Impossible to have imagined 50 years ago that Africa’s ruling political elites would have come to despise their own small-scale farmers and pastoralists and to look kindly on foreign-run large plantations. Impact of decades of structural adjustment programmes forgotten. Sceptical about claims that land grabs can be stopped within 3 years. Looks at variety of responses attempting to address power inequalities at local levels. Research a not unproblematic area. Concludes with case studies of legal empowerment in Mozambique and Namati’s community land protection programme. Would like audience to respond to the author’s question.

This was the keynote address at LANDac International Conference on Land Governance for Sustainable Development, Utrecht

Under Ugandan law a person whose land is identified for a public purpose must be compensated fairly, promptly, and prior to the acquisition of the property. But often laws and best practices remain on paper only. Many individual landowners are often ignorant about their basic rights, and lack the capacity and courage to speak out against injustice meted on them by development projects. The decision by the Ugandan government to construct an oil refinery meant that over 1,200 households were to be displaced. A community-based monitoring tool was used to empower people affected by the project to be aware of their rights and responsibilities. As a result community monitors spoke from an informed and knowledgeable position which influenced the resettlement process in a positive way. The experiences in the application of this tool provide important lessons, notably that it is important to tailor the tool to local contexts, needs and capacities.

The spread and deepening of economic globalisation has highlighted the ever closer connections between the international legal arrangements for the governance of the global economy on the one hand, and claims to land and natural resources on the other. In a globalised world, land governance is shaped by international as well as national regulation. As pressures on valuable lands intensify and land relations become more trans-national, increasing recourse to international investment treaties is redesigning spaces for land claims at local and national levels. Report sheds light on how investment treaties can affect land rights. Finds that they can have far-reaching implications for land reform, for public action to address ‘land grabbing’ and for land governance frameworks. Charts directions for socio-legal research to explore how investment treaties are affecting land rights on the ground.

Presents an example of a biofuels production project and its value chain to argue that there is a need for a land and investment policy to guide communities, investors and stakeholders. The expansion of commercial sugarcane farming and the establishment of an ethanol refinery at Chisumbanje in Chipinge District present both opportunities and risks for rural people. Without clarity on land tenure, investors are faced with challenges when deciding the extent to which they can put their money into agriculture. When policy is blurred, it may create opportunities for some local people to benefit, while leading to dispossession and marginalisation of others. Decisive policy direction from government is needed.

Dramatic changes are underway in Southern Africa, with growing interest by foreign and domestic investors to access land for farming, mining and other commercial operations. This book of case studies documents situations in which commercial projects are planned or are being implemented on land held by rural communities in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It aims to provide an accessible and vivid window into the lived realities, views and responses of rural people who are affected by such deals. we have paid particular attention to what local people say, and have quoted their experiences and responses to the land deals.

Describes a long-standing grazing dispute in northern Namibia that provides critical lessons on the challenges that people living in communal areas face to secure their land rights. Several large livestock owners illegally enclosed community rangelands to secure grazing for their own commercial cattle herds. The communities used legislation to defend their land rights: they mobilised relevant government and traditional authorities to intervene, resulting in a court order for the removal of most of the illegal cattle owners. But the Ministry of Land Reform and the Communal Land Board failed to monitor and follow up on implementation, so the order was never fully enforced and some of the communal grazing land remains illegally enclosed.

Investigates the processes and impact of commercialisation of land in Malawi – specifically the acquisition of huge tracts of communal lands by foreign companies and local elites for sugarcane production in Nkhotakota and Chikwawa districts. The main finding was that ‘land grabbing’ for large-scale commercial agriculture in these two districts negatively affected the livelihoods of the poor communal farmers. The costs to the affected communities outweighed the benefits

Notes from a conference on land grabbing in Southeast Asia at Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 5-6 June. Covers colonial and post-colonial plantations; the infrastructural violence of plantations; winners and losers – gender and generation; what then is the future for small-scale and family farmers?; state power, private capital and people’s rights; comparative thoughts
Southeast Asia and Africa.

