The government of Côte d’Ivoire and the World Bank have officially launched the Rural Land Tenure Management Strengthening Program (PRESFOR) in Guiglo, located in the Cavally region. PRESFOR, implemented by the Rural Land Agency (AFOR), supports the $200 million National Rural Land Registration Program across 16 of the country’s 31 regions, focusing on efficiency, inclusiveness, and social cohesion.
“President Alassane Ouattara and his government are keeping land tenure security front and center on their agenda, and so I am calling on all Ivorians and all people living in Côte d’Ivoire to make it their priority as well, because if we are to ensure rural land tenure security, then we must build and foster harmony among communities and lay the foundations for lasting peace throughout the country,” said Mr. Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, Minister of State and Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food Production. He chaired the launch ceremony. “Guiglo, which is part of the PRESFOR project area, was chosen because of the frequency and scale of conflicts over land in the Cavally region. This clearly demonstrates the government’s commitment to resolving land conflicts and fostering harmony, peace, and social cohesion in the western region of our country and throughout Côte d’Ivoire,” he added. Minister Adjoumani was accompanied by Ms. Anne Désirée Ouloto, Minister of State and Minister for the Civil Service and Modernization of the Administration, and Mr. Vagondo Diomandé, Minister of the Interior and Security.
PRESFOR is a five-year results-based program covering 2024–2029 that will benefit four million people. Over this period, 500,000 land certificates and 250,000 land contracts will be issued. The program builds on achievements from PAMOFOR (Rural Land Policy Improvement and Implementation Project), a $50 million World Bank-financed initiative that helped 48,000 landowners obtain their land certificates between 2018 and 2024.
“Thanks to PAMOFOR’s encouraging results, we were able to scale up our engagement with this new program, increasing financing fourfold to help the government make transformational and lasting progress in resolving land disputes and guarantee the rights of farmers and women,” noted Ms. Marie-Chantal Uwanyiligira, World Bank Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Guinea, and Togo. “In a country where most women depend on their father or husband to access land, having formal land documents will help protect their rights and those of their children in the event of divorce or widowhood. Access to land is a matter of human dignity and economic security.”
Formal registration of customary land use rights helps resolve conflicts over land ownership while increasing farmers’ tenure security. This allows them to invest more confidently in sustainable land management practices which ultimately strengthens social cohesion.