Final Report: Feed the Future Tajikistan Land Market
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FEED THE FUTURE TAJIKISTAN LAND MARKET DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY FINAL REPORT NOVEMBER 2016 – SEPTEMBER 2020 FEED THE FUTURE TAJIKISTAN LAND MARKET DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY FINAL REPORT NOVEMBER 2016 – SEPTEMBER 2020 Chynara Arapova, Chief of Party Daler Asrorov, USAID Contracting Officer Representative August 2020 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Chemonics International Inc. Task Order No. AID-176-TO-17-00001 Contract No. AID-OAA-I-12-00027 DISCLAIMER This publication was made possible through support provided by Feed the Future through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of Task Order No. AID- 176-TO-17-00001, Contract No. AID-OAA-I-12-00027. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development. CONTENTS ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................. 4 I. APPROACH AND IMPACT .................................................................................... 6 II. KEY TASKS .............................................................................................................. 8 I. IMPROVE LAND POLICY, LEGAL, AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK GOVERNING MARKET TRANSACTIONS ............................................................................. 8 1.1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................8 1.2 APPROACH AND RESULTS .................................................................................................................9 1.3 LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................... 18 II. INTRODUCE MARKET-BASED PRINCIPLES FOR AGRICULTURE LAND USE TRANSACTIONS .......................................................................................................................... 19 1.1 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................... 19 1.2 APPROACH AND RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 20 1.3 LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................... 27 III. SIMPLIFY LAND REGISTRATION PROCEDURES .............................................................. 29 1.1 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................... 29 1.2 APPROACH AND RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 30 1.3 LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................... 36 IV. INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF AND PROTECTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND MARKETS ........................................................................................................................................ 38 1.1 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................... 38 1.2 APPROACH AND RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 39 1.3 LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................... 47 III. GENDER FOCUS .............................................................................................. 50 1.1 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................... 50 1.2 APPROACH AND RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 50 IV. ACTIVITY MONITORING AND EVALUATION ............................................. 56 ANNEX A. LMDA KEY DOCUMENTS ................................................................... 70 ANNEX B. TASHABBUSKOR ACTIVITIES .......................................................... 74 ANNEX C. SUCCESS STORIES .............................................................................. 75 FEED THE FUTURE – TAJIKISTAN LAND MARKET DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY FINAL REPORT (1) ACRONYMS ABT Association of Banks of Tajikistan AIA Association of Independent Appraisers ARS Automated Registration System COA Council on Appraising COVID Coronavirus Disease EOP Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan FTF Feed the Future FY Fiscal Year GBV Gender-Based Violence GOTJ Government of Tajikistan IMWG Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Land Policy LAC Legal Aid Center LLC Limited Liability Company LMDA Feed the Future Tajikistan Land Market Development Activity LRF Land Reserve Fund LRFRP USAID Land Reform and Farm Restructuring Project NBT National Bank of Tajikistan NGO Nongovernmental Organization PO Public Organization ROA Regulation on Right of Alienation SIC State Investment Committee SEC Supreme Economic Court SLC State Land Committee STARR Strengthening Tenure and Resources Rights IQC SUERIP State Unitary Enterprise for Registration of Immovable Property TOT Training of Trainers USAID U.S. Agency for International Development USG United States government ZOI Zone of Influence FEED THE FUTURE – TAJIKISTAN LAND MARKET DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY FINAL REPORT (2) “I saw the opportunity to run my own farm, discussed this with my family, and they agreed, happy to see my enthusiasm and initiative …. I was afraid at first. I had no idea, but Tashabbuskor Norbekova helped me through the whole process. I tell other women, don’t be afraid to ask the Tashabbuskor for help. Anything is possible … even as a woman you can become the head of a dehkan farm.” At 25 years old, Salomat Chorieva (left) became the first women in Khatlon Region’s Dusti District to complete the land registration process and receive a certificate as head of her farm. She received support in this from, Aysifat Norbekova (right), a local activist supported by the Feed the Future Tajikistan Land Market Development Activity to empower farmers to understand and exercise their rights under Tajikistan’s emerging land market. Cover photo: Zebogul Jalolova stands between rows of corn at dehkan farm Tuhmi Parvar 2020, in Jayhun District. Zebogul and 25 other farmers received their land shares, thanks to the help of Jayhun legal aid center attorneys. FEED THE FUTURE – TAJIKISTAN LAND MARKET DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY FINAL REPORT (3) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Tajikistan has historically faced significant dissonance between the importance of agriculture and the availability of land, with 70 percent of the population living in rural areas, and 20 percent of gross domestic product from agriculture — yet the country has only 7 percent arable land. Limited access to clean water, poor irrigation systems, and lack of agricultural diversity have further threatened food security and economic livelihoods. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been steadfast in its support of Tajikistan’s land reform process — from increasing farmers’ awareness of their freedom to farm whatever crops they wish; to the reorganization of large-scale commercial farms into more efficient dehkan farms; to revising and introducing legislation to provide better and more equitable access to land. All of these have contributed to a steady increase in the interest of farmers to buy and sell land. From November 2016 to September 2020, the Feed the Future (FTF) Land Market Development Activity (LMDA) increased Tajikistan’s agricultural competitiveness and self-reliance by facilitating the emergence of a functioning, gender- equitable land market. Focusing on 12 target districts in Tajikistan’s Khatlon Region — the Zone of Influence (ZOI) — LMDA worked through four mutually reinforcing tasks to advance reforms, strengthen private and public sector capacity to support the emerging market, and improve awareness among Tajik citizens of their rights and how to defend them. 1. Improved land policy was achieved in the form of new laws, regulations, and administrative processes, providing greater clarity and protection of land use rights. In total, LMDA helped advance 14 legal instruments, and shepherded three laws to the President of Tajikistan’s approval: amendments to the Law on State Registration and Mortgage Law, and the new Appraisal Law. With these new laws, land plots are now legally defined as immovable property objects that may be used in civil transactions — such as sales or mortgage collateral — at market value. The project also built political will for the passage of the Regulation on the Right of Alienation (ROA) and Rules on Transacting with Land Use Rights in the Land Use Rights Market, which will lay the foundation for a primary and secondary market for land use right transactions. 2. Market-based principles were strengthened as a part of Tajikistan’s emerging land market. Tajikistan conducted its first lease auctions for the state-managed Land Reserve Fund (LRF), resulting in approximately $102,167 in additional local government revenue and a proof-of-concept for rollout to the rest of the country. The project also established private and public sector organizations that are dedicated