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:
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:
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:
  1. Participatory approaches are needed to enable sustainable land governance and soil protection.
  2. Long-term soil protection (and soil improvements) requires protected land rights, economic- and food security.
  3. 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.