i Parkia biglobosa - School of Forest Resources & Environmental ...

landholder must grant permission for collection of the fruits, or other products from the
tree. Access to land and the rights to the land are becoming more complex with the rising
population and increasing degradation of the natural resources.
Under the customary land tenure system, women have little access to secure lands
or rights. Divorced women or widows must abandon land belonging to their husbands,
despite the amount of labor she has invested in farming the land. This custom
discourages women from acquiring land or farming commercial crops, for the products
and labor they invest in a piece of land can be easily taken back by the male of the
household. Driven by the poor economy and need for cash, the male labor force is
moving to towns and cities for employment. Men leave the village farms for much of the
year, leaving the farming to women. However, the men still retain the rights and decision
making for the land (Leonard and Toulmin 2000).
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