FAQ: 15 Official Answers on Rural Land in Ivory Coast
Who can obtain a land certificate? Do women have the same rights? Can you sell without a certificate? 15 questions, with answers sourced from AFOR.
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These questions come up in almost every conversation about customary land in Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), whether you hold land in your village or you have been farming the same plot for years. The answers below draw on the official AFOR FAQ, Law No. 98-750, and Decree No. 2019-263.
1. Who is responsible for rural land in Ivory Coast?
The Rural Land Agency (Agence Foncière Rurale, AFOR), created in 2016, runs the operations that secure rural land: certification of customary rights, delimitation of village territories, and contractualization between landowners and farmers.
Website: afor.ci
2. Who can apply for a Rural Land Certificate?
Any individual or legal entity of Ivorian nationality, or any identified group, holding customary rights over rural land. Non-Ivorians cannot own rural land. They reach it only as tenants, through a lease agreement.
3. Can a non-Ivorian own rural land?
No. Law No. 98-750 reserves rural land ownership for Ivorian citizens. Non-Ivorians have a single route to rural land: the lease agreement.
4. What is the difference between a Land Certificate and a Rural Land Title?
The Land Certificate (Certificat Foncier, CF) records customary rights over a parcel. The Rural Land Title (Titre Foncier Rural) is obtained once the CF is registered, and it confers full ownership that cannot be challenged. The CF holder has a 10-year period to start that registration.
5. Is the delimitation of village territories mandatory?
It is not required before individual certification, but its absence is a major risk factor. Without delimitation (Decree No. 2019-263), the Village Committee for Rural Land Management (Comité Villageois de Gestion Foncière Rurale, CVGFR) can certify a parcel that in fact belongs to a neighboring village.
6. What is a CVGFR?
The Village Committee for Rural Land Management is the local body that examines land certificate applications at village level. A CVGFR formed without at least one woman among its members is irregular.
Source: AFOR FAQ
7. How much does a Rural Land Certificate cost?
In the areas covered by PRESFOR (3,353 villages, 16 regions), the program covers certification with World Bank funding: the applicant puts up no application fee. Outside PRESFOR, the file costs around 10,000 FCFA, plus the surveyor's fees.
8. Does PRESFOR cover all regions?
No. PRESFOR (2024-2029) covers 16 specific regions. Check whether your village is one of them at afor.ci/programmes-projets/presfor.
9. What is SIFOR?
The Rural Land Information System (Système d'Information Foncier Rural, SIFOR), created by Ordinance 2025-85, plays for rural land the role SIGFU plays in urban areas. It will digitize rural certification and land management operations.
10. Is a verbal contract between a farmer and a landowner valid?
No. AFOR strongly recommends putting the agreement in writing, with five signatures: the two parties, two witnesses, and the CVGFR president. A verbal agreement protects neither side on the day the conflict breaks out.
Source: afor.ci/procedures/contractualisation
11. What types of agrarian contracts exist?
The main ones are sharecropping (crop sharing), tenant farming (fixed rent), the plantation contract (the farmer plants and maintains), and the loan for use (the farmer occupies without paying rent). Each one has to be set down in writing.
12. Can women obtain a Land Certificate?
Yes. Law No. 98-750 draws no distinction of gender. The PAMOFOR program issued 48,070 certificates, 31% of them to women.
13. What happens if two villages claim the same area?
The delimitation procedure is adversarial: every neighboring village has to take part. Without consensus, mediation is organized. If the disagreement holds, the dispute goes before the courts.
14. Which lands cannot be certified?
Classified forests, national parks, State concession zones, and land already registered in a third party's name.
15. How can the rights of a farmer who does not own the land be secured?
Through an agrarian contract set down in writing. AFOR provides templates fitted to each situation: sharecropping, tenant farming, plantation, and loan for use.
Official sources:
- AFOR FAQ
- Law No. 98-750 (PDF)
- Decree No. 2019-263 (PDF)
- PRESFOR
- AFOR, contractualization
- Ordinance 2025-85, creating SIFOR
Further reading:
- Rural Land Certificate: complete guide
- Delimitation of village territories
- The 10 types of agrarian contracts
- Non-Ivorians and rural land
- Women and rural land
?Frequently asked questions
How much does a Rural Land Certificate cost?+
No application fee in PRESFOR areas (3,353 villages), where certification is covered with World Bank funding. Outside PRESFOR, count on around 10,000 FCFA for the file, plus the surveyor's fees.
Can non-Ivorians own rural land?+
No. Law No. 98-750 reserves ownership for Ivorian citizens. Non-Ivorians reach rural land only through a lease agreement.
Does PRESFOR cover all regions?+
No, 16 specific regions. Check at afor.ci/programmes-projets/presfor.
