LAND OUTSOURCING AND AGROINVESTMENT IN AFRICA
REBUILDING CAPACITY FOR POLICY ANALYSIS
AND ‘PRO-POOR’ POLICY MAKING IN AFRICA
Prosper B. Matondi and Mandivamba Rukuni
RUZIVO TRUST, 3 Liemba Close, Ridgeway North, Borrowdale, Harare,
Zimbabwe
Paper prepared for the World Bank Conference
The Colonial Legacy on Land Issues in
Africa
• The 1884 Berlin Conference succeeded in dividing Africa in several ways:
– Physically– Culturally– Spiritually-
• Land issue is about:
– Politics; Governance; Economics; Business; Environment
– It is about Cultural transformation of society.
• Governance values and architecture altered;
– From foundations in FAMILY and COMMUNITY, highly
DECENTRALIZED
– Colonial foundations are in CENTRALIZED government and
Local Government
Lack of comprehensive land policies
evidence of cultural hesitation
• One common feature throughout Africa is the
dualist land regimes
• Africa is low levels of industrialization
Conflicts over land, water, mineral rights, on
the increase
• Land major cultural, social and political asset
• , African governments fragmented land law
regime.
Why land reform is key to advancement of
African society and economy
• Transforming agrarian systems into
urban-industrial economies requires
changes in many institutions, including
land tenure.
• These transitions are mostly to do with
MODERNISING rather than
WESTERNISING the land tenure systems.
African Dilemma
•
•
•
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Does democracy lead to development?
Or does development lead to democracy?
What is the relationship between the two?
Sacredness of property rights and free
enterprise wont automatically function for
democracy where majority do not have any
property to defend
MODERNISE DON’T WESTERNISE
TRADITIONAL LAND SYSTEMS
• Imposed Western style land tenure
reforms have largely failed in Africa
• TENURE SECURITY is more
important for reform than TYPE OF
TENURE
Basket of secure tenure rights
• USE
– to grow crops, trees; make permanent improvement (housing, roads,
wells etc); harvest trees, grass and fruits; Burry the dead; And so on
• TRANSFER
– land or use rights; Sell; mortgage, lease, rent; sub-divide, give,
bequeath etc
• EXCLUDE/INCLUDE
– others from/into the above rights; Can be individual, group or
community rights
• ENFORCE
– Legal/judicial, institutional and administrative provisions to guarantee
above rights; Title deed is no God given right- it’s given by society
Categories of land tenure systems
CATEGORY
OWNERSHIP OF
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS
Open access
None
Communal
Defined group
Private
Individual legal
entity
Public sector
State
Cultural differences in land administration
systems
WESTERN
AFRICAN
Common land
Municipal,
state,
association
Traditional
Council (Kgotla)
Freehold
Individual
Family
State
Government
Tribal Nation
(e.g Chief’s
Council)
NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE LAND
POLICIES
• Secure tenure rights for all categories of
• Upgrade the cadastral and land registry
systems and integrate with the financial
services grid for all categories of land
• Clarify the role of the State on one hand, and
the role of the market on the other
• Integrate, in a holistic and interdependent
manner, the multiple land development
objectives that include productivity and
sustainability, in policy making
Capacity building in Africa on Land
Governance Issues
• Building indigenous knowledge base for
modern land management
• A new generation of action-research is
required
– Promoting land rights of the poor
– Reducing land conflicts, disputes and
misinformation
– Promoting effective land policy management
• Action based policy research
• Research networking of African based
Capacity building in Africa on Land
Governance Issues
• National level capacity development
• Absence of clear policies and strategies for
guiding external investments
• Lack of a supportive and well coordinated
institutional framework,
• Policies and strategies cut across different
government sectors (e.g. energy, forestry,
environment, agriculture, trade & industry)
• Lack of proper channels for sharing and
disseminating lessons and experiences
Action research issues
• Trend analysis of existing and proposed practices:
– quantitative versus qualitative shift?
– New and not new projects and location
– Agrarian change and the politics of land, food and
control of natural resources:
– Impact on rural poverty, livelihoods and food security?
• Outcomes and impacts: class formation, gender
• Implications for governance:
– Governance of land rights
– Privatisation of public functions,
Building an indigenous knowledge base
for modern land management
•
•
•
•
Comprehensive land policy- tenure security
Investment analysis
Global economic impacts
Economic development strategy and sectoral
strategy
Capacity issues
• Food security analysis: local and national food availability, accessibility
and affordability especially for poorer social groups;
•
• Political analysis: what is the meaning of external investment in land for
governance at national and local level. How are potential conflicts going to
be handled?
•
• Economic analysis: costs of the investments relative to the alternative
ways of promoting and funding rural development;
•
• Environmental analysis: land and water use, soil and water impacts and
their export in the form of food, energy, or other industrial crops;
•
• Social analysis: issue of small versus large scale production, position of the
poor, women and vulnerable communities. How does investment assure
positive social outcomes?
Entities needing capacity development
• Community and civil society
empowerment
• Africa Union
• NEPAD and RECs
CONCLUSION
• Need to understand and engage issues from
several perspectives:
– Social, business, economic development , political,
legal etc
• Interventions needed in 5 areas:
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–
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Action research;
Investment appraisal;
Training
Policy engagement and
Regional networking