Land policies in Africa should mind the rights of the poor, women and youth

In the Eighth African Development Forum (ADF-VIII) held in Addis Abba on 23-25th October, large-scale land-based investments was the subject of discussion in one of the break out sessions Chaired by Ms Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, the African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture. The Commissioner defined land in broad terms to include natural resources, their ecosystems and the variety of services that they provide of life resources. Human requirements put pressure on the optimal use of land and natural resources, often occasioning conflict. Africa's land uses go beyond agriculture, she observed, to include mining, manufacturing, urbanization, tourism and infrastructure. These land uses usually call for heavy investments, often funded from foreign capital.

Land concessions for the extraction of minerals have for instance been widely given to foreign consortia which has at times caused tensions between local communities and mining companies. The use of land for energy production has also been driven by foreign investors and is often geared towards export rather than local production. This has raised tensions in countries that have to meet their internal food needs in situations where their is competition for land between the energy and the agricultural sectors.   The Commissioner observed that land is an important resource for the poor and therefore land policy reforms must address these issues extensively and land policies should balance the rights of users to include the poor, women, youth and other vulnerable groups.

In contributing to this discussion, Dr Abebe Haile Gabriel, the Director Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of AUC noted that land is central to Africa's development and that 60% of African people depend on access and use of land for their livelihoods. Therefore, any action on land use has far-reaching ramifications for Africa. Abebe noted that land is immovable and unlike other assets, embodies other resources. Land is trans-generational too and relies on the current generation as care taker for use by future generations. For this reason, serious thought must be given to activities that have degrading impacts.

Population: Africa's will surpass India's and China's after year 2025

Dr Abebe further noted that Africa's population is increasing at an unparalleled rate and that forecasts show that by 2025, convergence will be achieved between the populations of Africa, India and China. Thereafter, Africa's population will be larger, forecasts show. This population will be increasingly more dependent on land.He noted that the percentage of working population in total is both a challenge and an opportunity in Africa. Where else would the non-working population be engaged other than in land-based employment in the short and medium term?

He noted that for enhanced contribution of agriculture to Africa's development, some key constraints need to be addressed some of which include:-

• Low levels of agricultural productivity and investment o enhance productivity
• Questions over adequacy of policies
• Effectiveness of legal and institutional frameworks

Land policies important to development

Land policies need to be seen as important determinants to of economic growth and development and ought to be comprehensive to reflect multi-sectoral perspectives. It is also important that land policies have national ownership for successful implementation.

Dr Abebe also observed that a big challenge facing most African countries is lack of comprehensive land policies. Some of the reasons behind this include:-

• Land is complex and politically sensitive
• Inadequate baseline data
• weak capacity in land policy development.

But even in countries where there is some kind of land policy, implementation has remained a major challenge owing to:-

• Failure to develop implementation strategies
• Lack of capacity to manage change
• Inadequacy of implementation infrastructure such as land administration systems.

Dr Abebe informed that the Land Policy Initiative (LPI), initiated as a partnership between the AUC, ECA, and AfDB in close collaboration with the RECs, African Governments and CSOs was in response to these challenges. He informed that progress made by the AUC-AfDB-ECA Joint LPI Secretariat included:-

• Publication and dissemination of the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa
• Publication and dissemination of the African Union Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges
• Support and follow up on the Nairobi Action Plan on Large-Scale Land-Based Investments (LSLBI)
• Some capacity building and support to RECs (Regional Economic Communities)
• Various studies on related topics

He however noted that the most important progress in respect to implementation is at country level. He noted that RECs have a critical role to:-

• Facilitate experience sharing,
• Facilitate mutual learning as well as
• Mainstreaming land and the AU Declaration on land within their policies

The role of other actors is also recognized under the Framework and Guidelines. He noted that the African Union does not as yet have information on efforts currently underway to implement the Declaration.

The above remarks and observations from Commissioner Tumusiime and Dr Abebe provide food for thought and action by Regional Economic Communities, Governments and Civil Society. Eastern Africa for instance requires to see some action at the East African Community (EAC) level. It is for instance expected that EAC oversees efforts to converge the land policies of its member states on issues that are cross-cutting such as the management and conservation of natural ecosystems, food security and grazing pasture among others. Countries that have been implementing their policies should be provided with regular regional forums to exchange their experiences.

Kigali Valuation workshop

Capacity building should also begin in earnest within the region. In this regard, it is observed that there will be a capacity building workshop to be held in Kigali, Rwanda on 10-13th December 2012 on "Economic Valuation of Land and Ecosystem Services". The workshop aims at equipping actors involved in land use decisions with the capacity to assess the real value of land and a deeper understanding of the multiple benefits originating from ecosystem services. More details on the event will be posted on a separate blog shortly.

For more reading on the Continental Land Policy Initiative, see www.uneca.org/lpi/home_lpi.aspx