Customary Land Tenure in Liberia - Land Tenure and Property ...

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25 reported that swamp rice production has increased because it is less susceptible to damage by pests and vermin than upland rice. Today, in many clans, there seems to be a strong interest in swamp rice farming (likely in improved lowland cultivation) because of its higher yields and the fact that one does not need to brush, fell, or burn the area every season prior to planting. 37 Moreover, swamps can be planted three times before fallowing, as well as harvested three times in one season. 38 In Ding Clan, however, women cited the labor associated with harvesting so frequently as a deterrent to cultivating swamp rice. 39 Further, in Tengia Clan, all swamps suitable for rice were said to be claimed. Thus, opportunities for swamp rice expansion in that clan are limited. Swamp rice production generally begins following the planting of upland rice. Swamp rice is intercropped with vegetables in some clans, including Ding, Tengia, and Nitrian. Vegetable Gardens While vegetables are most often intercropped with rice and cassava, some farmers – particularly women – keep separate vegetable gardens. These may be kitchen gardens located in the settlement area, as in the case of Dobli, Ylan, Gbanshay, and Motor Road Clans, where women grow greens, cabbage, and two-week corn for household consumption. In other cases, farmers keep separate vegetable gardens in upland or lowland fields. In Mana Clan and Saykleken, for example, women and men cultivate vegetable farms that are about one acre in size. Many women reported selling vegetables in local markets for cash. Our research revealed that women are the primary cultivators of vegetable gardens in most clans. However, in Ylan Clan, men reported that they have separate gardens and produce more vegetables than women. Whereas in the other studied clans, a significant portion of women‟s vegetables were sold, most of those grown by women in Ylan are consumed at home, while those grown by men are sold in Saclepea Market. Sugarcane In some clans, including Dobli and Ding, sugarcane is used to produce „cane juice‟ or „gin,‟ an alcoholic beverage. According to Dobli Clan members, selling cane juice is lucrative and has enabled many people to install zinc roofs on their homes. Sugarcane can reportedly be harvested for up to five years before one needs to develop a new field. In Ding Clan, sugarcane cultivation has reportedly decreased over time because sugarcane cultivation and subsequent production of alcohol is frowned on by the churches in this clan. Communal Farming In some clans, groups are practicing communal farming. The proceeds from communal farms are generally used for town development projects, schools, or farmers‟ group savings. For example, in Dobli, the women of Mehnpa Town have a communal cassava farm, the proceeds of which are being saved to build a guesthouse in the town. In Saykleken and Upper Workor, communal farming is reportedly common. While in Saykleken, communal farming is voluntary, in Upper Workor Clan, all members of the clan are required to participate in communal farming. The proceeds from one such farm in Dobli Clan are used to fund the community school and to prepare meals for schoolchildren. In Tengia, clan members contribute labor to a communal rice farm which is used to cultivate rice that is then saved to be used when strangers visit the clan. In Ding Clan, both the youth and clan women have communal cassava farms. 37 As previously explained, the area must be cleared when beginning to plant using the improved method. However, in subsequent years, the labor required to farm using the improved method is greatly reduced, though the farmer must continue to maintain the bunds. 38 According to the Advisor to the Liberian Land Commission, instances of farmers actually harvesting more than one crop of lowland rice per year are rare. 39 According to the Advisor to the Liberian Land Commission, the high labor demands of preparing the fields for improved lowland cultivation often require farmers to purchase labor, which is cost prohibitive for most rural farmers. CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
26 3.2.2 Trees In addition to food crops, residents of the studied clans also plant “life trees” to varying degrees. Life trees bear products of economic value, endure over the span of a typical human life (or longer), and typically assert a permanent claim to the land on which they are planted. In the clans that we visited, the cultivation of life trees is frequently also a form of cash-cropping. The predominant life trees were rubber, oil palm, cocoa, and coffee, though in some clans, kola, coconut, and orange also constituted important life trees (see Figure 3.2). Figure 3.2: Main life trees in studied clans Clan Ding Dobli Gbanshay Little Kola Mana Motor Road Nitrian Saykleken Tengia Upper Workor Ylan Life Trees Rubber, Palm, Cocoa, Coconut, Orange Rubber, Cocoa, Orange Rubber, Cocoa Coconut, Oil Palm, Rubber, Cocoa Rubber, Orange, Oil Palm, Cocoa, Coffee None Cocoa, Coconut, Rubber Rubber, Cocoa Cocoa, Coffee, Oil Palm Cocoa, Kola, Coffee Rubber, Cocoa, Coffee However, the cultivation of life trees was not widespread in all clans. In Motor Road, for example, only one person reported planting life trees (in this case, rubber saplings). Members of Motor Road Clan reported that although they used to plant cocoa and coffee, these life trees are no longer maintained because there is no easily accessible market for the products. Likewise, in Nitrian, we learned that cocoa plantations were abandoned because of the collapse in cocoa prices and the fact that buyers no longer come to the community for cocoa. Rubber In the past, rubber was largely considered a rich man‟s crop because, in many cases, only the wealthy or influential government officials owned rubber farms. Today, however, more people are involved in planting rubber. In many clans, rubber cultivation appears to be increasing as a result of the growing proliferation of rubber buyers and high market prices. In several clans, including Gbanshay and Ylan, rubber buying centers are located in the clans. In others, such as Mana and Ding Clans, in order to access buyers, rubber sellers must travel to neighboring clans. In Ylan Clan, middlemen also buy rubber from local producers and resell it to Firestone in Margibi. Firestone also sends rubber buyers directly into rubber producing areas. CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
Page 1 and 2: LAND POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPO
Page 3 and 4: LIBERIA LAND POLICY & INSTITUTIONAL
Page 5 and 6: ii 1.0 Introduction ...............
