Land Tenure Systems and Migrant Cultivators in West Africa's Lowlands: What Effects Do They Have on the Intensification of Lowland Rice Production?

Abstract

"Demand for rice in West Africa has been growing at 5.6% a year, not only driven by population growth but also due to a shift in diet away from traditional coarse grains caused by urbanization. The gap between regional supply and demand for rice has been increasing. As a result rice imports mainly from Asian countries reached an average of 2.6 million tones in the early 1990s. Under these circumstances, domestic rice production is also being encouraged, particularly in lowland ecology because it has higher potential yield thanks to water availability. To compete with cheap imported rice, however, the domestic production need to be more productive through intensification.

"We surveyed about 300 lowlands around Bouaké, the second largest city in Côte d'Ivoire located in the center of the country. First this paper deals with the issue of evolution of land ownership in lowlands. We found that lowlands owned individually are located in remote area with low population pressure, while lowlands owned by individuals are located near cities with high population pressure. That is, demand for lowlands has induced individualized ownership.

"Then, with respect to the intensification of lowland rice production, this paper focuses on water control technologies, such as bunds and canals, because the single most important biophysical constraint to lowland intensification is lack of water control. We found that the individualization of lowland ownership has a positive effect on the adoption of water control technologies compared with collective, village ownership. It was also found that market access has a positive significant effect on the technology adoption. With respect to the effect of tenure security on the technology adoption, although we could not show a direct evidence, it was suggested that the rent payment requirement in the case of individual ownership secures tenants' land use rights compared with the case of collective ownership, which is more like open access for indigenous cultivators."