Types of land tenure system in agriculture and their effects. problem of land tenure system in agriculture. Nigeria land use act. read on for more details
AGRICULTURAL LAWS AND REFORMS, LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN AGRICULTURE
Land tenure is defined as the system of land ownership or acquisition by individual, family, community or government agency either for temporary or permanent use.
The land tenure system in West Africa varies with tribes, communities and states. It can be classified into the following groups:
types of land tenure system and their effects
i. Communal land tenure
ii. Land tenure by inheritance
iii. Leasehold system
iv. Land tenure by tenancy
v. Land tenure by purchase
vi. Land tenure by purchase or freehold
vii. Land tenure by free gift or pledge
viii. Tenant at the will of government
Note: Land tenure by
i. Freehold system
ii. Leasehold system
iii. Gift system
iv. Tenant at the will of government inheritance system are collectively referred to as individual land tenure systems.
you read about the Nigerian land use act. not withstanding the various effects posed by the Nigerian land use acts and other land tenure system,
it is also very important to state that land, despite the powers vested on the Nigerian government the power over land on behalf of the citizens, land is is still very much in the hands of the people to either sell, lease or give out as gift.
Communal Land Tenure system Features
In this type. the land belongs to the entire community. The community may be a family, clan or village. Every member of the community has the right to use the land for agriculture, but cannot sell any portion of it.
The head of the community who may be a chief, an Oba, Obi. Emir or a Baale decides how the land is to be divided among members for farming purpose usually at the beginning of each planting season.
The system relies on the availability of large area of land that can be shared to each member of the community.
Advantages of TYPES OF LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN AGRICULTURE
(i) Each member of the community has easy access to the land.
(ii) Cooperative farming is possible since the land is extensive
(iii) Large scale farming or plantation agriculture is possible due to its large size, if only community members cooperate.
(iv) The land is cheap to acquire, as no cost is involved.
Disadvantages or Problems of LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN AGRICULTURE
(i) Non-members of the community cannot have access to the land for farming.
(ii) There is usually lack of co-operation among community members, if the land is to be used for large scale farming.
(iii) Land cannot be pledged, sold or used as collateral by an individual.
(iv) Those with means but who are not members of the community, find it difficult to get land for farming activities.
That is, non-indigenous of the community cannot acquire land or have access to it
(v) There is tendency to neglect parcels of useful land as no one readily considers it his/her interest to protect it from degradation.read land degradation and its effects here
(vi) It is characterized by litigation and misunderstanding.
(vii) Mechanized farming cannot be practiced without permission of the whole community.
(viii) There is excessive land fragmentation overtime.
(ix) Allotted land can be revoked by new leadership.
(x) It does not encourage planting of permanent crops.
Types of Land Tenure system by Inheritance
Features
This is the type of land tenure in which land is inherited from one’s parent or from one generation to another. in Nigeria, land for agricultural activities are mainly acquired through inheritance.
The land so inherited from a single parent is shared among all his children and this eventually leads to fragmentation of the land.
It gives the owner complete freedom on the land. The owner may sell the land, leave it to fallow (bush fallowing here), farm on the land, or rent it out. The land can be used as collateral loans.
Leasehold System Features
This types of land tenure requires the payment of certain amount of money for the use of the land over a stated period of time.
In other words, leasehold tenure system is a special contract existing between a person called the leasor and another called the leasee for the lease of a piece of land for a specified period of years, which may be ten years, twenty years fifty years.
The lessee will exercise his right on the use and maintenance of the land for the period of lease.
Advantages
i. It ensures the use of available land.
ii. It enables the farmer to maximize the use of the land in terms of maintenance of the soil fertility in order to improve the productivity of crops
Disadvantages or Problems of leasehold land tenure system in agriculture
security to obtain loan from commercial banks.
(ii) The farmer cannot develop the land beyond the lease agreement terms.
(iii) Perennial crops like oil palm, cocoa, rubber. etc cannot be grown.
Land Tenure by Rent Features
In this system, the farmer rents the land for use over a short period of time during which certain amount of money is paid as rent by its use. At the end of the period, the agreement ma he reviewed, if the landlord so desires.
Advantages
(i) It makes use of available land r agricultural purposes.
(ii) The land is efficiently used and maintained for maximum production within the short period.
Disadvantages or Problems
(i) The land cannot be used for securing loan.
(ii) It affects long term planning.
(iii) There is limitation in the development of such land.
Land Tenure by Purchase or Free hold Features
In this types of land tenure, a farmer buys a piece of land for agricultural purpose. He pays certain amount of money to the landlord and the land becomes his personal property.
It gives the owner compete freedom on the land. He may sell the land, leave it fallow, farm on the land or rent it out. The owner can use the land as collateral for agricultural loan.
Advantages
i. The farmer can use the land to secure loan from bank
ii. Perennial crops can be grown
iii. Proper planning in the development of such land can be done
Disadvantages or Problems
i. The land may be too expensive to purchase
ii. The actual owner may be difficult to establish
iii. The farmer may not have sufficient money to buy the exact size of the land he needs
land Tenure by Free Gift or Pledge Features
This is the types of land tenure system in which land is donated or given out of goodwill or free of charge in appreciation or as an incentive. The new owner does not need to pay any money.
Advantages
i. It ensures the maximum use of the land for increased production.
ii. Plantation agriculture can be practiced.
iii. It can be used as security to obtain loan
Disadvantages or Problems
i. The ownership of the land can be challenged at any time
ii. There may be disagreement over such gift family members
Tenants at the Will of Government Features
This is a system of land tenure in which a piece of land is given or allocated to a farmer by the government. read land use act here
The land belongs to the government and the farmer has to pay certain amount of money to the government for using such land, usually for a stipulated period of time as stated in the land use act of Nigeria.
Advantages of land use act that control Types of land tenure system
i. Farmers can easily have access to land
ii. The land is wisely used for productive purposes
iii. The land is cheap to acquire
iv. The land can easily be improved by way of fertilizer application
Disadvantages or Problems
i. Permanent or perennial crops cannot be cultivated
ii. Farmers cannot use the land as collateral to secure loans from banks
iii. There are usually lots of bottlenecks or bureaucracy in the allocation, regulation and control over such land
iv. Such land can easily be revoked, if the tenant fails to pay the rent at the right time
WAYS IN WHICH LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN AGRICULTURE AFFECTS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
(i) May lead to fragmentation of land which cannot be mechanized.
(ii) Correct ownership of some plots of land cannot be determined.
(iii) Land cannot be used as collateral for loans in some tenure systems.
(iv) Large scale farming cannot be practiced on small scattered farm holdings
Types of land tenure system in agriculture and their effects. problem of land tenure system in agriculture. Nigeria land use act.
(v) Strangers are prevented from owning land; hence they cannot come to develop the land.
(vi) Because of the short tenancy period in some systems, permanent land improvement programmes cannot be carried out by holders as Types of land tenure system
(vii) There is often restriction on the type of crops (e.g. permanent crops) that can be grown on the land in some systems.
(viii) Some land owners may not have the intention of farming while those willing to farm cannot own land because of the tenure system.
(ix) Some land owners exploit those without land by unfavourable tenancy conditions.
(x) Production is very high on land acquired by purchasing or freehold because land improvement can be carried out.
(xi) Land Use Act/Decree (of 1978 in Nigeria) made more land available to farmers for large Scale production
(xii) Acquisition of land through freehold is expensive, thereby discouraging agricultural investors.
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