Exploratory analysis of women's right of access a land case of Mali

Abstract

The relevance of the study: Several factors combine to explain this situation, including the poor equipment of farms and the lack of supervision and strong support from the public authorities. In addition to these factors, the lack of security of land tenure is a major problem facing farmers [1]. This problem of land rights is exacerbated by women's poor access to farmland despite the fact that they make up a very large part of the agricultural labor force. Mali is a country whose economic structure is strongly dominated by the primary and tertiary sectors. In 2017, the contribution of the primary sector accounted for 38.34% of GDP, with a large share for agriculture (19 % of GDP). In 2019, it is estimated at 38.43% of GDP [2]. Malian agriculture remains largely dependent on rainfall. It is characterized by low agricultural yields. Problem of the research. Low access to agricultural property rights is a source of demotivation for women who paradoxically constitute the main agricultural workforce. This lack of a consecrated and explicitly recognized right to land ownership reflects the lack of incentives for women and would explain in part the low productivity and low total agricultural production. Subject of the research: women's right of access to agricultural property and its impact on the country's production. The aim of this paper is to reveal the problems women's right of access to land. The following tasks: is to identify the legal arsenal relating to land law directly and to women's right of access to land ownership and to highlight the practical, social and customary difficulties encountered in the implementation of this right. Subsequently, it is necessary to highlight the link between this poor access to agricultural property rights and the low level of agricultural production in Mali. Methods. To deal with this theme we had adopted a feminist and critical posture. The novelty the adoption of the feminist posture helps us to understand women's discourse in a context marked in practice by the implicit denial of women's right to access agricultural land ownership. The paper concluded that he critical approach makes it possible to go beyond this observation to try to understand the relations of force and power between men and women in the particular context of the country. As the result women's right to access land ownership is a recognized and inalienable right in Mali. However, sociological, customary and religious constraints make the implementation of this right on the ground problematic. As a result, despite their significant weight in the agricultural labor force, women have little access to land, farms, inputs and equipment. The corollary of this situation is their low agricultural yield and their low contribution to agricultural value added.