‘The project’s approach has made it possible to enter into the reality of unified land management (urban and rural) advocated by the Code and to give local stakeholders the material to apprehend the overall management of the municipal territory. In all the villages covered by the project, there was enthusiasm among the population, a feeling of greater land tenure security, an absence of land conflicts and an open-minded access to land for women and young people.’

From the final and external evaluation of PFL.

 

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Methodological guides and brochures

 

 

building more effective public administration by strengthening

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Benin, Local Land Management Support Project

 

 

 

 

Over a period of 4 years, the project experimented and operationalised the new legal framework for land management in the two municipalities of Dogbo and Klouékanmè, following the adoption of the Land Code in 2013. In other words, the project has constituted a “living lab” for the establishment of new and existing local institutions on land management and their interactions, for the development and testing of instruments to register land ownership and land use, and to raise the awareness on land management and land rights. Via the national association of municipalities (ANCB), the experiences are shared with other municipalities in Benin and used as input for further policy development at the national level. By the end of 2016 the project was extended with a component to equip the national agency for land administration (ANDF) to better fulfil their duties and responsibilities.

 

The project has achieved remarkable results, including:

• A total of 28,150 plots are registered in the two municipalities of Dogbo and Klouékanmè, in accordance with the provisions of the CFD and other texts on spatial planning; 24,300 of these plots are in 34 selected villages (rural, PFR) and 4850 in 6 selected urbanised zones in the two municipalities.
• At least 28,150 people expect to have their land rights secured in both communes through the issuance of land titles by the ANDF as provided by the code as a result of the land registration operations.
• In close cooperation with local NGOs the project has supported the position of women; making them aware of their rights and helping them register their property or user land rights to ensure access to land. Now women dare to express their ownership, no longer fearful to lose their lands as a consequence. Moreover, women start to buy and even inherit land. 19% of the property rights now registered in the 34 villages are owned by women.
• The two municipalities experimented with formalising the use of municipal lands by farmers, in the form of user agreements. A win-win situation, as it adds resources to the municipal budget and it creates certainty for the users, making it more attractive for them to invest. The existence of user agreements has also increased the chances of getting a micro-credit, allowing to rent the land for the duration of the agreement. Now, 15,600 user rights are registered and protected, mainly to the benefit of women and young people. The external evaluators of the project qualified this "an important innovation that can have a direct impact on food security, since 2/3 of the land is under right of use”.
• The project supported the two municipalities to establish 2 Commissions of Municipal Property Management (CoGeF) and 101 Village Property Management Sections (SVGF) in accordance with the CFD. These local land management bodies progressively carry out their missions.
• The number of land conflicts in the villages covered by the project is significantly reduced with 65%.
• The ANCB successfully lobbied for a revision of the Land Code to take better account of the local realities and concerns of the municipalities, as revealed by the project. The amendment was adopted in August 2017.
• A household survey shows a remarkable upsurge of the recognition by the target population of improved land security from 11% in 2015 to 70% in 2018.
• The different experimented approaches have been documented in 10 methodological guides and 33 brochures for continued application by the remaining 75 municipalities in Benin and other relevant stakeholders. These documents can be consulted at the website of VNG International.