Land Management and Utilization

Will Formalisation of Customary Land into Customary Estates Foster Agricultural Commercialisation in Rural Areas of Malawi? A qualitative Analysis Approach

Moffat Kakoko Harawa

Ministry of Lands, Private Bag 311, Lilongwe 207240, Malawi

Devie Chilonga

Ministry of Lands, Private Bag 311, Lilongwe 207240, Malawi

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36956/lmu.v1i2.1745

Received: 19 February 2025 | Revised: 22 May 2025 | Accepted: 1 June 2025 | Published Online: 8 June 2025

---

Abstract

Following colonialism, the majority of African nations launched land reform programmes that principally focused on the redistribution, titling, and registration of rural land to address residual effects of colonial land policy. The current land reform programme in Malawi has mainly targeted formalising customary land into customary estates in order to guarantee tenure security, boost credit availability and hence facilitate investments. While there are numerous advantages to formalising customary land, little is known regarding the impacts of formalising customary land into customary estates on agricultural commercialisation in rural areas of Malawi. This paper examines the effects of formalising customary land into customary estates to promote agricultural commercialisation in rural areas of Malawi. Semi-structured in-depth key informants’ interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to collect data from Rumphi, Kasungu and Phalombe districts. Document analysis was used for triangulation. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results show that formalising customary land into customary estates involves various steps, such as adjudication and demarcation of land parcels. Results also indicate that Customary Land Committees (CLCs) assist in affirming ownership, explain and confirm boundaries. Finally, formalisation leads to issuance of title that is used as collateral to access credit, which is important for the establishment and growth of agro-based industries. This, in turn, enhances investment opportunities and promotes agricultural commercialisation in the rural areas. Therefore, it is recommended that formalisation of customary land should feature highly on government land reform agenda and be part of land policy in order to foster agricultural commercialisation.

Keywords: Formalisation; Customary Estate; Agricultural Commercialisation; Land Reform; Agro-based Industries; Producer Organisation

---

References

[1] Comaroff, J., Comaroff, J., 2018. The Politics of Custom: Chiefship, Capital, and the State in Contemporary Africa. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, USA. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226511092.001.0001

[2] Harris, D., Chilonga, D., 2020. Opportunities and Challenges of Land Reform Implementation in Malawi. Paper prepared for presentation at the “2020 World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty”. The World Bank: Washington, DC, USA.

[3] Sikor, T., Müller, D., Stahl, J., 2009. Land fragmentation and cropland abandonment in Albania: implications for the roles of state and community in post-socialist land consolidation. World Development. 37, 1411–1423. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2008.08.013

[4] Kasimbazi, E., 2017. Land Tenure and Rights for Improved Land Management and Sustainable Development. Global Land Outlook Working Paper. 1–27.

[5] Marchang, R., 2017. Land, Agriculture and Livelihoods of Scheduled Tribes in North-east India. Journal of Land and Rural Studies. 6(1), 67–84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2321024917732905

[6] Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy, 2007. Land and Agrarian Reform in Malawi: Challenges and Possible Responses. CEPA: Blantyre, Malawi.

[7] Amanor, K.S., 2010. Family values, land sales and agricultural commodification in South-Eastern Ghana. Africa. 80, 104–125. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/E0001972009001284

[8] Chauveau J-P., Colin J-P., 2010. Customary Transfers and Land Sales in Côte d’Ivoire: Revisiting the Embeddedness Issue. Africa. 80(1), 81103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/E0001972009001272

[9] Takane, T., 2008. Customary Land Tenure, Inheritance Rules, and Smallholder Farmers in Malawi. Journal of Southern African Studies. 34(2), 269–291. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070802037969

[10] Government of Malawi, 2002. National Land Policy. Government Print: Lilongwe, Malawi.

[11] Chimhowu, A., 2019. The ‘new’ african customary land tenure. Characteristic, features and policy implications of a new paradigm. Land Use Policy. 81, 897–903. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.04.014

[12] Goldstein, M., et al., 2018. Formalization without certification? Experimental evidence on property rights and investment. Journal of Development Economics. 132, 57–74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2017.12.008

[13] Tarisayi, K.S., 2013. Land reform: An analysis of definitions, types and approaches. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development. 4(3), 195–199. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2253199

[14] De Villiers, B., 2003. Land reform: Issues and challenges A comparative overview of experiences in Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa and Australia. Konrad Adenauer Foundation Occasional Papers: Johannesburg, South Africa.

[15] Cousins, B., 2007. More than socially embedded: the distinctive character of ‘communal tenure’ regimes in South Africa and its implications for land policy. Journal of Agrarian Change. 7(3), 281–315. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0366.2007.00147.x

[16] Sharma, R., Jha, P.K., 2018. Land Reform Experiences: Some Lessons from Across South Asia. A Research Document Prepared for the World Forum for Access to Land 2016. Food and Agriculture Organisation: Rome, Italy.

[17] Chikaya-Banda, J., Chilonga, D., 2020. Key challenges to advancing land tenure security through land governance in Malawi: Impact of land reform processes on implementation efforts. Land Use Policy. 110, 104994. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104994

[18] Bruce, J., 2014. Decentralization of Land Administration in Sub-Saharan Africa: Recent Experiences and Lessons Learned. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank: Washington, D.C., USA.

[19] Byamugisha, F.F.K., 2014. Introduction and Overview of Agricultural Land Redistribution and Land Administration Case Studies, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank: Washington, D.C., USA.

