Securing livelihoods, land and natural resource rights through inclusive business models : lessons from Uganda and Mali
Masaba, Connie et al.
The paper presents the lessons learnt from the Vegetable Oil Development Project in Uganda and Mail Biocarburant S.A. in Mali in establishing mutually beneficial inclusive business models between smallholder farmers and outside investors that improve the livelihoods and tenure security of smallholder farmers and rural communities more generally. The establishment of these models has not been without challenges and sometimes the business arrangements require some form of trade-off. The success of such partnerships depends on the level of ownership, voice (governance), risk-sharing and benefit-sharing between partners. Partnerships that do not require a major transfer of land rights to investors are more desirable and socially sustainable. Any land relinquished in such deals should be done preferably on a temporary basis (e.g. through a lease agreement). Rights to land need to be recognised, taking into account legitimate occupation versus legal rights. The two cases show that establishing mutually beneficial partnerships is possible, but requires sustained support by a range of service providers (government, civil society, private sector) to secure rights, support land use and investment planning and to negotiate with outsiders, and effort and time.
Event: Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2013
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