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Erik Green . Photo

Erik Green

Professor

Erik Green . Photo

Traditional Landholding Certificates in Zambia : Preventing or Reinforcing Commodification and Inequality?

Author

  • Erik Green
  • Milja Norberg

Summary, in English

The formalisation of customary land rights in Africa, as an alternative to their privatisation, is gaining increasing attention from scholars and policy makers. In this article, we use findings from Petauke district in eastern Zambia to discuss the impact of such reforms, where so-called traditional landholding certificates were implemented by the Petauke District Land Alliance in 2010. Based on interviews with farmers, chiefs and the Alliance, we argue that the certificates have reinforced, rather than reversed, both commodification of land and increased inequality of access to land. The main reason is that the certificates provide chiefs and lineage seniors with an efficient tool to further impose institutionally induced scarcity, thereby failing to provide already vulnerable groups with more secure rights to land.

Department/s

  • Department of Economic History

Publishing year

2018-07-04

Language

English

Pages

613-628

Publication/Series

Journal of Southern African Studies

Volume

44

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Economic History

Keywords

  • customary land
  • inequality
  • land reform
  • land certificates
  • Zambia

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0305-7070