Tenure security for whom? : differential impacts of land policy in Kenya

Using farm-level data from Kenya"s highly commercialized Njoro area, this paper analyzes the impact of tenure status on agricultural productivity. In Njoro, population density has climbed to 193 persons per square km, while average landholdings have decreased to about 5 acres per household. Nonetheless, land ownership in Njoro remains markedly concentrated. Large farms (greater than 50 acres) comprise less than 1% of ownership but control about 40% of agricultural areas. The sample of farms analyzed in this study was drawn exclusively from the Njoro small farm sector created through postindependence settlement and subdivision processes. A comparison of these smallholders suggests that titled farms are more productive than farms without title. However, title status appears less important in the determination of farm productivity than other factors, such as farm size and mode of access to land, together with differential access to markets, nonfarm income, and wealth. Thus, efforts to enhance smallholder productivity via land tenure reform alone are likely to meet with limited success.