Farmers’ perception of launched land use rights registration program in Myanmar

Abstract

Myanmar started implementing the Land Use Rights Registration Program (LURRP) amid ongoing land ownership conflicts. The study aimed to determine farmers’ knowledge, attitude, and participation relative to the LURRP. First, the paper provides a profile of the farmers regarding demography and socio-economics. Secondly, it discusses farmers’ knowledge about LURRP and their attitude towards the program and its implementers. Finally, it reveals the farmers’ participation in implementing the LURRP. The descriptive-analytical study involved 180 respondents of households with land use certificates from the 21 village tracts in Pyinmana Township, Dekkhina District, Nay Pyi Taw. The study employed a survey using a five-point Likert scale framed according to the Participatory Land Registration framework stages. The majority of farmers were males (80.0%), married (86.7%), belonged to the 38–57 age group (51.7%), reached primary schooling (99.4%), and worked on the farm for more than 31 years (51.1%) on an average of a 3-ha lot. Results revealed that farmers perceived LURRP as medium-level, while satisfaction with the process was moderate and high for personnel as implementers. The farmers highly participated in the field check and issuing stages, but participation was low in the other four stages. Intensification and enhancement of the promotion of community awareness on land laws and LURRP to increase farmers’ knowledge using sources of information commonly used by the farmers, including the more personal means, and framing the information about the various stages of LURRP with a clear link to the benefits farmers are supposed to receive, may be considered. Eventually, these efforts can help create a more favorable community perception, appreciation of, and support for the program.