The Minister of Heritage, State Portfolio, and Public Enterprises, Moussa Sanogo, who is also a deputy and mayor of the Touba municipality, called on rural land stakeholders and the people of Ouaninou during a conference on Friday, September 5, 2025, in Ferentella, Ouaninou department, Bafing region, to take advantage of the PRESFOR program (Rural Land Tenure Security Strengthening Program) to secure their lands.
“The importance and content of this program are well known in our region. Bafing is a vast agricultural area where land security fits within the Head of State’s vision to establish peace and social cohesion between and within rural communities,” said Moussa Sanogo.
The minister highlighted three key reasons that make the land certificate indispensable. “Owning a land certificate guarantees credibility with financial institutions. Secondly, it opens the door to business relationships with investors or other partners. Finally, the land certificate confirms your customary rights on your lands, which you can freely transfer to your rightful heirs,” he explained.
The Director General of AFOR, Cheick Daniel Bamba, also encouraged the people of Ouaninou not to miss out on PRESFOR. “This program lasts only 5 years; 4 years remain. If you hesitate, the opportunity will be gone. To avoid regrets, the solution is in your hands. The decision-making power lies within the village committees,” he advised.
The Prefect of Ouaninou department, Abel Gla Bi, emphasized the free nature of the land certificate: “This is an opportunity to seize, because in some regions not covered by PRESFOR, applicants pay a high price to certify their lands.” He also urged local leaders to fully commit to raising awareness among the population.
It should be noted that in Bafing, the program aims to certify 296,664 hectares, delimit 176 villages, and formalize 29,666 agricultural contracts within 42 months starting from April 1, 2025.
For reminder, Côte d’Ivoire signed an agreement with the World Bank on December 12, 2023, to finance PRESFOR from 2024 to 2029. The program’s goals include issuing 500,000 land certificates covering 5,000,000 hectares, delimiting territories of 1,502 villages, and signing 250,000 agricultural contracts across 16 regions including the 6 PAMOFOR regions, covering 52 departments, 218 sub-prefectures, and 3,353 villages.