Tenure Security and land improvements in Uganda

Permanent improvements on agricultural land by smallholder farmers have great potential to bolster agricultural productivity, enhance household food security, and improve household nutrition, while promoting environmental sustainability. Whereas demographic and socioeconomic factors have been demonstrated as important determinants, the type of land tenure and the nature of tenure security enshrined therein can be very critical and in some instances more important than the other covariates. The role of tenure security on land improvements in resource constrained smallholder farm setting has not been adequately investigated. This addressed this knowledge gap. We employed logistic regression analysis using data from a random sample of 1,200 households and 2012 parcels collected in 2012 from three sample districts. The aim was to understand the role of different levels of land tenure security on permanent improvements on agriculture land in Uganda. Results show that it is not the presence or absence of tenure security that is important but rather a combination of security and the sociocultural context of the area. The other important tenure related leveraging factor is if the parcel was inherited. The weight of the evidence is such that the importance of tenure security in influencing the decision to undertake improvements on agricultural land is very closely linked with the socio cultural fabric within which smallholder fanners find themselves. Merely promoting institutions that improve tenure security without addressing the underlying socio cultural elements may not result in the desired land improvements and the resultant enhancement of sustainable production.