New Program for Rural Land Transformation Launched in Côte d’Ivoire

Improving social cohesion, reducing gender inequalities, and giving more women access to land

GUIGLO, July 18, 2024. The government of Côte d'Ivoire and the World Bank today officially launched the Rural Land Tenure Management Strengthening Program (PRESFOR) in Guiglo in the Cavally region. PRESFOR, which is being implemented by the Rural Land Agency (AFOR), supports the rollout of the $200 million National Rural Land Registration Program in 16 of the country's 31 regions and focuses on efficiency, inclusiveness, and social cohesion.

"President Alassane Ouattara and his government are keeping land tenure security front and center on their agenda, and so I am calling on all Ivorians and all people living in Côte d'Ivoire to make it their priority as well, because if we are to ensure rural land tenure security, then we must build and foster harmony among communities and lay the foundations for lasting peace throughout the country," said Mr. Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, Minister of State and Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food Production, who chaired the launch ceremony. "Guiglo, which is part of the PRESFOR project area, was chosen because of the frequency and scale of conflicts over land in the Cavally region. This clearly demonstrates the government's commitment to resolving land conflicts and fostering harmony, peace, and social cohesion in the western region of our country and throughout Côte d'Ivoire," he added. Minister Adjoumani was accompanied by the Minister of State and Minister for the Civil Service and Modernization of the Administration, Ms. Anne Désirée Ouloto, and by the Minister of the Interior and Security, Mr. Vagondo Diomandé.

PRESFOR, a five-year results-based program covering 2024-2029, will benefit four million people. Over the next five years, 500,000 land certificates and 250,000 land contracts will be issued. The program builds on the achievements of the $50 million World Bank-financed Rural Land Policy Improvement and Implementation Project (PAMOFOR), which helped 48,000 landowners and farmers obtain their land certificates and land contracts between 2018 and 2024.

"Thanks to PAMOFOR's encouraging results, we were able to scale up our engagement with this new program, increasing financing fourfold to help the government make transformational and lasting progress in resolving land disputes and guarantee the rights of farmers and women," noted Ms. Marie-Chantal Uwanyiligira, World Bank Country Director for Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Guinea, and Togo. "In a country where most women depend on their father or husband to access land, having formal land documents will help protect their rights and those of their children in the event of divorce or widowhood. Access to land is a matter of human dignity and economic security."

Formal registration of customary land use and ownership rights helps resolve land conflicts, increase farmers' tenure security and capacity to invest in more sustainable land management practices, and ultimately strengthen social cohesion.