
Effects of land titling and registration on tenure security and agricultural investments: Case of Gataraga sector, Northern Rwanda
Rwanda has undertaken a land registration and titling program since 2008
with a registration of 10.3 million land parcels in 2013. The aim of
this paper is to investigate the early effects of the program on tenure
security and agricultural investments since few studies have been
carried out in this research area. The study was undertaken in Musanze
district in Northern Rwanda, with specific focus on Gataraga sector and
it draws on a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The
findings indicate that the program led to reduced land conflicts and
improved tenure security. Further, it had resulted in increasing
collateral value of land; however mortgaging land to access loans seemed
to depend on various factors including demographic and socio-economic
characteristics of households. Land rental was the most common form of
land market and the relatively well-off farmers seemed to gain most from
the program than the poorest farmers.