[20] Silungwe, C.M., 2015. Law, land reform and responsibilisation: A perspective from Malawi’s land question, Pretoria. Pretoria University Law Press (PULP): Pretoria, South Africa.

[21] Lubanski, J., Mai, C., 2014. Customary Land Management and Legal Frameworks: Experiences from Around the World A Report to Enhance Discussions about Customary Land Rights in Burma. Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF): Chiang Mai, Thailand.

[22] Government of Malawi, 2016.Customary Land Act. Government Print: Lilongwe, Malawi.

[23] Deininger, K., Xia, F., Kilic, T., et al., 2021. Investment impacts of gendered land rights in customary tenure systems: Substantive and methodological insights from Malawi. World Development. 147, 105654. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105654

[24] Arko-Adjei, A., 2011. Adapting land administration to the institutional framework of customary tenure: The case of peri-urban Ghana [Ph.D. Thesis]. Delft, The Netherlands: Delft University of Technology.

[25] De Soto, H., 2000. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. Basic Books: New York, NY, USA.

[26] Lokhandwala, Z., 2022. Formalisation of Land Rights in Africa: Impact on Security of Land Tenure. In: Tshabangu, I., (ed.). Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Future of Africa and Policy Development. IGI Global Scientific Publishing: Hershey, PA, USA. pp. 186–210.

[27] De Soto, H. 2003. Listening to the barking dogs: property law against poverty in the non-west focal. European Journal of Anthropology. 41, 179–186.

[28] Besley, T., Ghatak, M., 2010. Property rights and economic development. In: M. R. Rosenzweig & D. Rodrik (Eds.). Handbook of economic development (Vol. 5). Elsevier: Oxford and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

[29] De Janvry, A., Emerick, K., Gonzalez-Navarro, M., et al., 2015. Delinking land rights from land use: Certification and migration in Mexico. American Economic Review. 105(10), 3125–3149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20130853

[30] Notess, L., Veit, P., Monterroso, I., et al., 2021. Community land formalization and company land acquisition procedures: A review of 33 procedures in 15 countries. Land Use Policy. 110, 104461. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104461

[31] Silungwe, C.M., 2005. Customary Land Tenure Reform and Development: A Critique of Customary Land Tenure Reform under Malawi’s National Land Policy. [Master Thesis]. UK: University of Warwick.

[32] Deininger, K., 2003. Land Policies for Growth and Poverty Reduction. World Bank: Washington, DC, USA.

[33] Sjaastada, E., Cousins, B., 2008. Formalisation of land rights in the South: An overview. Land Use Policy. 26(1), 1–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2008.05.004

[34] Belotto, M.J., 2018. Data Analysis Methods for Qualitative Research: Managing the Challenges of Coding, Interrater Reliability, and Thematic Analysis. The Qualitative Report, 23(11), 2622–2633. Available from: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol23/iss11/2 (cited 1 May 2025).

[35] Bowen, G.A., 2009. Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method. Qualitative Research Journal. 9(2), 27–40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027

[36] Nowell, L.S., Norris, J.M., White, D.E., et al., 2017. Thematic Analysis: Striving to Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 16, 1–13. DOI: https://doi.org/ 10.1177/1609406917733847

[37] Santos, F., Fleschner, D., Daconto, G., 2014. Enhancing inclusiveness of Rwanda’s land tenure regularization program: Insights from early stages of its implementation. World Development. 62, 30–41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.04.011

[38] Khama, S., Kayitesi, E., 2017. Land Tenure Regularization in Rwanda: Good Practices in Land Reform. Available from: https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/document/land-tenure-regularization-in-rwanda-good-practices-in-land-reform-93890 (cited 1 May 2025).

[39] Munshifwa, E.K., Chileshe, R.A., Jain, N., 2020. Evolution of Customary Land Tenure Institutions in Zambia: The Case of Lufwanyama District in the Copperbelt Province. Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy. 9(2), 117–143. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2277976020929482

[40] Msangi, H., Waized, B., Lohr, K., et al., 2022. Development out-comes of land tenure formalization under customary and statutory land tenure systems in Tanzania: a multinomial endogenous switching regression approach. Agriculture & Food Security. 11, 66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-022-00403-3

[41] Land Tenure and Development’ Technical Committee, 2015. Formalising Land rights in developing countries: moving from past controversies to future strategies. Ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Dévelopment international (Maedi), Agence française de dé-velopment (AFD): Paris, France.

[42] Mbudzya, J.J., Gido, E.O., Owuor, G., 2022. Effect of land tenure security on agricultural productivity among small scale farmers in Kenya: A conditional mixed processes analysis. Cogent Food & Agriculture. 8(1), 2139805. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2022.2139805

[43] Umar, B.B., 2022. Harmonising land privatisation with customary rights: A middle way for land rights formalisation in Zambia. NAI Policy Notes. Nordic Africa institute: Uppsala, Sweden.

[44] Ali, D.A., Deininger, K., Goldstein, M., 2014. Environmental and gender impacts of land tenure regularization in Africa: Pilot evidence from Rwanda. Journal of Development Eco-nomics. 110, 262–275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2013.12.009

[45] Melesse, B.M., Bulte E., 2015. Does land registration and certification boost farm productivity? Evidence from Ethiopia. Agricultural Economics. 46, 757–768. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12191

[46] Abbot, P., Mugisha R., 2015. Land Tenure Regularization Programme: Progress Report for Selected Indicators. DfID: Kigali, Rwanda.