Land Rights and Alien Plants in Dryland Madagascar

Abstract

This chapter reflects on land tenure practice and land tenure issues in two farming communities in the Karembola region of dryland southern Madagascar. Both communities consisted of subsistence farmers who were directly dependent for their livelihoods on the land. Most land was untitled and technically belonged to the state. Yet people in both communities spoke frequently of land they gardened or otherwise exploited using concepts such as owners and inheritance. Exploring the tensions and the convergences between state interventions and local constructs of custom that inform smallholder decision-making, the chapter suggests that, rather than phrase the problem of land tenure in Madagascar in terms of competing jurisdictions, it might be more helpful to examine traditional or customary law and modern state law as coevolutionary over time. Prickly pears have been grown in dryland Madagascar for over two centuries. Prickly pears have also been planted to counter wind and soil erosion. Keywords: dryland southern Madagascar; Karembola region; land tenure issues; land tenure practice; Prickly pears