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RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHOU #0653/01 1991455
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171455Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY OUAGADOUGOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3962
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 OUAGADOUGOU 000653 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/W FOR EMILY PLUMB 
DEPT PASS TO USTR FOR LAURIE ANN AGAMA 
MCC FOR DAVID WELD 
COMMERCE FOR SALIHA LOUCIF 
TREASURY FOR OFFICE OF AFRICAN NATIONS 
ACCRA PASS TO USAID AND WATH 
DAKAR ALSO FOR FCS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD EAGR ECON EAID EFIN PREL UV
SUBJECT: BURKINA FASO'S LONG ROAD TO LAND REFORM 
 
OUAGADOUGO 00000653  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. Key Points: 
 
-- In September 2007, the Government of Burkina Faso (GOBF) 
finalized a draft national land reform policy that could eventually 
allow citizens in rural areas to obtain clear title to their land 
for the first time since Burkina Faso's independence in 1960. 
 
-- In recent months, the GOBF has mounted a nationwide campaign to 
gain the support of rural stakeholders for its land reform policy, 
which could be adopted by the Council of Ministers by December 2008, 
and by the National Assembly in the first half of 2009. 
 
-- Burkina Faso's $480.9 million Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) 
signed in Washington on July 17 contains a $59.9 million land tenure 
security project. 
 
¶2. Key Judgments: 
 
-- Land tenure security, which would increase rural investment and 
productivity, is crucial to economic development in Burkina Faso, 
where 80 percent of inhabitants rely on subsistence agriculture. 
 
-- Formal landownership will help reduce mounting tensions caused by 
the arrival of "outsiders" who are interested in obtaining rural 
lands. 
 
-- Land reform would give traditionally excluded groups, such as 
women and the rural poor, an opportunity to own land. 
 
End Key Points and Key Judgment 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Background: The Importance of Land in Burkina Faso 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3. Agriculture is the cornerstone of Burkina Faso's economy, and is 
dominated by small family farms of three to six hectares.  More than 
80 percent of the population relies on subsistence agriculture as a 
primary source of income. 
 
¶4. In the central and northern regions of Burkina Faso, soils are 
badly degraded and many rural areas are characterized by high 
population densities (from 37 persons/sq km to 90 persons/sq km). 
The southern, southwestern, and western regions are generally 
regarded as the country's breadbasket, and receive large numbers of 
migrant farmers and herders.  In these areas, land rights and 
security of land tenure are particularly important factors 
influencing agricultural investment and local production.  Land has 
also become a source of contention between locals and "newcomers" 
(including civil servants, politicians, and businessmen), who have 
appeared on the rural scene with a strong interest in acquiring 
land. 
 
---------------------- 
History of Land Reform 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. Since its independence from France in 1960 until the 1984, only 
two laws were passed -- in 1960 and 1963 -- regulating private 
landholdings.  During that time, access to private land titles in 
rural areas remained limited; only 19 land titles (less than 140 
ha), were granted between 1952 and 1980.  In many parts of the 
country, land tenure was directed by the local custom of clan 
ownership and controlled by male heads of households.  This process 
traditionally excluded young people, women, and farmers in 
impoverished regions, from land ownership. 
 
¶6. In 1984 a major land reform law, the Agrarian and Land Tenure 
Reform (RAF), was passed during the "Burkina Faso Revolution" of 
then President Thomas Sankara.  Article 1 of the RAF made an 
historical break with customary Burkinabe land rights by stating 
that "the land belongs to the State."  By making all land State 
property, the Sankara government hoped to facilitate universal 
access to natural resources.  In reality, diversity of customs, the 
verbal nature of most agreements, and persistence of other 
traditional land transactions limited the RAF's effectiveness.  In 
the long run, this law created a sense of insecurity over land 
tenure matters and discouraged economic investment. 
 
¶7. The 1984 RAF was amended in 1991 and 1996.  The 1991 amendment 
partially reintroduced the notion of limited private ownership. 
While Article 1 of the 1991 law reaffirmed that land constituted 
 
OUAGADOUGO 00000653  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
part of the "National Estate," Article 3 stipulated that "lands 
forming part of the National Estate may be assigned as private 
property to individuals or legal entities under the conditions set 
out by the law.  Lands thus assigned cease to be State property. 
Nevertheless, the government will control their use."  In 1996 the 
RAF was once again modified in an attempt to align it with other 
laws ratified by the National Assembly, including 1993 
decentralization legislation and the 1994 Environmental Code. 
 
