Land tenure and property rights, and household food security among rice farmers in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

There are growing campaigns to promote land titling to secure Land Tenure and Property Rights (LTPRs) in African agriculture. Theoretically, deed registration should reduce land disputes, facilitate land use as collateral for loans, and stimulate investment in land improvement for increased productivity, income and food security. Empirical evidence in these regards, however, remains anecdotal, and sometimes conflicting. This paper reports a study that examined LTPRs' among smallholder rice farmers in Northern Nigeria and the influence on household food security (HFS). It used cross-section data obtained from 549 rice farmers, selected by multistage sampling across 84 rice-growing communities, seven ( 7) States and the three (3) geopolitical zones in northern Nigeria. Data collection was by personal interviews of adult members of the farmers' households, focusing on the households' socio-economics, livelihoods, and LTPRs on farmland cultivated during the 2016/17 farming season. HFS was assessed within the framework of the United States Department of Agriculture' HFS Survey Module. LTPRs assessment was in terms of the type (source) and registration of titles to farmlands. HFS modelling was within the framework of Poisson, Instrumental Variable Poisson (IVP) and Zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression methods, with endogeneity concerns and choice of specification addressed within Hausman specification tests.The results show that land titling is not endogenous in the estimated models; and that HFS is significantly (p < 0.01) enhanced with an increase in shares of freehold and leasehold in the households' farmlands, as against reliance on communal holdings. Holding de jure secure title to farmlands, however, had no significant influence on HFS. The evidence supports the need to develop land markets to enhance the ease of land transfer, as part of measures to enhance HFS in northern Nigeria.

Land Tenure Systems and Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria: a Case of Rice Production

“…The holder of such title exercises full management rights over his/her holdings. The finding is in line with [26] that concluded that inheritance is the principal mode of land acquisition in Northern part of Nigeria. However, the finding differs with [27] who reported that purchase was the major means of acquiring land in South Eastern Nigeria.…”

Farmer-herder conflicts and food insecurity: Evidence from rural Nigeria

“…Additionally, the high costs of obtaining land titles would limit title registration to lands situated in most urban and peri-urban areas, increasing household food insecurity. Our finding is supported mainly by Kehinde et al (2021) for Nigeria. The household size variable's negative and statistically significant coefficients suggest that households with more members are negatively associated with food insecurity.…”

A Holistic Analysis of Food Security Situation of Households Engaged in Land Certification and Sustainable Land Management Programs: South Wello, Ethiopia

“…According to the findings, 43 percent of the smallholders sampled had sufficient HDDS, while 39 percent had a moderate level [ 93 ]. As proven by Kehinde et al [ 94 ], there is a link between HDDS, and tenure security expressed in purchasing land and the prevalence of customary land rights.…”

“…The fluctuating patterns of rainfall and the impact of climate change on agriculture can have several adverse effects, including reduced crop yields and compromised nutritional quality [ 103 ]. Apart from the fluctuating rainfall, lack of knowledge on coping and adaptation strategies is seen as one of the causes of food insecurity in the study area because most of the farmers depend on rain for their agricultural activities [ 94 ].…”