As part of the implementation of the “Appui à la gouvernance foncière inclusive rurale dans les zones du PAMOFOR” project, INADES-Formation, in collaboration with ALERTE -Foncier, the civil society platform dedicated to land tenure in Côte d’Ivoire, organized a conference-debate on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, on the theme of Inclusive Rural Land Governance. The event was held in the marriage hall of the Sassandra town hall.
With agricultural development at the heart of Côte d’Ivoire’s economic priorities, it is essential to guarantee a stable and secure land tenure environment for agricultural producers, both men and women, in order to make this sector competitive and sustainable. With this in mind, the Ivorian government enacted Law n°98-750 of December 23, 1998, on rural land tenure. The aim of this law was to transform customary land rights into private property rights. However, its application has faced numerous challenges, notably due to socio-political crises and the cultural specificities of rural areas.
To overcome these obstacles, Inades-Formation Secrétariat Général, in collaboration with civil society organizations (CSOs), launched a rural land governance project in several regions, including Boundiali, Korhogo and Soubré. This project has enabled the development of land tenure security solutions adapted to local realities. Financially supported by CCFD-Terre Solidaire, it has been extended, since July 2023, to the villages of Daouakro, N’Gom and Ouaouakro, under the name “Appui à la gouvernance foncière inclusive rurale dans les zones du PAMOFOR”. The main objective of this project is to strengthen land tenure security for rural communities, by developing inclusive land governance aimed at guaranteeing social cohesion through the co-construction of rules for the management of land and natural resources.
The highly satisfactory results were presented at a regional workshop in Toumodi on November 26, 2024. These results were shared and discussed at a conference-debate in Sassandra on December 10, with a view to encouraging reforms and broadening exchanges on these results in other regions of Côte d’Ivoire.
The conference-debate was attended by some sixty people, including members of the prefectoral body, representatives of ministries such as MEMINADER-PV, MIRAH and MINEDDTE, as well as community leaders, young people, women and civil society organizations working in the land sector. Non-indigenous communities, notably from Burkina Faso, Mali and the Baoulé regions, were also represented. Participants received information and training on the process of securing land tenure in the Gbôklê region, as well as on the results of the “Support for inclusive rural land governance in PAMOFOR areas” project.
This activity has led to appearances on local radio stations in the town of Sassandra.
For INADES-Formation and the Plateforme ALERTE -Foncier, this conference is an important step in the implementation of more inclusive and sustainable rural land governance, essential to guarantee peace and prosperity in rural areas of Côte d’Ivoire.
