Land tenure, resource management and food security in sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for rural sustainability. Land and agricultural policy analysis: A case of Malawi

This study examined the past and current trends in land-tenure institutional reforms and the conversion of customary tenure systems to state-guaranteed tenure in Malawi. It examined the effects of land tenure and agricultural policies during and after the colonial era on traditional, customary, institutional security in Malawi. In particular, it examined the effects of land registration and tiding on small-holder households' tenure security, access to credit and use of complementary inputs, use of long-term land improvements, including soil and water conservation practices, and food security.;The findings of this study supports the notion that a combination of land tenure, agricultural policies and food insecurity is risking the sustainability of the rural communities in the study area. The results of the review of the literature showed that macro-level land policies, especially the conversion of customary land to freehold and leasehold, in conjunction with population pressure, had magnified the problem of agricultural land scarcity for the majority of smallholders. The study data showed that smallholders' production and consumption capacity is by and large determined by landholding sizes. The sample households with larger landholdings are better off in terms of food security than those with small landholdings. Households with less than two hectares of land are more food insecure than their counterparts with more than two hectares of land. With regard to the effects of registration and titling, the study showed that registration and titling neither reduced nor improved households' access to agricultural credit, households' investment in land, households' food security, and finally, households' tenure security. In addition, despite the fact that the titling in Malawi was done under the family head or representative instead of individual titling, the effects of registration were not any better than the individual titling implemented in other sub-Saharan countries such as Kenya.;This study also showed that land tenure institutional changes that have taken place during the colonial and post-colonial periods in Malawi also weakened the local land tenure institutions' control and management of land.;Based on these and other findings, the recommendations aim to provide solutions to some of these constraints or problems affecting smallholder households' agricultural production capacity, management of their land resources, food security and their overall sustainability in Malawi. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...