Land rights for family farmers

The Chamber of Agriculture of Madagascar (Tranoben’ny Tantsaha Mpamokatra, TTM) is a national-level Malagasy farmers’ organisation that works to empower smallholder farmers, women’s groups and Indigenous Peoples.

Together with its member forest and farm producer organisations (FFPOs), TTM has successfully influenced a major national land tenure policy reform that now better serves smallholder and family farmers in Madagascar.

TTM leads all the national FFPOs in Madagascar. Under the leadership of TTM, the organisations advocated for the revision of the Untitled Private Property policy (Propriété Privée Non Titrée, PPNT), which resulted in a significant reduction of the required land-use period for obtaining land certification – from 15 years down to five years.

This reform, now integrated into the national land policy framework, has made land certification much more accessible to small-scale producers.

Forest and Farm Facility activities

The Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) has done much to contribute to laying the foundation for this policy reform process. Since 2019, FFF has provided continuous support to strengthen the advocacy and governance capacity of the FFPOs.

FFF organised training and capacity building on lobbying, negotiation and communication, and funded outreach and awareness activities, including media campaigns and national workshops.

Additionally, FFF contributed to strengthening the institutional governance of FFPOs by supporting regular general assemblies and internal management reforms, which are essential for credible and coordinated policy engagement.

Throughout 2022, TTM and its members conducted a series of advocacy and consultation activities at national and regional levels.

Participatory workshops gathered farmer representatives to define shared positions, while selected leaders from the Farmers Development Association (Fikambanana Fampivoarana Ny Tantsaha, FIFATA) and the Union of Agricultural Organisations (Syndicat des Organisations Agricoles, Réseau SOA) presented the unified advocacy message to government institutions, notably the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

The advocacy strategy combined formal policy dialogue with media outreach – including radio, television and newspaper campaigns – to raise public awareness and build political momentum.

Women and young people played a crucial role throughout the advocacy development process by actively participating in consultations and decision making through dedicated women’s and youth committees in Réseau SOA and the National Platform for Women, Sustainable Development and Food Security (Plateforme Nationale Femme, Développement Durable et Sécurité Alimentaire, PNFDDSA).

Significance of impact

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when most activities were disrupted, FFF funding enabled farmer organisations to maintain advocacy momentum and dialogue with policymakers. Without this sustained support from FFF, the reform process would likely have stalled.

Thanks to FFF’s facilitation and support, FFPOs in Madagascar have emerged as recognised actors in policy dialogue.

The reform of the PPNT policy not only secured fairer access to land for smallholders but also strengthened collective advocacy capacity and set a precedent for inclusive governance and long-term rural transformation.

Conclusion

This policy breakthrough is transformative for rural producers, who have long faced uncertainty due to insecure land tenure.

With a simplified and accelerated process, smallholder farmers can now secure their land rights sooner, invest in long-term improvements, and access agricultural credit and technical services.

By reducing land conflicts and strengthening tenure security, this reform also promotes sustainable land management and enhances community resilience.

Further reading

Restoring degraded lands in Madagascar through agroforestry, Forest and Farm Facility (2025)