Author: P. G. R. Sarath Chandra
AIT Library Call Number: AIT Thesis no. HS-84-01
Year: 1984
Academic Program: Human Settlement (HS)
Type: Thesis (M.Sc.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 1990
Examination Committee: Hiran D. Dias (Chairperson); Karl E. Weber, Raymon W. Archer (Examination Committee Members)
Abstract: It has been strongly argued that granting land tenurial rights to tillers would lead to agricultural improvement particularly in rural areas in developing countries where a strategy to increase the overall agricultural production is needed to mitigate massive rural poverty. Giving tenurial right was expected to motivate the tillers to get high production from their lands because it was assumed that having titles improves productivity and long term investments in two ways: by enhancing tenure security and by opening up access to institutional credit. This study was intended to examine these theoretical explanations by evaluating a regularization of encroached land project in southern Sri Lanka. The regularizing of encroached land had been used as a device essential to sound improvement of living conditions of encroached land holders through more productive agricultural utilization of the land. In effect, not only their living conditions but more widely, the overall situation of agriculture sector in rural economy was also expected to improve as an ultimate objective of regularization of encroache’d land. The project impact was examined in two ways. A general social assessment regarding the social status of encroachers, their attitudes on land title and the future condition of their children was attempted mainly using discussions and observations. The economic point of view was used to understand the changes in their agricultural activities. Through that, the changes that have taken place in the total yield, using productivity raising inputs, crop type, land management methods, and access to credit and extension services were examined. The study did not find any positive ~hanges towards the improvement of the condition of encroached farmers as a result of giving tenurial rights. It was found that the uncertainty of land tenurial security is in fact not a problem for which an immediate solution is needed. The confirmed tenurial security could not solve some of the other more pressing environment
Scholarship Donor(s): Canadian International Development Agency
Note: A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Science
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