and as such provide some of the first rigorous empirical evidence on this important property rights issue. Another open question concerns state lands. In Haiti, many farmers exploit state land, which was generally initially rented by ancestors and for which the lease was thereafter transmitted to children and grandchildren. The actual and perceived insecurity of the rights to this land is difficult to comprehend, so that it remains debatable whether state farmers are discouraged to make long-run productive investments on this land. However, if some informal transactions on state land seem to some extent and in some regions possible, these lands often remain in the family, and transfer rights seem limited. With inheritances, farmers apparently often end up cultivating several small and distant parcels.17 Although this remains to be documented, the rights on state land could thus produce a distribution of land that has allocation efficiency costs by limiting the scope for intensification of agricultural and environmental investments. By comparing impacts of clarification of state land co-owned land with impacts on other land, the evaluation will be also be able to shed light on whether and how individualization of rights adds to the impacts of increased security.
4.2 Evaluation questions on complementarity with agricultural productivity interventions. Finally, the evaluation offers an opportunity to learn about the complementarities between land tenure security and interventions in the field of agricultural extension or environmental resource management. The IDB and other donors (GAFSP, WB) are planning to implement other programs in the same pilot areas. A first program will support the transfer of technologies, including improved seeds and fertilizers, improved pastures and agro-forestry inputs, through targeted smart subsidies to farmers in the Northern area. Beneficiary farmers can decide to some extent their use of the subsidies. A related project seeks to support private extension and innovation services, by providing demand-driven financial support for service providers. It also envisions strengthening an existing public network of local agents trained at identifying pests and providing vaccination services. In addition, another smart subsidy project will support the management of environmental resources in three watersheds, which are also in the pilot areas of the land tenure program. This program seeks to mitigate environmental risks by financing protection infrastructures, supporting the development of sustainable agriculture, and reinforcing 17
There might be other motives for cultivating distant parcels such as risk diversification and smoothing of labor requirements.
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