81297709-Enhancing the capacities to access credit and financial services from financial institutions for small-scale farmers

Project Discription: The multi-donor Action "Improvement of Land Governance in Uganda to Increase Productivity of Small-Scale Farmers on Private Mailo Land (ILGU) - Phase II" is jointly cofinanced by the European Union and the Federal Ministry Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as part of the BMZ "Global Programme Responsible Land Policy" with its country project "Responsible Land Policy in Uganda (RELAPU)". The Action is implemented in close partnership with the MLHUD as main partner. It supports the implementation of the Land Act of 1998 and the NLP 2013 and supports increased transparency of land rights in central Uganda on Mailo land tenure for both landlords and tenants, and improved access to services (e.g. finance) for households, based on land documentation. The Overall Objective of the Action is "to contribute to the increased security of land rights and enhanced access to finance resulting in improved livelihoods, food security, and poverty alleviation for small-scale farmers, in particular for women and marginalized groups in Central Uganda". The Specific Objective (outcome) of the Action is "documented land rights improve the access to services for productive use in rural areas for certain population groups, especially for women and marginalised groups on Mailo land, in Central Uganda". The Action has the following outputs: 1) The institutional framework and the procedures for securing land-use rights and land ownership rights on Mailo land of the rural population are improved in Central Uganda; 2) Local stakeholders are sensitized on land and tenure rights and available legal options to secure them; 3) Relevant stakeholders (local government administration, para-surveyors, civil society organisations and private sector) have the capacity to implement the NLP of Uganda and to contribute to transparent and rights-based land governance; 4) The capacities to access credit and other financial services from financial institutions for small-scale farmers are enhanced; 5) Good practices and lessons learnt are implemented outside of the project region. The Action with its implementing area in Central Uganda, is focussing on six intervention districts, of which four will be continued from the ILGU phase I (Mityana, Mubende, Kassanda and Gomba), complemented by two additional districts for further awareness creation and capacity building of local structures (Kiboga and Butambala). The Action builds on lessons learnt under the ILGU phase I, which for the first time in history developed a solution to dual land rights on private Mailo land. An efficient, transparent and standardized approach for land rights documentation on Mailo land has been established in close partnership with the MLHUD and respective District local administrations. The processes for documentation of land rights will be further developed under this Action, while documenting good practices for policy dialogue and legal reforms. Tenants on the other hand are often small-scale farmers, lacking access to financial services and skills. The Action will improve access to finance by creating preconditions for land-based lending through awareness creation and capacities strengthening in the financial sector as much as with concerned clients. A challenge remains the access to general services for productive use, for example access to financial services for business development. Usually, tenants do not have any formal documentation of their land rights, the location and size of their lands. This information asymmetry restricts the formal Financial Institutions (FIs) to tailor suitable loan products or provide increased lending based on a realistic assessment of the productive potential of farmers" land. This has opened the doors for informal money lenders, since they are the only available finance providers for tenants without land documentation.