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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of land tenure on housing values in metropolitan Kampala.

A hedonic model is used to test the relationship between housing prices, land tenure and housing attributes using a cross-sectional dataset of transaction prices for 590 newly built houses sold in 2011.

Public leaseholds in Kampala offer a premium of 23 per cent in housing values compared to freeholds. This could be due to a lack of formal systems for the assessment of leasehold premium and ground rent charges, an arrangement which can offer utility to the lesse at the expense of lessor, thereby making leaseholds popular on the market, or the developers’ lack of information on the benefits of freehold causing them to value leaseholds higher than freeholds. Similarly, private mailo tenure offers a 12 per cent premium in housing values compared to freeholds. There is no significant impact of Kabaka’s mailo tenure on housing values. When compared to private mailo, public leaseholds offer an 11 per cent premium in housing values.

There is a need to advance leasehold as the urban land tenure for Uganda, disentangle multiple-layers of ownership on mailo land and roll out the land fund to enhance growth of the housing market in Kampala.

This paper is the first of its kind to empirically examine the impact of mailo land tenure on housing values. Findings provide useful insights for investors and policymakers in the housing sector in Uganda.

The emergence of housing microfinance (HMF) as a response to the low-income groups’ inability to access traditional housing finance is an innovative strategy by creative Microfinance Institutions. Yet, low-income groups’ still face barriers in accessing these innovative products, particularly in Ghana. This paper aims to examine the critical demand barriers and how to develop and improve the design and delivery of HMF interventions in the low-income housing market in Ghana.

The paper achieves its aim by adopting a focus-group discussion strategy to examine the constraints to the demand for HMF among low-income groups’ in Ghana.

Nine factors constrained the design, delivery and demand for HMF – affordability issues; risk; land tenure insecurity; high interest rate; collateralization and insurance challenges; unfavourable HMF loan conditions; lack of social capital; high cost of land and building materials; and ineffective consumer protection.

Although limited to low-income groups, strategies to stimulate demand for HMF should focus on three broad problems – affordability, macroeconomic management and institutional development and government intervention.

The paper makes significant contributions to the body of knowledge, regarding understanding the low-income housing market and its financing in the context of a developing country.

The novelty of the paper is founded on the premise of the research methodology adopted to unearthed the barriers to the demand of HMF in Ghana. Future research effort should be directed at exploring the motivations behind low-income groups’ decision to demand HMF and the risk associated with the use of HMF in the context of Ghana.

This chapter situates the South Pacific region’s engagement in progressing gender equality and women’s empowerment within broader gender and development (GAD) debates. It explores the international ‘gender agenda’ and how its associated frameworks, platforms, policies and metrics have diffused throughout the South Pacific. Limited progress in achieving gender equality and empowerment goals has been made, globally and regionally, with considerable challenges yet to be overcome. Complementing the book’s focus on the integration of gender into agricultural research and development projects, the chapter reviews rural women’s access to income and land in the South Pacific, and their contributions to agricultural production and marketing.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of using indigenous forecasts (IFs) and scientific forecasts (SFs) on pastoralists’ adaptation methods in Rwenzori region, Western Uganda.

Data were collected using a household survey from 270 pastoralists and focus group discussions. The multivariate probit model was used in the analysis.

The results revealed that pastoralists using of IF only more likely to be non-farm enterprises and livestock sales as adaptation strategies. Pastoralists using both SF and IF were more likely to practise livestock migration.

Other factors found to be important included land ownership, land tenure, gender, education level, non-farm and productive assets, climate-related risks and agricultural extension access.

Increasing the number of weather stations in pastoral areas would increase the predictive accuracy of scientific climate information, which results in better adaptive capacity of pastoralists. Active participation of pastoral households in national meteorological dissemination processes should be explored.

A two-prong approach that supports both mobile and sedentary pastoralism should be adopted in rangeland development policies.

This study has shown the relevance of IFs in climate change adaptation methods of pastoralists. It has also shown that IFs compliment SFs in climate change adaptation in pastoralism.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the association between smallholder farmer perceptions toward climate change and adaptation strategies at the household level in Chimanimani District of Zimbabwe.

Data were collected from 284 households mainly using a structured questionnaire. The Heckman probit selection model was used to first identify the underlying socio-economic factors that affect households’ recognition of climate change in the past 10 years, and the second model the factors that influence adaptation to the climate change phenomenon.

The majority of farmers (85 percent) perceived that climate change, characterized by rising temperatures and variability in rainfall patterns, has been occurring in the past ten years. As a response, farmers adapted using methods such as manuring and staggering of planting dates. Indigenous knowledge systems and non-governmental organizations increased the likelihood farmers’ recognition of climate change (p<0.05). The probability of adopting multiple adaptation strategies was influenced by household head’s education level, land tenure and access to public extension services.

Integrative extension methods that take into account socio-cultural values could be helpful in building resilience as farmers are better able to understand the climate change construct. There is a need to guarantee land tenure rights in resettlement areas to stimulate investment on farms.

