Enhancing food production to prevent households from food insecurity in rural Burkina Faso: does land ownership matter?

Abstract

Purpose This paper assesses the effect of land ownership on household food security through its productivity enhancement effect in rural Burkina Faso.Design/methodology/approach As the link between land tenure security and productivity is indirect, the study relies on a complex mixed process regression model with robustness to assess the effect of land ownership on household productivity. Then, an instrumental variable (IV) approach is followed to investigate the association between household productivity and food security. The rural development program survey data collected from 1,892 households in 2017 are used.Findings The complex mixed process estimation results are robust and show that land ownership has a positive effect on household productivity. From the IV results, it is found that productive households spend more on food, have a low share of expenditures on food and are less likely to experience severe food shortages, implying an improvement in their food security status. This highlights a positive association between land ownership and food security.Originality/value Unlike previous studies that only focused on the effect of land ownership on land-related investments and agricultural productivity, this study deepens the analysis and sheds light on how land ownership, agricultural production and food security are related. It gives empirical evidence on the importance of land policies in the struggle against food insecurity in agrarian economies.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2021-0658.

Non-farm income and household welfare in rural Burkina Faso: a focus on the household land tenure situation

“…It is thus perceptible that considering formal titles as tenure security measure is more likely to be inappropriate. Following Séogo (2022b), we thus rely on household perception on their tenure security status. To have a better evaluation of household tenure security, the perception is captured at plot level.…”

“…Cotton is only grown for commercial purposes. Thus, cotton growers are more likely to not rely on nonfarm activities, since growing cotton requires time and financial resources (see Séogo, 2022b).…”

“…The context of Burkina Faso land tenure system may be a suitable evidence regarding Broomley's view of land titling. Although the new law voted in 2009 aimed at formalizing both customary and private land IJSE 51,7 rights, it has been observed that the country land tenure system in rural area remains informal (see Linkow, 2016;Bambio and Agha, 2018;S eogo and Zahonogo, 2019;S eogo, 2022b). The legal regime is quasi non-functional and fails to realize the provisions of land legislation and the majority of rural people still believe that land is inalienable.…”