Recent years have seen a new wave of large-scale acquisitions of farmland for plantation agriculture in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Less tangible changes are also taking place. In a globalised world, land governance is increasingly shaped by international law, developments in which law are shifting the balance between competing land claims and between private interests and public authority. International developments are also creating new spaces for contestation and accountability. Briefing note discusses trends and provides pointers for public action at national and international levels.

Report based on fieldwork in Chisumbanje seeks to understand: 1) the interest and role of the Zimbabwe Government and its contribution to the first large-scale private investments undertaken by GreenFuel in Chisumbanje; 2) the impact of the project on local communities’ land rights and livelihoods; 3) the role of the local institutions in facilitating and mediating investment, particularly on land; 4) the capacity of local and national institutions to structure a land agreement palatable to the local communities; and 5) the role of GreenFuel as the land user.

Includes key issues; the rise of development-induced displacements; key findings on the resettlement process; evaluating the proposed National Resettlement Policy; recommendations. Brief argues reforms need to be cognisant of the ways and means in which communities have been displaced and resettled in recent cases of land-based investments, and learn lessons from them.

Includes key policy areas; the legal framework governing land in Malawi; the Green Belt initiative and the New Alliance: threats or development opportunities?; case studies of large-scale acquisitions in Malawi – out-grower schemes in Nkhotakota and Chikwawa districts; recommendations. Brief illustrates the further accelerate land concentration among local elites and the exposure of many to landlessness and food insecurity.

Focuses on communal tenure reform developments (or lack thereof), referring to law, policy and practice in rural areas in South Africa. Shows that communal land tenure is not in a healthy state and discusses the following recent laws and policies that are symptoms of this ill health: the Communal Land Rights Act (struck down by the Constitutional Court); the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act (passed in 2003); and the 2014 Communal Land Tenure ‘wagon wheel’ policy (currently in place). Also explores the historical roots of the insecurity of tenure with which millions of South Africans struggle, diagnoses some of the causes of the failures of communal land tenure reform and suggests some alternatives that might provide the remedies needed.

Short summary of an event with over 1000 participants and nearly 550 papers. Presented a paper with former FAO colleagues in Mozambique on community level legal empowerment programme to encourage local people to more effectively defend their rights under the progressive 1997 Land Law. One of four papers on legal empowerment which presented clear endorsement of the rights-based and legal empowerment methodology now being used in many parts of the world to arm citizens with the basic knowledge and legal support to engage far more proactively with governments and private sector interests who want to use their land. Clear from the conference agenda that while many countries have new laws that recognise local rights, deeply rooted power relations allow these laws to be over-ridden. Left feeling convinced that the technical side of the land fraternity has little real idea of realities on the ground. Has a link to the conference papers.

Includes ProSavana strategy plan published: increased government role and fertiliser subsidies, but no word on land grabs. Claim $4.2 bn farm plan for Rio Lurio. Argues that neither new plantations nor outside investment in large farms have succeeded since independence in 1975. So time for the elite and key donors to realise that plantation or industrial farming does not work in Mozambique and encouraging giant foreign-owned farms will not end poverty. Instead need to encourage foreign investment elsewhere in the value chain and let Mozambicans do the farming.

Since the global food crisis of 2008 the Tanzanian government has made food security through increases in agricultural productivity a policy priority. The emphasis is on commercialisation, with a particular focus on large-scale rice and sugarcane production. Gender equity within African agricultural production is a critical issue; yet limited empirical research exists on the gender implications of agricultural commercialisation now taking place in the region. Presents findings from fieldwork in Kilombero District in 2013-14. Takes the country’s largest sugar producer – Kilombero Sugar Company Ltd – as its focus and analyses the socio-economic implications of the commercialisation of sugarcane production from a gender perspective. Findings demonstrate the significance of gender relations in the development of commercial agricultural business models, local socio-economic development and land titling measures. Also illustrate the pressures and benefits for relationships and resource-sharing within households in the transition from food crops to sugarcane production.

