Land tenure, with respect to the livestock sector, is concerned with the nature and range of rights that livestock producers have to land, water and other natural resources necessary for livestock production. Land tenure policy is concerned with the effects of different tenure arrangements on range and livestock productivity and on the distribution of grazing rights.
In this module, the two principal forms of grazing tenure are defined: individual tenure and communal tenure. Under communal tenure, we again distinguish between two principal forms viz "common property" tenure and "open-access" tenure. Next, the effects of different forms of land tenure on attaining four (of the five) main policy objectives are considered.
The potential conflicts and trade-offs among policy objectives are summarised and illustrated through case studies of the Botswana Tribal Grazing Land Programme and the Kenya Maasai group ranch programme. Other policy instruments for influencing stocking decisions, grazing fees and taxes and stocking controls are also discussed.
Spontaneous tenure change is discussed next. In many parts of the rangelands of Africa, tenure change is being led by herders. Some government land policies, such as land titling and registration programmes in Kenya, encourage farmers and herders to assert private claims to rangelands. Herder-led tenure changes will raise equity and other issues which require the attention of policy makers and policy analysts.
Finally, there is a discussion of two particular issues in relation to tenure in mixed farming systems: security of tenure and how more efficient farmers can gain access to more land.