¶8. Because few farmers were aware of the 1991 and 1996 amendments, 
this legislation had limited impact on rural land reform.  Instead 
of facilitating land ownership, these laws made land tenure 
management even more complex because it was unclear if customs 
authorities or the central government really controlled rural land. 
Many experts believed that failure of the 1991 and 1996 amendments 
resulted from their top-down origin, which resulted in little 
understood laws that ultimately were not accepted by stakeholders. 
Burkina Faso's incremental, evolving approach to land tenure created 
many misunderstandings among communities and occasionally resulted 
in violence and death.  As conflicts between farmers and herders 
became more commonplace, some critics have voiced concerns over the 
viability of western-type tenure security in regions where nomadic 
herders and crop-farmers intermingle. 
 
------------------------ 
A New Age of Land Reform 
------------------------ 
 
¶9. During his six-years in office, former Minister of Agriculture, 
Salif Diallo, one of the primary supporters of land tenure, claimed 
that land issues in Burkina Faso were more related to distribution 
among stakeholders than a shortage of supply.  According to Diallo, 
who left office earlier this year, the country has nine million ha 
of arable soil, but currently exploits only 3.5 million ha.  Diallo 
believed that in order to setup a consensual land reform system, the 
GOBF had to forsake previous top-down reforms in favor of a more 
participatory, inclusive process, which would allow all actors more 
equitable access to the benefits of landownership. 
 
¶10. Several regional workshops were held during the two years 
required for the GOBF to build a national consensus in support of a 
national land reform policy.  In May 2007, former Prime Minister 
Paramanga Ernest Yonli - currently Burkina Faso's Ambassador to 
Washington -- chaired the opening ceremony of a three-day national 
forum, which brought together government officials, farmers' 
organizations, traditional chieftaincies, village associations, 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector, and 
donors. 
 
¶11. In September 2007 the GOBF finalized a draft national policy for 
rural land reform, the Politique Nationale de Securisation Fonciere 
en Milieu Rural (PNSFMR).  This policy stated that new land reforms 
were necessary to ensure equitable access to land for all rural 
stakeholders, preserve investments, and manage potential land 
conflicts.  In explaining the draft policy, Moumouni Ouedraogo, the 
Ministry of Agriculture's Director of Rural Land, described land 
reform in Burkina Faso as a two-phase process whose main challenge 
was to reconcile legality and legitimacy in a market-based 
environment.  In the first phase, the Ministry of Agriculture would 
draft proposed laws and law-enforcement measures for submittal to 
the Government.  In the second phase, the Government would examine 
and approve the proposals and then send them to the National 
Assembly for adoption. 
 
¶12. The new reform land policy, originally scheduled for a vote 
before the National Assembly in March 2008, has been significantly 
delayed.  Despite the setback, work to gain support for it among 
local stakeholders continues.  Ouedraogo told us that 17 regional 
workshops organized since the adoption of the national land reform 
policy were proof that the process is still going well.  Ouedraogo 
explained that these workshops were crucial in the creation of an 
inclusive participatory process, which targeted each of the 
country's 13 regions.  Workshops actively involved groups 
potentially impacted by land reform including: religious and 
traditional chieftaincies, women, private stakeholders involved in 
agricultural production, and mayors, who would play a major role in 
the implementation of new land reform policies.  Ouedraogo explained 
that remarks made during these meetings were recorded by a pool of 
experts who would use them to finalize land-related laws and 
law-enforcement measures.  He added that he expected these documents 
to be presented to the Council of Ministers before December 2008 and 
that the National Assembly would review and adopt them in the first 
 
OUAGADOUGO 00000653  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
half of 2009. 
 
¶13. The National Land Reform Policy in conjunction with pending 
land-related legislation will provide a foundation for the MCC Rural 
Land Governance Project.  This $59.9 million project will increase 
investment in land and rural productivity through improved land 
tenure security and better land management.  Through assistance with 
institutional development and capacity building, MCC will enable the 
GOBF to establish legal and governmental frameworks that support 
long term rural land tenure. 
 
BROWN