The purpose of the Guide is to provide advocacy information, advice and tools to those wishing to use the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol to secure the land and property rights of women. It is directed at NGOs and advocates working on these specific issues. Includes overview of CEDAW and key actors, how can NGOs use and engage with CEDAW review processes?, complaints, themes and general recommendations, additional resources.

Report brings together the multiple legal strands that weave together and form the context of farmland investments and water rights. Farmland investments are about much more than simple commercial land transactions; they have great impacts on the amount of water available for local communities and other states. Demonstrates that water is a precious resource facing growing pressures from climate change, population growth and urbanization. The water abstracted to maintain production of large-scale commercial farming further exacerbates these strains and must be given due consideration.

In recent years, Cameroon has been approached by growing numbers of local and international investors wanting to acquire arable land for large-scale agro-industrial operations. This study takes a closer look at large-scale land acquisitions since 2005. Examining the legal framework and the practical implications of these land acquisitions, it shows that there is a risk that they will affect the long-term capacity of communities to preserve their traditional way of living. Their territories are being substantially reduced, their ecological environment and social stability are threatened, and the situation is further exacerbated by the lack of transparency in the allocation process. The authors propose several possible solutions that will serve the long-term interests of both local populations and agro-industrial companies.

Looks at land use planning challenges in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) of Kenya – lack of coherent vision, disconnect between political and technical planning processes, urgent needs of ASALs not being considered, lack of investment, National Land Commission under-resourced, conflicts over land use, lack of tenure security. Need to enact the Community Land Bill and for refocussing as a bottom up and participatory approach.

Includes genesis of the CFJJ-FAO programme – policy and legal reforms, challenges for land governance today, legal empowerment and land governance; the twin-track approach; the training programme – paralegal courses, local government and sector officer seminars; results and impact – overall impact, gender issues and women’s land rights; discussion; a format for change – the empowerment chain. Important to have a long term view. The law indeed is not enough. Paralegals an important innovation, a necessary but not sufficient part of a tool kit of measures that can bring local people into the development process as real stakeholders.

Covers why do we need to think about policies to formalise land rights in developing countries?; primarily a political issue; policies to formalise land rights are not a panacea; inclusive formalisation policies present considerable challenges. Shows that policies to formalise rights raise highly political issues and often contribute to exclusion. They can be powerful tools for greater security, social integration and economic development, but only under certain conditions – in particular, recognising the plurality of norms and rights (especially collective rights), social validation prior to the registration of rights, reliable land management institutions, and a favourable economic environment.

Describes the work of the late Patrick McAuslan, international legal adviser on land. Covers contrary perspectives in Tanzania 1996-7; counterpoint in Uganda 1998-9; the land policy paper that never was Lesotho 2001; a reform too far Lesotho 2003; some satisfaction Botswana 2002; full speed ahead Rwanda 2006; concluding comments. The author hopes that the principles and standards Patrick McAuslan set will continue to inspire those who follow him.

Women for Women International has worked with over 84,000 marginalised women in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and commissioned research to explore these women’s land rights. The study found that the women could not own land, even through inheritance, while men controlled the sales of the items that their wives farmed.

The lobby to industrialise food production in Africa is changing seed and land laws across the continent to serve agribusiness corporations. The end goal is to turn what has long been held as a commons into a marketable commodity that the private sector can control and extract profit from at the expense of smallholder farmers and communities. This survey aims to provide an overview of just who is pushing for which specific changes in these areas – looking not at the plans and projects, but at the actual texts that will define the new rules.

As organizations working on food security, natural resources management and poverty eradication, we strongly encourage governments to keep the profile of land and natural resources high in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda document to be endorsed in September 2015. Secure and equitable land rights are an essential element of an Agenda that has the ambition to be people-centred and planet-sensitive. Recommendations cover indigenous peoples and local communities; free, prior and informed consent; women’s land rights; land rights in cities and urban settlements; rights to land and natural resources must be secure.

