’s) land rights, conflict
mediation, and the procedure of LTR. Taking a systematic approach to
land tenure registration, aiming to register and certify all land
plots in a colline .
- District (commune) level : The final objective is to cover allcollines in the targeted districts. This process will go
parallel with the horizontal and vertical upscaling of the PIP
approach in the targeted districts.
The difference in effectiveness between building forth on rural
communities that have already gone through the whole PIP-process in the
past (without LTR) and rural communities that have not yet started the
PIP process and will receive the integrated LTR-PIP approach, will be
measured through impact studies and the insights from these will serve
to develop a model approach for a holistic land and food security
intervention. The integrated approach is based on the following
assumptions:
- Participatory approaches are needed to enable sustainable land
governance and soil protection.
- Long-term soil protection (and soil improvements) requires protected
land rights, economic- and food security.
- Despite the challenges that such complex objectives present, solutions
are possible as the experience from Burundi with fit-for-purpose LTR
and the PIP approach indicates.
Strong cooperation with state and customary actors can often be crucial
and the experience from the Burundian context demonstrates that strong
ownership of adopted solutions contributes significantly to success.
However, the experience from the land rights component of the work also
demonstrates the relevance of capacity building and a phased-approach
with gradually increasing ownership given the extremely limited
capacities of (local) state actors as well as limited trust by local
populations in state institutions. Cooperation and co-creation with a
range of stakeholders is necessary to ensure sustainability and
legitimacy. Another point of attention is the necessity to establish
functioning spatial data infrastructure beyond the provincial level in
order to create sustainability for the results achieved so far. Latest
technological tools can be used to improve local service delivery and
introduce context adequate and cost-efficient solutions into contexts
where state authorities struggle with adequate and widespread service
provision to the population. At the same time, the technical aspects
should not overshadow the fact that land rights work means social
interventions that affect social structures and therefore require
(conflict) sensitive approaches that allow for flexible adaptations to
changes in the context.
The experience in the Burundian context shows that it is possible to
address land rights issues in a systematic and participatory way even in
very fragile and sensitive settings. With their participatory approach
ZOA so far facilitated the documentation of 43.000 parcels of land in
Burundi. What is currently missing is a true integration of this work
with integrated farm planning (PIP) for climate smart practices, soil
protection and sustainable production increases.