Draft Presentation

1
Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Farm
Workers Concerning Land Use Rights and Farmland
Restructuring in Tajikistan Baseline Survey Find
ings
World Bank
The Government of Tajikistan
2

• The baseline study has been a collaborative
  effort supported by
  
• The Land Reform and Market Development
• Project (LRMDP), funded by USAID and
• implemented by Chemonics Int.
• The Land Registration and Cadastre System for
• Sustainable Agriculture Project (LRCSSAP),
• World Bank funded and implemented by the
• Government of Tajikistan.

3
Survey Goals(quantitative and qualitative
components)

• To provide baseline data on land use rights and
  farm restructuring to assess future progress of
  the projects
  
• To assess public opinion on farm restructuring
  process and land tenure, and based on the survey
  results to design and improve activities of
  current and future projects to address better the
  needs of farm workers.
• To provide recommendations for improving farmland
  restructuring process and land tenure.

4
Survey sites 15 raions in 3 Oblasts and DRSs
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Sampling (quantitative component)

• 3 Oblasts and DRSs
• 15 Raions 5 representing USAID LRMDP
• 10 representing LRCSSAP
  areas
  
• Within each Raion, 5 Jamoats were selected
• Within each Jamoat, two villages were selected
• 10 farm workers, cultivating land (EXCLUDING
  household and presidential plots) were selected
  for interviewing in each village
  
• Total 1500 farm workers

6
Sampling (qualitative component)

• Shahrinav district (cotton)
• Yavan district (cotton)
• Faizabad district (non-cotton)
• In each district
• 4 Focus groups with heads of dehkan farsms,
  shareholders and tenants in collective DFs
  (male and female equally), and local authorities
  (local land practitioners)
• 4 In-depth interviews with heads of hukumats,
  heads of district land committees, NGOs,
  aksakals
  
• Total 12 focus groups
• 22 in-depth interveiws
• 4 participant observation
  reports.
  

7
NOTE

• The survey goal was to provide a sample from
  the USAID and World Bank project areas that would
  represent most farm workers in the project areas.
  
• However, the survey did NOT attempt to
  provide a representative sample of all farm
  workers in Tajikistan.
  
• The sampling was done to provide enough farm
  workers from each village to indicate whether or
  not substantial differences could be found across
  these small project areas.

8
Demographics

• Sex 60.2 males and 40 females
• Age 18 to 89 with mean of 45
• Ethnicity 71 Tajik 29 Uzbek
• Education 22 of males have higher education 3
  of females do 18 of males have advanced
  training in agriculture 3 of females do.

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Percentage of Farm workers Interviewed by Farm
Type
10
Employment Status of 1500 Farm workers Interviewed
11
Characteristics of 768 Collective Dekhan Farms

• Median size 56 hectares
• Median number of members 10
• 578, or 75.3 said they had an individual parcel
  of land, and its median size was .7 h.
  
• 66.1 said they had a sub-certificate for their
  land parcels.

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Characteristics of 483 Extended
Family/Individual Dekhan Farms

• Median parcel size - 4 ha
• 86.7 say they have a certificate for the main
  land parcel, and 79.3 say they have a
  sub-certificate for parcels within the extended
  family farm

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A. Knowledge Test Results13-item knowledge test
to assess basic knowledge by farm typeE.g.
Farmers can lose their land use rights if they
dont cultivate the land for a year. (Correct
answer Yes)
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Knowledge of Laws
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B. Information Sources

• The study focused on
• Identifying main information sources for land use
  rights and restructuring
  
• Assessing each source
• Sources identified
• Mass media TV, radio, newspapers
• Interpersonal sources
• Training and publications

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Information Sources

• 81.1 mentioned getting information about land
  use rights or farm restructuring from at least
  
• one source (so 18.9 have no sources at all)
• Average number of sources 3.9
• For men 4.9
• For women 2.4

17
Best Information Sources
18
C. Perceived advantages to extended family or
individual dekhan farms
19
Comment from the qualitative study

• The qualitative study results reiterate the above
  perceived advantages of smaller farms over
  collective dehkan farms.
  
