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VideoNovember 21, 2022

Madagascar land certificates - Making an impact on land reform and agriculture

In Madagascar, obtaining a land title was so time-consuming and costly that it was frequently out of reach for people in rural areas. Combined with population growth and increasing demand for land, this has contributed to widespread land insecurity. In 2005, Madagascar embarked on a major and innovative land reform to make legal recognition of land rights accessible to all, especially to rural populations. The rights to land nurtured by farmers can now be registered fairly quickly and inexpensively by a new official document - the land certificate - issued not by the central government, but by the commune, following a procedure carried out locally by local land offices. This reform has led to guaranteed property rights, which in turn is reassuring farmers as they make investments in their land, reducing land conflicts, and generating greater agricultural income.