A fundamental reason for land tenure insecurity in Ghana is the fact that many land rights holders do not have proper documentation of their land. Most land rights owners, especially at the customary level, have limited knowledge about documentation of land rights, may not have access to land documentation services or in certain situations, be completely unaware of the need for such documentation. The resulting tenure insecurity has been identified as one of the major contributors to low productivity and limited investments in small holder agriculture in Ghana. This situation perpetuates poverty for smallholder farmers and rural households in Ghana.

COLANDEF, with support from Omidyar Network, began a two-year policy advocacy and media campaign in 2018 under a project themed the Customary Land Rights Documentation Project.

The aim of this project is to increase awareness on the risks associated with undocumented land rights, building a common understanding on how land documentation can be done for customary land users to protect their land rights, strengthen capacity of customary land authorities, and institutionalize customary land rights documentation in Ghana. 

A key deliverable of the CLARID project is a Handbook developed by COLANDEF in collaboration with stakeholders such as the National House of Chiefs, Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. The Handbook serves as a guide for all Actors in the Customary Land Sector in Ghana. We are confident that all the Actors will find this Handbook truly beneficial in gaining an understanding of the customary land right documentation process in Ghana.