Sukuk aL-Muzara ah (or, Backed-up Crop-sharing Bonds)‎: towards an optimal exploitation of waqf farming lands

Abstract EN

The present paper closely examines the characteristics of (backed up) crop-sharing bonds in search of elements that are likely to contribute to an optimized exploitation of Waqf-held farming lands.

The paper starts with a brief and simple survey of the most notable investment problems which have undermined the capacity of Waqf farming lands to generate rewarding revenue and impelled the Waqf institution to neglect them.

The paper also considers, in some detail, the main reasons for adopting modern investment mechanisms and expounds the fundamentals of crop-sharing bonds as one kind of investment instruments.

The paper reaches some significant results which are apt to optimize the exploitation of tied-up farm lands.

Perhaps the most preponderant and far-reaching outcome consists in using crop-sharing bonds as a method of investment which enables the Waqf Institution to expand the exploitation of its agricultural lands and to augment the crops yielded by them.

The proposed mechanism has the capacity of raising the adequate funds to cover the requirements of farming investment projects.

It also has the capacity to capture wider public interest and to attract other investors, thanks to its proven convenience.

Likewise, the possession of secure bonds provides investors with the means to own the assets and to ensure higher returns.

Adopting this method of investment allows tied up Waqf lands to make the most of modern agricultural tools and methods, thereby conserving and increasing their production capacity, as well as boosting their yields.

It also satisfies a considerable portion of Waqf’s on-going funding requirements.