CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The issue of land rights and land ownership by individuals can be traced far back to the historical evolution of Cameroon.

During pre-colonial times, individual land rights rarely existed. The land was collectively owned by the community or family but encouraged individual use. A succession of land followed the family line and when a landowner dies, the land is simply transferred to the next of kin.

The situation of women and men in relation to land rights and property rights in Cameroon was almost equal where both men and women could own individual land and private properties (Fonjong et al.,  20I3).

This situation, therefore, promoted gender equality and equity as the land was individually used by women and men to grow their crops for sale and to support their families. Access to land, therefore, improved women’s livelihood options and encouraged household survival.

According to Njoh (1995), colonial political and economic interests brought forth the introduction of formal ownership documented by formal instruments (land title).

The gender division of labor that followed and (which itself was of colonial making) set into motion the problem of discrimination in land ownership facilitated by the fact that men and women perform different activities and exercise different degrees of power over resources.

This point of view was also supported by Fonjong et al (2013), who further explained that with the advent of colonialism some changes were observed in terms of women’s and men’s land rights and ownership status. These changes of colonialism were so devastating due to their adverse negative effects which disproportionally fell more on the women.

Cameroon has however played its part to grant both men and women access to and control over land. According to Fonjong et al (2012), Cameroon had long signed and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Protection of Human Rights in its Convention. All these laws guarantee rights to own land, dispose of real property irrespective of sex.

Despite the existence of statutory law, customary law on its part plays a great role in the lives of rural men and women (Debbie and Eileen 2011). Women unlike men face a lot of challenges in acquiring land.

When women access land through their husbands, fathers, and sons, their tenure depends on their relationship with these men, they are vulnerable to eviction and loss of land rights in case of death of the man, divorce, or disinheritance.

However, customary law alone is not the reason prohibiting the ownership of land by women. The Cameroon government to an extent play a role in prohibiting women’s ownership of land.

This can be seen according to the Centre for Women’s land rights, (2012), which argued that Cameroon government often lacks or fail to commit the resources to implement the laws properly and its enforcement institution may be weak.

Thus, currently, this limited access to land affects women’s livelihood activities as they depend on agriculture for subsistence and survival (Anriqez, 2010).

As a result of women’s limited access to tenure security, land certificates, and registration than men, women cannot boast of having proof of land ownership.

Registering land provides the opportunity for both men and women to have access, use, ownership, and control over land which would further reduce poverty and promote the empowerment of women as better managers and supporters of their households (Payongayong, 2001).

According to the human development report 20I0, Tenure practices and activities such as the opening up of large plantations, the privatization of forests reserves and land parks contribute to women’s inaccessibility to own land (Fonjong et al., 2013).

However, these difficulties faced by women in relation to tenure practices and limited access to tenure security tends to promote household poverty since women make up the household and are the pillars of every home through their support from their livelihood activities especially subsistence agriculture

Poverty affects both male and female-headed households. Male-headed households face difficulties to meet up with their expenses and catering for their children, even though female-headed households face greater challenges because of their inaccessibility to and control over land which tend to promote household poverty especially as they mostly depend on agriculture (Mercedes et al 2010).

It is very important for women to have access and control over land. This can be seen from the research carried out in Ghana, women carrying out cocoa productivity and subsistence agriculture have high output which is used to sustain their households thus reducing poverty and therefore promoting their socio-economic status.

Another research carried out in India found out that women who own land are less subjected to domestic violence ( Quisumbing et al., 2001)

1.2 Statement of the research problem 

Women are mainly in the agricultural sector and agriculture is the backbone of the economy of Cameroon and Africa at large which is a major livelihood activity for women through the production of food crops to support their households thereby reducing poverty. They depend on the proceeds of their earnings to support these households.

Despite women’s role in agriculture, they have limited access to and control over land as compared to men. Land tenure practices give them only use rights over land rather than ownership, and control overland which affects their productivity.

They mostly work on very fragmented pieces of land owned by men or rented from male landlords, with less fertility or little capital yet they still supply food to most towns and cities through their activities as “buyam –sellam”.

Even though men carry out agriculture, they are often attached to other activities which tend to support them as compared to women who mostly depend on agriculture for survival. This study, therefore, seeks to investigate the effects of land tenure practices on household poverty among the Bakweris in BwitingiBuea.

1.3 Objectives of the study

1.3.1 General objective

The main objective of the study is to examine The Effects of Land Tenure Practices On Household Poverty among the Bakweris in Bwitingi Buea.

1.3.2 specific objectives 

The specific objectives of the study include the following:

1. To describe the demographic characteristics of the respondents in the study.
2. To identify their livelihood activities in the study.
3. To identify the land tenure practices among the Bakweris in Buea.
4. To examine the effects of women’s land rights on their livelihood activities
5. To examine the challenges faced by the women in acquiring land.
6. To identify the role of the government in addressing women’s access to land.