Tackles a number of key issues around reopening the restitution claim process including: Restitution to date has been slow and many rural land claims are not yet finalised; ungazetted and yet-to-be-finalised land claims are at risk from new claims; many new land claims are likely to be for cash compensation, or tribal claims led by chiefs, and contribute little to rural transformation; Parliament should enact regulations to ring-fence existing land claims.

Contains a brief review of the land issue in DRC; women’s access to land: secondary land rights; the place guaranteed to women in initiatives to reform the land system; conclusions and recommendations. Women’s access to land must be placed within the context of the complex and pluralistic land crisis and bloody conflicts that continue to destabilise that part of the DRC. Essential resources, such as credit, quality seeds, technology, information and access to markets are cruelly lacking. One of the greatest challenges lies in the legislation and legal frameworks, both customary and modern, that regulate the rights of women in general and specifically their land rights.

Includes key messages; context of the voluntary guidelines and frameworks – AU Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa, World Bank Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment, FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Land, Fisheries and Forests, CFS Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems; experiences from rural Africa – Tanzania, Malawi, Namibia; implementation challenges – state sovereignty, weak state institutions, protection of the rights of marginalised groups, private sector commitment, lack of adequate resources and lead institution; policy recommendations, conclusion.

Includes gender and land in a changing world, in the international policy discourse and addressing the issue at national and local levels; complex governance, growing pressure on land, effects of climate change, fight for water, increasing conflicts, migration and social changes, land tenure reform and access to justice, changing gender roles.

Discusses the human rights issues raised by large-scale land deals for plantation agriculture (‘land grabbing’) in low and middle-income countries. Finds that it is a serious issue requiring urgent attention. Conceptualises the link between land deals and human rights, reviews relevant international human rights law and discusses evidence on actual and potential human rights impacts. Finds that important human rights dimensions are at stake and that compressions of human rights have been documented in some contexts. Identifies areas of EU policy most directly relevant to addressing the human rights impacts of ‘land grabbing’, discusses developments in home and host countries and internationally. Proposes courses of action by which the EU and the European Parliament can further prevent or remedy human rights violations linked to large-scale land deals.

Includes views of land registration in Omahalya Village in the Omusati Region of Namibia, connection to the land, value of registration, protection from land grabbing and conflicts, investing in their land, women’s empowerment, the commonage. Concludes that the village is a promising example of the benefits of Communal Land rights registration. The villagers feel safer on their land, invest more, have fewer conflicts and more equitable inheritance. Believes that while land rights registration alone will not bring prosperity to communal areas, it does bring additional social stability and cohesion to communal areas, and has already significantly improved the lives of the households in Omahalya village.

Report assessed the financial relationships of 17 companies involved in land grabbing, human rights abuses or environmental pollution with 17 selected Swiss banks and institutional investors since January 2011. Financing categories include shares, bonds and loans. Countries involved include Cameroon, Liberia and Uganda.

These Principles were officially launched on 12 November during the Inaugural Land Policy Conference in Africa in Addis Ababa. They aim to facilitate national land policy development and implementation process and to improve the governance of large-scale land based investments. They are articulated as fundamental principles based on human rights of communities, responsible governance of land, social acceptance by affected communities, gender equality and women’s access to land ownership, cost-benefits study and mutual accountability. They are also aligned to national strategies for sustainable agriculture. The challenge is their adoption and operationalization by AU member States. But Joan Kagwanja, Chief of the Land Policy Initiative, believes that African countries are ready to take the challenge. ‘We have already launched a series of training to build capacity of leaders, parliamentarians, jurists and other practitioners specializing in land issues. We hope that within the next three years at least, we will be able to stop land grabs. And that over the next decade, land management will have seen much needed improvement.’

Contains recognise and strengthen customary rights starting with statutory recognition; community rather than individual titling must be further explored as an option; women’s land rights remain weak under customary tenure but formalization is not necessarily the answer; custom or rights for women is a false dichotomy; supporting women’s collective action is key; political leadership and evidence from research are needed to transform policies and practices; technical tools to secure land rights require wider policy and institutional support.

