This introductory paper raises general issues and poses questions that are pursued in the other papers. The initial premise of this paper is that impact cannot be discussed in isolation from the broader context of research and development and the overall priorities guiding the centres research, training, and networking activities.

The study is reported in two Working Papers. Working Paper 17 reports the findings of the HIM exercise. This paper contains the policies, legislation and organizations relevant for understanding of the HIM for the Olifants river basin. It also includes the historical development of the institutional framework in the basin, as this history has left a profound imprint on the South African society at large and is still dictating, in many cases, the interactions between the different organizations.

This is document in form of presentation provides participants with a common vocabulary of land tenure and property rights (LTPR) terms and concepts • Explain how property rights are components of land t t th diff t i hi h th tenure systems, the different ways in which they relate to each other, and the scope for innovation • Identify some common inconsistencies in the use of key terms, which can lead to confusion in discussion of land tenure policy issues

Summarises the literature on the alleged defects of traditional systems of land tenure in Nigeria. Reviews the provisions of the land use decree and their implications for rural land tenure.

The demand for rice (Oryza sativa) in Ghana is increasing at a rate of 11.8% from 939, 920 t in 2010. Though there has been some increase in production it does not match the increase in consumption. This study seeks to determine the most suitable areas for inland valley rice cultivation using computer based models for selected sites (15km by 15km) in the Brong Ahafo Region (BAR) and Western Region (WR) of Ghana. A sensitivity analysis was carried out by excluding the least contributing parameters and varying their weights to determine highly suitable areas.

A major argument put forward in favour of individualised land rights in sub-Saharan Africa is that farmlands held under exclusive and secure rights are more productive than farmlands held under other public or customary forms of tenure. If true, this argument implies that reforms to individualise land improve production efficiency and relegate efforts to develop technologies to a secondary position.

Although the question of relative production efficiency of indigenous land rights is central to a discussion of land reform in sub-Saharan Africa, there is relatively little rigorous empirical research because of a lack of adequate disaggregated data with the exception of few studies, the subject has not benefited from rigorous empirical analysis. Further, most studies have covered only areas of rainfed agriculture.