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

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43 Borrowing Borrowing land for seasonal crop farming outside of one‟s core tenure unit is common in some clans, while in others it is not (see Figure 4.3). Where land is plentiful, there tends to be less borrowing because people have sufficient fertile land to farm within their core tenure unit. Borrowing terms for land for seasonal crop farming are typically one season, with some clans allowing borrowers to renegotiate for a second season if they choose. The short term length is due to the fact that fragile tropical soils are not able to support rice and cassava crops for longer than a single cropping season before the land needs to be put to fallow. In Mana Clan, however, borrowing terms are typically four years. Basically, this is a window during which the borrower has the option to plant his/her seasonal crops, frequently vegetables. If the borrower does not exploit the option, the land returns to the primary holder after the four years have expired. Most communities expect borrowers to pay a small portion of harvested crop, such as one to two bags of seed rice. Sometimes, this represents a requirement, while other times, borrowers tend to provide this in order to maintain good relations with the lender. In some areas with more plentiful land, such as Nitrian, Motor Road, and Saykleken, no payment is required and there are few borrowers due to the widespread availability of land. In Nitrian and Motor Road, the paucity of borrowing arrangements also owes to the largeness of the core tenure unit. Although on the surface it would appear that borrowers have weak tenure security, intra-group social cohesion can provide borrowers with some assurance, especially if both the borrower and lender are from the same kinship group. For example, in Nitrian Community, we were told that no borrower has ever been refused land. Likewise, in Tengia, landholders cannot refuse to lend land they are not farming to other town citizens. Otherwise, the intended borrower can go to the Town Chief, who will assure that the borrower‟s request is granted. On land that is borrowed, it is a nearly universal rule that borrowers may not plant life trees. The reason for the prohibition is that life trees impose a permanent claim to land, such that the landholder or landholding family would be unable to reclaim the land they had lent. The only clan where borrowers were reported to be able to plant life trees – namely cocoa and coffee – was Tengia. Here, one group of elders reported that this allowance is restricted to fellow town citizens and is only sanctioned with the explicit permission of the landholder and payment of a portion of the harvested tree crop. Tengia Clan also had unique rules for borrowing land for banana crops. Reportedly, the average life of banana crops is 10 years, but borrowing terms for cultivation of these crops is five to six years. The lender does not charge the borrower a “tax” (i.e., an in-kind payment for using the land) because she/he has invested in developing the land and the landholder will benefit from harvesting the banana crops for a few years after the borrower‟s term has expired. Borrower access to land has become a contentious issue in Gbanshay and Dobli Clans due to the propensity of borrowers to plant life trees on land that they agreed to use for seasonal cropping, thereby asserting an individual claim to the land. The problem has led to landowners becoming more leery of lending land to borrowers for fear that borrowers will assert permanent claims. The issue is discussed further in Chapter 6. CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
44 Figure 4.3: Profile of borrowing of land in select clans Mana Ding Dobli Gbanshay Little Kola Nitrian Ylan Saykleken Tengia Upper Workor Borrowing Common Common Uncommon Common Very common Uncommon Uncommon Common for strangers/ refugees Uncommon Common Uncommon Types of borrowers Within families, between families, and between towns in the clan; occasionally strangers Only citizens of towns in the clan Citizens of other towns in the clan and strangers from outside the clan Mostly clan members Mostly clan members Others from Nitrian Community Strangers, including refugees from the Cote d’Ivoire; uncommonly by others in Ylan Mostly clan members Others from Tengia Clan and strangers from outside the clan Mostly strangers and only on the limited deeded land in the clan Process for acquisition Request permission from Family Head or Town Chief Request permission from Town Chief Request permission from Family Head Request permission from “landowner,” sometimes involving the Town Chief Request permission from Town Chief Request permission from Quarter Head Request permission from land owner/Family Head Request permission from Family Head For upland fields, request permission from family landholder; for lowland fields, request permission from individual land holder Permission of the deedholder Terms 4 years 1-2 seasons 1 season 1 season 1-2 seasons 1-2 seasons 1-2 seasons 1-2 seasons 1-2 seasons 1-2 seasons Payment None, except for crops used for sale (e.g., vegetable gardens) None One bag of harvested produce 1-2 bags or buckets of seed rice Either up-front payment of gin or cash or token portion of the crop once harvested None 1-2 bags of the harvested produce None For borrowers from outside the town, 1-2 bags of seed rice for upland and lowland cropping. For town citizens, none for upland fields; 1 bag of seed rice for lowland cropping One bag of rice Restrictions Seasonal crops only Seasonal crops only Seasonal crops only Seasonal crops only Seasonal crops unless obtain explicit permission to plant life trees Seasonal crops (upland and lowland) only Seasonal crops only Seasonal crops only Seasonal crops (upland and lowland) only, unless one is a fellow town citizen, then may be allowed to borrow land for tree cropping on another town citizen’s family land Seasonal crops only CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA
Page 1 and 2:
LAND POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPO
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LIBERIA LAND POLICY & INSTITUTIONAL
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ii 1.0 Introduction ...............
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iv 4.2.1 Statutory Tenure Claims by
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vi 7.3.2 Courts ...................
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viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Ma
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x ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CDC CF
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xii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report s
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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 and 52: 24 money quickly. However, they als
Page 53 and 54: 26 3.2.2 Trees In addition to food
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: 42 Figure 4.2: Children’s acquisi
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
Page 105 and 106: 78 could rely. This in turn produce
Page 107 and 108: 80 community sometimes encounter re
Page 109 and 110: 82 rubber on adjacent land, as well
Page 111 and 112: 84 In other clans, including Ding a
Page 113 and 114: 86 Disputes over Mining Mana Clan c
Page 115 and 116: 88 7.0 DISPUTE RESOLUTION Dispute r
Page 117 and 118: 90 7.2.2 Chairladies In Dobli, Gban
Page 119 and 120: 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
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126 ANNEX 9: DOBLI DISPUTE LETTER C
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128 ANNEX 11: TRIBAL CERTIFICATE FO
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130 ANNEX 13: SEASONAL CALENDARS, M
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132 ANNEX 14: COMMUNITY FOREST BY-L
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134 CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERI
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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
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144 Any community member or gro
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146 U.S. Agency for International D
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