Under the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program, a five-year global mechanism (2018-2023), USAID worked with private sector partner Lindt & Sprungli to address longstanding challenges related to land tenure in the cocoa growing region of the Sambirano Valley of Madagascar. ILRG and Swiss NGO Helvetas worked with communities to set up a landscape governance platform called the Comité de Gestion du Bassin du Sambirano (COGEBS) to advocate for the sale and transfer of the state-owned Indigenous Reserves to the present-day occupants of the land. Through community advocacy, the government agreed to send a team of specialists to launch an Opérational Domaniale Concertée (ODOC), a mechanism for the ministry to sell government land at highly discounted rates. Resources produced under this work include an overview of land tenure in the Sambirano Valley, reflections from the ODOC process, and lessons learned on working with the private sector on land-related issues in Madagascar.
Resources:
- Land Tenure Situation in the Sambirano Valley, Ambanja District: Issues, Opportunities, and Challenges (English, French): This final report highlights the patchwork of land tenure issues in the Sambirano Valley, Madagascar and the rapidly evolving initiatives carried out by government and donor-funded programs to increase the levels of tenure security of different land ownership categories.
- Leçons Apprises de la Premiere Campagne de L’ODOC dans le District D’Ambanja (French only): This brief documents the Opération Domanial Concertée (ODOC) process supported by the ILRG activity in Madagascar to support land titling and documentation for community members in the historic Indigenous Reserves.
- Cocoa Private Sector Engagement in Land-Related Issues in the Sambirano Valley, Madagascar (English, French): This brief documents ILRG experiences engaging with cocoa companies on land tenure related challenges in the Sambirano Valley in Madagascar.