Land tenure systems and their impacts on agricultural investments and productivity in Uganda

This article provides an empirical analysis of the impact of different tenure systems (mailo, customary, and public land) on agricultural investment and productivity in central Uganda. A major hypothesis tested is that land investments and practices may have both economic and tenure security implications. The results indicate that coffee planting is used by farmers to enhance tenure security, while fallowing is practised to a greater extent by farmers on more secure holdings. This supports the notion that farmers consider tenure implications when making investments and that different tenure systems do not inhibit the promotion of tree-planting investment. Tenure had no impact on the productivity of crop farming.