This study showed that there is a link between farmers’ prior knowledge of climate change and the number of adaptive investments. The analysis proposed an educational and extension approach that is embedded in the socio-cultural and traditional setting of farmers.

Despite the role of post conflict housing reconstruction in establishing the development of peace in conflict affected countries, there are many issues which hinder its success. While the inconsideration of housing needs in post conflict housing reconstruction has directly or indirectly given rise for most of the issues, the countries emerging from conflicts face many challenges in addressing such housing needs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the management of housing needs in post conflict housing reconstruction. This paper aims to focus on identifying the challenges in addressing housing needs within the context of post conflict housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka.

The study used the grounded theory approach to collect and analyse the data collected through 37 in-depth interviews, conducted with policy makers, practitioners, academics and housing beneficiaries in Sri Lanka. Primary data were verified through a documents review.

The paper reveals that addressing housing needs in post conflict housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka is challenging, due to several factors. These include the socio economic profile of conflict affected people, conflict sensitive issues, donor requirements, limited availability of finance, weakened government administration, extent of housing and infrastructure damage, attitudes of affected people, land-related issues and shortage of labour and material.

A number of studies have identified the challenges of post conflict reconstruction. This study particularly identifies the challenges of addressing housing needs in post conflict housing reconstruction. These findings are useful for policy makers to develop strategies in addressing housing needs in post conflict housing reconstruction.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the de/motivation variables in the delivery of housing microfinance (HMF) in the low-income housing market in Ghana.

The paper relied on a survey of 125 respondents of microfinance institutions (MFIs) to understand the interactions and effects of these variables on HMF delivery in Ghana. Descriptive and bivariate statistical methods were used to analyse the data.

The findings revealed that both internal and external variables motivate MFIs to engage in the low-income housing market. These variables are: MFIs desire for expansion, the potential size of the low-income housing market, the market potential for MFIs growth, the availability of local resources, unique features and products of the market, low-income housing offering an opportunity for leveraging resources and the preference for homeownership than rental among individuals in the low-income segment of the population. However, variables such as capital lock-up in HMF delivery, high-interest rates in the country, high cost and land prices, high cost and price of building materials, lack of sufficient collaterals and the different interest rates required on HMF loans also served as demotivation in the low-income housing market in Ghana.

The paper findings are limited in context to Ghana.

The paper, although limited to Ghana, contributes to the much-needed body of knowledge on low-income housing finance in developing countries.

The paper is the first of its kind in using empirical data to explore the motivational and demotivational variables in the delivery of HMF in a developing country context such as Ghana.

This paper aims to present the development of palm oil sector and future challenge in Riau Province Indonesia, which includes sustainable plantation development.

This research was conducted through a survey with developmental research method. The research location is in the Province of Riau, which is the potential development of oil palm plantation. The land areas of Riau are Kampar, Rokan Hulu and Kuantan Singingi, while the coastal areas are Pelalawan, Siak, Bengkalis, Indragiri Hilir, Indragiri Hulu and Rokan Hilir. The socio-economic and environmental aspects of sustainability level of palm oil plantations were analyzed using a multi-dimensional scaling approach that was modified into a Rap-Insus-Pom.

Development of palmoil plantations results in land conversion, posing potential erosio. In anticipating environmental damage, the Government of Indonesia imposes the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) policy. The results of ISPO policy show that Indonesian crude palm oil products are environmentally friendly.

This research is one of few studies that investigate the development of palm oil sector and future challenge in Riau Province, Indonesia. Riau Province still needs 13 units of palm oil mills with capacity of 60 tons per hour. Find strategies to regulate palm oil farming institutions and derivative products to enhance growth and economic development in the region and find production centers and development areas for palm oil local industries in potential regions.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the key factors that influence the adoption of agrochemicals on plantain farms in Ghana.

The paper employs probit estimation using data from a stratified random sample of 249 farmers in four districts in Ghana.

The results show that adoption of agrochemicals is positively associated with: being literate, older than 40 years of age, having higher income from sales, living in villages distant to Accra (capital of Ghana), having access to hi‐tech machinery, being migrant, and being linked to extension services and financial institutions. Contrary to expectation, a farmer's gender and association with farmer‐based organizations (FBO) and non‐governmental organizations (NGO) did not make a difference.

The results suggest that there are no exclusions to innovation systems such as agrochemical adoption based on gender or living in rural areas; women are just as technologically empowered as men, while rural farmers have an option to retain their indigenous management practices or adopt new and improved practices such as using agrochemicals. Major efforts to improve access to agrochemical adoption lie with government extension officers, as the functions of FBO and NGO have yet to make a significant difference. More needs to be done to bring young, illiterate, low income and indigene farmers into inclusive plantain science techniques and applications in Ghana.

The paper reveals how vulnerable groups such as rural populations and women plantain farmers are being included in systems that support agrochemical adoption.