This chapter traces the complex trajectory of land tenure reforms in Benin since the democratic transition and liberalisation of the economy in the early 1990s. It shows that conceptions of the problem of land tenure insecurity and the responses to it have often clashed. Attention paid to sectors (rural vs urban) has varied as well as the timing and the nature of land tenure reforms.

This book examines the impacts of land tenure reform interventions imple-mented in Benin, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe.Since 2000, many African countries have introduced programs aimed at providing smallholder farmers with low-cost certificates for land held un-der customary tenure. Yet there are many contending views and debates on the impact of these land policies and this book reveals how tenure security, agricultural productivity, and social inclusion were affected by the interven-tions.

En Afrique de l’Ouest, les débats politiques autour du foncier mettent souvent en opposition deux modes d’accès à la terre et de rapports à la possession du sol : la coutume d’une part, organisant l’usage de la terre par une communauté en vertu de références sacrées, et la loi d’origine coloniale d’autre part, définissant l’attribution aux individus de la pleine propriété privée (Lavigne-Delville 2010). Nous entendons démontrer, à l’aide d’une étude empirique des stratégies citadines d’accès à la terre au Sud-Bénin1, que la situation est plus complexe dans les zones à urbanisation rapide.

In August 2020, the UN-Habitat Sudan Country Programme and the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) published the “Darfur Land Administration Assessment: Analysis and Recommendations” report, developed in close cooperation with the United Nations Country Team of Sudan, the United Nations - African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and the Darfur Land Commission.