IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/rwirep/284401.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The role of tenure security in farmers' decision-making on investment in improved seeds: Insights from mental models

Author

Listed:
  • Murken, Lisa
  • Krähnert, Kati
  • Van den Broek, Karlijn
  • Adriko, John
  • Gornott, Christoph

Abstract

This paper applies a mental model approach to study the role of tenure security in farmers' decisionmaking on agricultural investment in Uganda. We investigate the role that both perceived tenure security and formal land rights, measured by the possession of land certificates, play. Our focus is on investment in improved seeds, a widely applied strategy in agricultural development and climate change adaptation. The study design leverages the roll-out of a large land demarcation and registration project, which creates exogenous variation in farmers' tenure security. Results show that, in contrast to expectations derived from economic theory, tenure security plays only a minor role in farmers' decision-making process to invest in improved seeds. Out of 15 potential factors determining a farmer's investment decision, both perceived tenure security and possession of a land certificate are among the least chosen factors, regardless of whether or not households participated in the land registration project. A heterogeneity analysis reveals that female-headed households value formalized land rights more than male-headed households.

Suggested Citation

  • Murken, Lisa & Krähnert, Kati & Van den Broek, Karlijn & Adriko, John & Gornott, Christoph, 2024. "The role of tenure security in farmers' decision-making on investment in improved seeds: Insights from mental models," Ruhr Economic Papers 1066, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:284401
    DOI: 10.4419/96973237
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/284401/1/1882382420.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4419/96973237?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomson, Frances & Parada-Hernández, Monica & Acero, Camilo, 2022. "Land formalization – The new magic bullet in counternarcotics? A case study of coca cultivation and tenure (in)formality from Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    2. Kemper, Niels & Ha, Luu Viet & Klump, Rainer, 2015. "Property Rights and Consumption Volatility: Evidence from a Land Reform in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 107-130.
    3. Abdulai, Awudu & Owusu, Victor & Goetz, Renan, 2011. "Land tenure differences and investment in land improvement measures: Theoretical and empirical analyses," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 66-78, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lei Xu & Shixiang Chen & Shuliu Tian, 2022. "The Mechanism of Land Registration Program on Land Transfer in Rural China: Considering the Effects of Livelihood Security and Agricultural Management Incentives," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-25, August.
    2. Bienvenu Dagoudo Akowedaho & Inoussa Guinin Asso & Bruno Charles Pierre O’heix & Soulé Akinhola Adéchian & Mohamed Nasser Baco, 2022. "Access to Land for Agricultural Entrepreneurial Activities in the Context of Sustainable Food Production in Borgou, according to Land Law in Benin," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Lin, J. & Z. & Zhang, Z., 2018. "Does transportation matter to tobacco leaf producers? Evidence from Guizhou, China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276998, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Bambio, Yiriyibin & Bouayad Agha, Salima, 2018. "Land tenure security and investment: Does strength of land right really matter in rural Burkina Faso?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 130-147.
    5. Cao, Yueming & Bai, Yunli & Zhang, Linxiu, 2021. "Plot Size, Adjacency, and Farmland Rental Contract Choice," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315378, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Shang, Linmei & Heckelei, Thomas & Gerullis, Maria K. & Börner, Jan & Rasch, Sebastian, 2021. "Adoption and diffusion of digital farming technologies - integrating farm-level evidence and system interaction," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    7. Li, Bowei & Shen, Yueqin, 2021. "Effects of land transfer quality on the application of organic fertilizer by large-scale farmers in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    8. Tawanda Chingozha & Dieter von Fintel, 2019. "Property rights, market access and crop cultivation in Southern Rhodesia: evidence from historical satellite data," Working Papers 03/2019, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    9. Mohamed Ghali & Maha Ben Jaballah & Nejla Ben Arfa & Annie Sigwalt, 2022. "Analysis of factors that influence adoption of agroecological practices in viticulture," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 179-209, September.
    10. Ayalew, Hailemariam & Admasu, Yeshwas & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2021. "Is land certification pro-poor? Evidence from Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    11. Choumert, Johanna & Phélinas, Pascale, 2014. "A Hedonic Analysis Of Agricultural Land Values In A Gm Soybean Area Of Argentina," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182750, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Abman, Ryan & Carney, Conor, 2020. "Land rights, agricultural productivity, and deforestation," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    13. Johanna CHOUMERT & Pascale PHELINAS, 2015. "Farmland Rental Values in GM Soybean Areas of Argentina: Do Contractual Arrangements Matter?," Working Papers 201532, CERDI.
    14. Pascale Phelinas & Sonia Schwartz, 2017. "Regulating transgenic soybean production in Argentina," CERDI Working papers halshs-01656924, HAL.
    15. Wondimagegn Tesfaye & Garrick Blalock & Nyasha Tirivayi, 2021. "Climate‐Smart Innovations and Rural Poverty in Ethiopia: Exploring Impacts and Pathways," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 878-899, May.
    16. Dong, Jiayun & Liang, Wenyuan & Fu, Yimin & Liu, Weiping & Managi, Shunsuke, 2021. "Impact of devolved forest tenure reform on formal credit access for households: Evidence from Fujian, China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 486-498.
    17. Kimlong Chheng & Budy P. Resosudarmo, 2021. "Land property rights and food insecurity in rural Cambodia," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(6), pages 1911-1929, December.
    18. Cao, Yueming & Bai, Yunli & Zhang, Linxiu, 2020. "The impact of farmland property rights security on the farmland investment in rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    19. Kousar, Rakhshanda & Abdulai, Awudu, 2014. "Impact of non-farm work and land tenancy contracts on soil conservation measures," 88th Annual Conference, April 9-11, 2014, AgroParisTech, Paris, France 170522, Agricultural Economics Society.
    20. Kafando, Wendata A., 2023. "Impacts of Education and the Adoption of Improved Sesame Seeds on Productivity of Sesame Farms in Burkina Faso," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 11(2), March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural investment; decision-making; land titles; mental models; tenure security;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:284401. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rwiesde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.