(Ecofin Agency) - Already in a tense relationship with Ivorian rural communities due to the exploitation of argricultural lands, Burkinabe citizens living in Cote d’Ivoire have had their situation worsen with the adoption of the new Ivorian constitution. The new legislation indeed states that “only the State, public bodies and Ivorian private persons can acquire rural lands”.

The measure which was welcomed by a number of observers amid a global race for agricultural lands should give rise to many land-related conflicts and expropriations, given that Burkinabe farmers are a large community in Cote d’Ivoire. “It hurts me to see these cocoa pods! I planted them. I took care of this field for 11 years and it grew, produced crops and they took it from me,” Benjamin Kouakou, a non-indigenous Burkinabe resident living near Guiglo (in the western part of Cote d’Ivoire) told AFP. A situation which does not surprise many observers. “It is completely demagogic. It is political clientelism. The rural land issue is a real ticking bomb and a very sensitive topic,” an observer said.

“They are a lot of land disputes in the region (Western Cote d’Ivoire). Clarifying the local governance is really crucial to mitigate the risks of conflicts,” said Gisèle Dutheuil, analyst at think tank Audauce Institut Afrique.

Souha Touré