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The aim of this study is to analyse modes of access to land and agreements regulating the exchange of plots between families and between villages. It is based on a quantitative survey of 95 smallholders and over 300 plots (49 of which are cultivated by women), as well as qualitative analysis using transcriptions of interviews with groups of dignitaries, men and women. The main means of access to land identified are via inheritance and gifts, which together accounted for access to 80% to 90% of the plots surveyed. The remaining 10% to 20% of cultivated plots were obtained through family ties/social relations or loans, which are becoming subject to more rigid conditions. Men generally inherit or are given their land, while women do not have the right to inherit land and mainly gain access through gifts or social relationships. Through these relationships women are sometimes able to farm relatively large areas. Our sources reported that lenders do not set strict limits regarding access to, management, use of, or investment in the land borrowed. This is partly confirmed by levels of investment: in two of the three villages studied, no significant difference was observed in the level of improvements made to land obtained via inheritance, gifts, social relationships or loans.
