Peru’s peasant and indigenous communities control at least 55 percent of its agricultural land, but many of these communities are faced with problems of land titling because the State has not honoured its commitment to provide the resources needed to certify the titling legally. A new regulatory framework has liberalized land transaction, but has also generated unmatched expectations of individual entitlement within communities, a situation giving rise to considerable tension. The difficulties of legal certification are compounded by co-owner (comunero) ignorance of their rights over communal land. More information is needed on the importance and advantage of titling communal land and land under family ownership. It is also important to understand the interests of the co-owners and their expectations from the titling process, and to review and modify communal legislation. These tasks are considered so urgent that the State, not recognizing the rights of the peasant organizations, has expressed its intention to hand over the vast areas of uncultivated communal land to private investors.
