Estimating the premium for titled agricultural land in Uganda

Abstract

This study investigates the value for titled agricultural land in Uganda using data on 9,185 parcels of land from the 2005/2006 Uganda National Household Survey. Data were analysed using regression techniques. The results showed that land titles had a positive influence on agricultural land prices although the premium was significant for leasehold title as opposed to other forms of title; that except for current agricultural use, traditional determinants of land value such as soil quality, presence of perennials and proximity to the homestead are not significant for agricultural land in Uganda; and that per acre price of agricultural land in peri-urban locations was significantly higher than in rural areas by about 87%. The overlap in land ownership rights for mailo land where two people have claims to the same piece of land, the mailo title holder and the kibanja tenant, placing constraints on its transfer was not reflected in its perceived market price. It was concluded that the current land policy should promote the leasehold system in upcoming cities and peri-urban areas, since this type of tenure opens land to a wide range of users and use-options. The land policy also needs to address the double ownership structure under the mailo tenure which constrains its transferability to make the positive effects of having such titles more significant in the land market.