LAND OUTSOURCING AND AGRO- INVESTMENT 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 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 State Public sector

Cultural differences in land administration systems WESTERNAFRICAN Common land Municipal, state, association Traditional Council (Kgotla) FreeholdIndividualFamily StateGovernment 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: – Action research; – Investment appraisal; – Training – Policy engagement and – Regional networking