Dynamics of land tenure on the Bakel small irrigated perimeters : final report on the Land Tenure Center research program

Against a background description of the relevant legal, policy, and social factors, this report summarizes the results of this research and discusses its policy implications. Results generally confirmed the four hypotheses which guided the research. (1) Access to irrigated land in Bakel is not static, but has changed over time, though generally to the benefit to those who belonged to the original perimeters. (2) Traditional influence over control and allocation of land by elites, while still strong, has been weakened by the application of the national land law and the concomitant creation of the system of rural communities. (3) Women have been included in producer groups in some areas -- though such membership does not automatically give women control of their land -- while in others they have lost access to land which they farmed traditionally. (4) Constraints on access have limited irrigation performance. These constraints have been various, ranging from inconsistent management by SAED (the parastatal in charge of river basin development in Senegal), to the debt burden incurred by producer groups, to social conflict among competing groups. Policy implications and specific recommendations on integrating land tenure issues in perimeter design are detailed in conclusion.