• As a specialist, I clearly understand that
  extended family\individual farms do better than
  collectives. Collectives are all about fraud and
  cheating. They have many parasites. How can a
  farm be collective, if only the manager makes key
  decisions at their disposal? International best
  practice shows that individual ownership is more
  lasting.
• FG, land specialists

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D. BarriersApart from advantages, most farm
types have indicated the following problems
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D. Further barriersFreedom to cultivate various
crops

• A break down by districts and regions
  indicates notable differences in crop-related
  decision-making
  
• E.g. Who takes the lead in key decisions
  about what to plant on the major area of the land
  you cultivate?
  

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Comment from the qualitative study
Similarly, qualitative study results indicate
that in many districts farm workers are concerned
about the lack of freedom in crop-related
decision-making Farmers should not have to fo
llow a plan for production. Now, all dekhan
farmers are forced to plant this much wheat, and
that much other crops. We are pushed from above
if we do not follow this plan. (Dehkan farm
head, man, 66 years old). I have read the pub
lications and it is written there that there
should not be instructions on what to plant. It
should be the farmers choice. (Dehkan farm
head, man, 48 years old).
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Comment from the qualitative study

• Additionally, the following issues have
  emerged as significant barriers to a successful
  farmland restructuring
  
• Multi-level and multi-faceted informal payments
• Inequitable land parcel allocation
• Ambigous messages on land use rights and farm
  restructuring
  
• Farm debts (cotton debts, potato debts etc.)

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Comment from the qualitative study

• In the old days, most (good) land was allocated
  to managers, heads, hukumats and procuratura, and
  their relatives. The dont care at alland keep
  all the profit to themselves. There are good
  people among the local authorities, but the
  majority sell out everything, thus leaving people
  without any income.
• Female farm worker, 40 years old
• Just think well. Those who went with their
  pockets full, got the land. We were clearly told
  come with full pockets. Everyone goes through a
  hassle first and than ends up paying. There is no
  other way nowadays
• Collective dehkan farm worker, male, 57 years
  old
  
• I wanted to apply for my own land share. I would
  go to the farm manager many times, but he would
  hide and would not show the certificate to me.
  Then I went to hukumat they would send me here
  and there with no result. After that, I heard
  rumors about going back to the old system of
  farms in the near future, while all small farms
  would be abandoned. Now I am at a loss and do not
  know what to do.
• Female collective farm worker, 37 years old

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E. Attitudes to buying and selling land use
rights N1500.
26
Comment from the qualitative study
Comments made during focus groups and in depth
interviews were usually negative about the idea
of buying and selling land use rights
I think the time for buying and selling land ha
s not yet come. It would be a big step backward
to do it now. People should first study the
market economy, and prepare themselves. I think
it will eventually happen, but in the future.
(Aksakal, 70 years old) In Tajikistan we have
had privatization of enterprises. No ordinary
person received anything. To me one should be
very careful about buying and selling land.
(Land specialist, man, 57 years old)
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F. Behavioral Changes
28
G. Improved welfareHas personal farming
situation changed?
29
Better Off Economically?
30
Economic Indicators (assets, income)
31
H. Status of women

• Women, as a group, have been marginalized from
  the land restructuring process
  
• Attendance rate in training events is 3 times
  higher for men compared to women
  
• Women have limited access to publications, mass
  media and interpersonal sources of information
  
• Compared to men, women score lower on knowledge
  test they have lower education levels, and as a
  result poorer understanding and awareness of
  current laws and decrees as well as their rights
  

32
Status of women

• Women report difficulties in understanding
  publications and TV programs on land use rights
  and farm restructuring more often than men
  
• Women tend to be found more on collective dehkan
  farms and joint stock companies as hired labor
  and shareholders, and very few as heads of
  ind./family farms
• Compared to men, women tend to have less
  interaction with local officials They have less
  voice and influence in dealing with local
  authorities

33
Comment from the qualitative study

• Moreover, conservative traditional perceptions
  and public attitudes add further to
  marginalization of women
  
• You cant go there! See, there are only men. This
  is not a city, where no one cares.
  
• FG, women,
• I have a husband, so why would I need to have
  the certificate issued on my name. Its his
  business. If I were a widow, it would be a
  different story.
• FG, women,
• Child rearing is a womans main business. If
  we, men, cannot solve the problems, how can women
  resolve them?
  
• FG, men,

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Key Issues

• Farm workers from goshozes, joint stock companies
  and collective dehkan farms have less access to
  information, notably in cotton areas
  
• Moreover, about 16 of respondents from these
  groups still (mistakingly) believe they work in
  kolhozes
  
• They have lower knowledge and awareness of land
  use rights and farm restructuring process
  
• They are less well off financially

35
Key Issues

• Extended Family/Individual Dekhan farms are doing
  better on all aspects.
  
