Enhancing Customary Land Registration Processes to Promote Tenure Security

Enhancing customary land registration is essential for addressing insecure land tenure, persistent disputes, and weak land administration in Malawi. Secure and legally recognized land rights increase confidence for landholders to invest in agriculture and other productive activities, support private sector development, and promote equitable access to land, particularly for women and vulnerable groups. Establishing functional district land registries will decentralize services, reduce transaction costs, improve efficiency, and strengthen transparency and accountability. Overall, improved land registration will unlock land’s economic potential, support agricultural commercialization, and contribute to socio-economic development in line with the Ministry’s mandate and Malawi 2063.