UN NOUVEAU PARADIGME DE GESTION DU PATRIMOINE FONCIER NATIONAL EN MAURITANIE POUR UNE MEILLEURE INTRODUCTION DE L’AGROBUSINESS

Abstract

Context and plan

Mauritania has immense land reserves. Its national land bank is estimated at 502,000 ha, more than enough to promote agribusiness and achieve food self-sufficiency. However, the rural sector only contributes 17% of GDP and employs 21% of the working population.  

Since the 1970s, agriculture has been unable to take off and make up the shortfall in food products (wheat, cereals, pulses, fruit, etc.) on the national market. The main causes of this delay can be summed up as the under-mechanisation of agriculture, the lack of investment and, above all, the difficult access to land and land titles for traditional owners and investors to make better use of the country's immense land heritage. Another constraint that remains a thorn in the side is the 1983 Land Code, which for more than four decades has been a source of conflict because it violates traditional customary rights.

Goal and Objectives:

The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the new land policy and, above all, to provide a scientific description of the Mauritanian government's new approach. The Mauritanian government seems to want to change its approach by committing itself to developing the country's land potential and, in order to contribute more to the fight against poverty through agricultural development and support for local producers, it has introduced a new paradigm. The National Agricultural Development Plan (PNDA) was launched to promote the intensification and diversification of agricultural production by 2025.  In preparing this study, we have focused in this summary on a methodology and a presentation of the key results.

Methodology

To collect the data and materials for this study, we combined three surveys. In addition to the document review, we conducted focus groups based on interview guides, and a quantitative survey based on a questionnaire administered to traditional owners and/or right holders. On the basis of the data collected, a cartographer collected the data and GPS coordinates to produce field maps for all the fields in the study area.

Results

The results of the mapping survey enabled the construction of a cartographic database of all the fields in the Bababé and Thienel basins, the two study sites.  The qualitative and quantitative surveys revealed that all the landowners support the Mauritanian government's new approach. However, more than 95% of those questioned cited as their main priority the urgent need to obtain "land certificates", which would enable them to officially secure their plots of land.   As a result, the absence of individual or collective property deeds is becoming a confirmed reality. All the people interviewed stressed the need for an inclusive, participatory and peaceful land agreement between the state, farming communities and potential investors.