• But respondents from these farms are primarily
  males more than 20 have higher education. They
  are likely to have better access to resources.

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Key Issues

• Need for an integrated package approach
• Improving the state land policy to make farm
  restructuring more transparent, equitable and
  consistent, while land use rights more secure in
  accordance with legislation
• Curbing informal payments and land use rights
  related miscommunication
  
• Enabling farm workers to make independent
  decisions, guided by market demands
  
• Special efforts will be needed to reach and
  support women.
  

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Key Issues

• Effective communication strategies should
• consider that multiple channels should be
  utilized
  
• TV is best source and reaches many
• Radio and newspapers also are used by farmers
• Interpersonal channels are important when
  evaluating whether or not to petition
  
• Training/publications are seen as useful
• take into account that the lack of inputs,
  crediting and marketing opportunities as well as
  poor access to irrigation and machinery are
  important barriers to a successful independent
  farming.

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Workshop for Land Practitioners Key Issues
Discussed

• Group A How to improve the farm restructuring
  process
  
• Group B Enabling farm workers to become
  independent and make management
  decisions in response to market forces
  
• Group C Designing effective activities to meet
  the needs of women (improving the status of women
  in the agricultural sector)
  
• Group D Reaching farm workers, who lack
  education and connections

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Workshop for Land Practitioners Key
Recommendations

• Remove bureaucratic barriers and simplify steps
  and procedures throughout the process
  
• Revise and simplify all procedures in a
  participatory manner. The farm reorganization
  commission should also undergo a reform.
  
• Administration should turn its face to farm
  workers, while bureaucracy should be adapted to
  farmers needs and demands, but not vice versa.
  
• Introduce the principle of a single window for
  application and issuance of certificates.
  

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Workshop for Land Practitioners Key
Recommendations

• 2) Simplify the existing taxation system to the
  extent possible.
  
• Improve transparency of the system as well as the
  local knowledge and awareness on taxation.
  Introduce the principle of paying taxes through a
  single window.
• Provide short-term benefits for newly-established
  dehkan farms e.g. exemption from certain taxes
  up to 3 years with close monitoring
  
• Reduce the practice of informal payments and
  excessive bureaucracy.
  

41
Workshop for Land Practitioners Key
Recommendations

• 3) Enhancing local participation and
  representation in the farm restructuring
  process.
  
• Facilitate active participation of farm workers
• E.g. participation in joint farm restructuring
  meetings
  
• E.g. improve the role of farm workers, while
  reducing the authority of those implementing the
  restructuring process (reduce domination on the
  part of authorities)

42
Workshop for Land Practitioners Key
Recommendations

• 4) Conduct a countrywide awareness campaign on
  land reform based on existing legislative
  framework.
  
• 5) Enhance support and assistance provided by
  legal aid centers and rural activists
  (Tashabbuskor).
  
• 6) Organize more priority-based, thematic
  seminars and training TV and radio programs
  publications should be made available in the
  language understandable for people with low
  literacy.
• 7) Facilitate and assist with establishment of
  dehkan farm unions and associations.

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Workshop for Land Practitioners Key
Recommendations

• 8) More training, seminars and meetings for women
  are needed
  
• Seminars and meetings should be held right at the
  workplace i.e. in the field to ensure
  participation.
  
• 9) Every district could appoint a jamoat level
  gender specialist to organize information
  activities for women at a local level.
  
• E.g. deputy heads of jamoats
• E.g. Female community leaders could be engaged in
  awareness an information activities for women.
  

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Workshop for Land Practitioners Key
Recommendations

• 10) Special support to women willing to establish
  their individual dehkan farms, e.g. providing
  special credit lines to women-heads of DF.
  
• 11) Organize short-term training courses on land
  use rights, agro-technologies, etc in winter time
  for women.
  
• 12) Conduct awareness campaigns in rural
  high-schools. Consider including basic education
  on land use rights in high school curricula in
  rural areas.
• 13) To provide relevant training to local
  specialists.
  

45
Workshop for Land Practitioners Key
Recommendations

• 14) Improve coordination among international
  donor and state institutions, dealing with above
  issues.