Reflections following the passing of the African Union’s Guiding Principles on Large-Scale Land-Based Investment, the culmination of policy processes over the past decade. Rising food prices reflect the systematic neglect of agriculture over a long period. We need indicators and monitoring, cannot rely on technology to resolve political problems, need a system-wide approach and to create opportunities for young people to build livelihoods in farming and throughout the agro-food system. Overwhelming evidence that large land deals have not delivered their promised benefits, especially jobs, so we need alternatives. Can Africa achieve agricultural growth that is inclusive? Yes, and it must!

Report highlights the effects of government actions on the Suri people of south-western Ethiopia, who are representative of numerous ethnic communities whose subsistence practices and culture are treated as impediments to Ethiopian economic growth. Uncovers the truth behind a reported massacre of 30 to 50 Suri people in May 2012 near the 30,000-hectare Malaysian-owned Koka plantation. Reveals the destabilizing effects of foreign investment in south-western Ethiopia and examines the role of international aid programs in supporting forced evictions in the country.

Concerns the Senhuile-Senethanol investment in Ndiael, Senegal. Includes chronology of a dubious investment; social and environmental characteristics of the Ndiael area; consultation with local communities: a fool’s game; key information still missing; social and environmental impacts; corporate social responsibility projects: whitewashing or buying complacency?; conclusion and recommendations.

In Liberia it is estimated that around half the country’s land mass has been promised to foreign companies and investors. From 2009-11 the Sustainable Development Institute and NAMATI embarked on an action research project to support rural communities to protect, document, and manage their customary lands and natural resources. Drawing from lessons learned in the field, they sought to bring the voices and realities from rural Liberia to influential policymakers. In 2012-3 they embarked on a policy advocacy campaign utilising a diverse set of tactics to influence Liberia’s newly proposed Land Rights Policy. The Policy, passed in 2013, is an historic and progressive document which recognises and guarantees customary land ownership to rural communities in an unprecedented way. Provides insights that may be of interest to practitioners in other countries engaging in land reforms.

AFJN travelled to Brewaniase, a town in Ghana’s Volta Region, to learn more about a potential land grab deal by Herakles Farms, a New York based agribusiness. Informed that Herakles Farm had acquired a large tract of land in the Volta Region. Less than a year ago the property was sold to a British company, Volta Red. This story is a warning to landowners in Africa and irresponsible African leaders who are carelessly mortgaging future generations’ inheritance during this global rush for land in Africa.

An operational tool to help implement a wide range of international standards and voluntary guidelines dealing with the growing phenomenon of land acquisition and concentration. The central element is an Analytical Framework designed to help AFD (French Agency for Development) Group officers carry out due diligence of proposed investment projects in commercial agricultural production that affect land tenure and property rights in low- and middle-income countries. Identifies a set of criteria, key questions for each criterion and source of information to tackle those questions. Preceded by a Guide providing narrative text and examples. Clarifies the meaning of key questions in the analytical framework, identifies points that merit particular attention and shows how donors can influence the setup of a project. Draws out the main lessons learned and makes recommendations for actors in the French Cooperation

Paper written for Democracy, Land and Liberation in Africa Today: Bridging Past and Present Scholarship. A colloquium in honour of Lionel Cliffe held at the University of Cape Town. Includes the academic world, 1960-84 (universities in Southern Africa, my academic writing); the NGO world, 1987-2007 (Oxfam’s Southern Africa Desk, women’s land rights, working with Zimbabwean researchers, land and property rights in post-tsunami Aceh; the consultancy world (Zimbabwe 1999, South Africa 2000 DLA, South Africa 2001 the LRC); an academic again in retirement?