Page 7 and 8: iv 4.2.1 Statutory Tenure Claims by
Page 9 and 10: vi 7.3.2 Courts ...................
Page 11 and 12: viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Ma
Page 13 and 14: x ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CDC CF
Page 15 and 16: xii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report s
Page 17 and 18: xiv game for both sale and consumpt
Page 19 and 20: xvi manage tree crops where these a
Page 21 and 22: xviii In the clans we visited, stat
Page 23 and 24: xx DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS Di
Page 25 and 26: xxii Recommended measures include t
Page 27 and 28: xxiv Remove land and governance au
Page 29 and 30: 2 This chapter begins with a presen
Page 31 and 32: 4 1.2 LAND TENURE AND RURAL LIVELIH
Page 33 and 34: 6 (Renner, 1931). Initially lacking
Page 35 and 36: 8 1.3 HISTORY OF LAND TENURE IN LIB
Page 37 and 38: 10 Certificate is merely a permit t
Page 39 and 40: 12 however, rights granted to commu
Page 41 and 42: 14 2.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This ch
Page 43 and 44: 16 Figure 2.2: FEWS-NET map of Libe
Page 45 and 46: 18 In each case, after completion o
Page 47 and 48: 20 3.0 LAND USE AND LIVELIHOODS Thi
Page 49 and 50: 22 Upland Rice Cultivated in each o
Page 51: 24 money quickly. However, they als
Page 55 and 56: 28 large rubber farms ranging from
Page 57 and 58: 30 tasks assigned to women and vice
Page 59 and 60: 32 3.2.7 Hunting and Fishing In mos
Page 61 and 62: 34 bush and fell trees on a farmer
Page 63 and 64: 36 men‟s focus on life tree culti
Page 65 and 66: 38 from one or more patrilineages,
Page 67 and 68: 40 Figure 4.1: Access to land for f
Page 69 and 70: 42 Figure 4.2: Children’s acquisi
Page 71 and 72: 44 Figure 4.3: Profile of borrowing
Page 73 and 74: 46 he/she is fully integrated as a
Page 75 and 76: 48 widows will sometimes marry a ma
Page 77 and 78: 50 Several communities have rules g
Page 79 and 80: 52 Bush and Forest Resources In all
Page 81 and 82: 54 Water and Fishing Access to wate
Page 83 and 84: 56 Other factors cited for contribu
Page 85 and 86: 58 Figure 4.6: Presence of differen
Page 87 and 88: 60 bush resources largely follows c
Page 89 and 90: 62 In Ylan, some land is held under
Page 91 and 92: 64 the majority of studied clans, t
Page 93 and 94: 66 We also found that, in the clans
Page 95 and 96: 68 In some clans such as Upper Work
Page 97 and 98: 70 Town Chiefs Town Chiefs represen
Page 99 and 100: 72 dispute resolution. 55 While in
Page 101 and 102: 74 such as Clan and Paramount Chief
Page 103 and 104:
76 some women who held positions as
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78 could rely. This in turn produce
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80 community sometimes encounter re
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82 rubber on adjacent land, as well
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84 In other clans, including Ding a
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86 Disputes over Mining Mana Clan c
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88 7.0 DISPUTE RESOLUTION Dispute r
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90 7.2.2 Chairladies In Dobli, Gban
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92 7.3.4 Disputes between Clans/Dis
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94 In some clans, the abundance of
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96 8.2.2 Scale of Ownership Claims
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98 If communities anticipate that t
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100 The importance of documenting c
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102 The current land tenure sys
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104 10.0 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS In
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106 communities. Instead, we sugges
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108 apply for fee simple tenure. Th
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110 tenure unit. Instead, this role
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112 Tribal Certificates and Deeds R
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114 REFERENCES SECONDARY SOURCES Ak
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116 Wallace, Carolyn Gamiao and Rol
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118 DATE TIME ACTIVITY March 23, 20
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120 ANNEX 3: NORTHEAST TRANSECT, DO
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122 ANNEX 5: TOWN MAP, SAYKLEKAN CL
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124 ANNEX 7: HISTORICAL MATRIX, YLA
Page 153 and 154:
126 ANNEX 9: DOBLI DISPUTE LETTER C
Page 155 and 156:
128 ANNEX 11: TRIBAL CERTIFICATE FO
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130 ANNEX 13: SEASONAL CALENDARS, M
Page 159 and 160:
132 ANNEX 14: COMMUNITY FOREST BY-L
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134 CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERI
Page 163 and 164:
136 b. A family or individual shall
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138 a. Standing Rules Tree
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140 The amount of rattan collecte
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142 o o o o o o o Antelope Hippo
Page 171 and 172:
144 Any community member or gro
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146 U.S. Agency for International D
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