Grounded in an ongoing examination of 100 case studies, this analysis describes the overarching patterns of conflict between companies and local communities in emerging and frontier market concessions. Identifying those patterns is the first step to establishing best practices for managing the risks. Findings admittedly subjective but suggest 3 interesting conclusions for investors: more resources should be devoted to managing risks at the inception stage of operating a new concession; risks resulting from conflict with local populations can be managed by maintaining strong environmental standards; and more time and resources should be given to the identification and development of relationships with reliable local counterparties.

Recent actual and expected changes in global agricultural commodity prices have fostered a renewed business interest in tropical agriculture. Agricultural commercialisation concessions (ACCs) are contracts between governments and agribusiness companies allowing the company to supply inputs, purchase farm produce and also sometimes run processing operations and/or provide storage, marketing and distribution services in a given geographical area. ACCs could provide new livelihood opportunities, however certain features of the contractual processes and clauses raise concerns that they are concluded with little consultation and grant companies monopoly rights. IIED is following ACC development closely, although most contracts are not publicly available and confidentiality restrictions apply. Discusses some of the issues at stake with the aim of promoting awareness and public debate.

A practical guide to help governments negotiate contracts to reduce the harmful effects of large-scale land investments. Proposes model contract clauses that can fill gaps in domestic law and contribute to promoting more sustainable foreign agricultural investment. Based on more than 3 year investigation of 80 agricultural investment contracts. A proactive response to the land grab phenomenon that has plagued many countries in Africa and South East Asia in recent decades.

Position papers distributed to the 2,000 people who attended the South African Government’s National Land Tenure Summit, 4-6 September 2014. Comprises: Strengthening the Relative Rights of People Working on Land; Extension of Security of Tenure Amendment Bill; Communal Land Tenure Policy; Communal Property Associations; Agricultural Landholdings Policy; State Land Lease and Disposal Policy. Also an Oped by Ruth Hall, Secure tenure rights or share-holding for farm workers: will government listen?

As the development of Liberia’s natural wealth intensifies, a coherent set of policies that address questions of persistent gender inequality, sustainable rural livelihoods and long-term security of access to natural resources is needed. The capacity of rural women to maintain the local food economy must be preserved and enhanced, as must their ability to make informed decisions regarding the sustainable exploitation of natural resources. Should these concerns not be effectively addressed, the country runs a high risk of witnessing a further deepening of gender and income inequalities and undermining its potential for sustainable development. There is a need to protect community lands through a gender sensitive land policy.

Examines MCC projects in Benin, Lesotho, Mali and Namibia to understand how each project applied gender to its design and implementation and how that approach impacted on results. Aims to help practitioners understand what concrete steps might be taken towards closing the gender gap in land projects.

Pastoral and agro-pastoral areas in eastern Africa and elsewhere have long been regarded as peripheries in economic terms and in terms of social and cultural accomplishments. Although biased perceptions of the ‘unproductive’ uses of pastoralism have become outdated, government policies still do little to formally recognise or integrate pastoral lands as critical parts of rural livelihood systems and economic development models. Instead, many states give preference to large-scale agricultural investments in pastoral areas, resulting in the loss or fragmentation of rangelands, induced sedentarisation of pastoralists, and a radical reduction in livestock numbers. Looks at the significance of pastoralism as a productive economy and the positive bearing it has on the environment, wildlife conservation, and the health and well-being of pastoral communities. Reflects on what is at stake when one form of land use is replaced by another and when customary rules and practices are not fully recognised by policy makers. Using historical examples and current development trends, shows how the impacts of such development need not be negative. The authors urge development planners and governments to integrate the expertise of agro-pastoralists into development models and to establish strong relationships between investors, policy makers, researchers, local communities and other stakeholders in order to find equitable and long-term solutions for changing land uses.

Research sought to evaluate the determinants of urban land markets, to analyse trends in urban land markets and values, and to assess impacts of urban land prices and policies. Concludes that if current land policies are not reformed there is a risk of increased negative impacts on the poor and more low-income people will be exposed to displacement to areas away from the urban centres which could cause social instability and an increase of informal settlements in suburbs.