LAND OUTSOURCING AND AGRO-INVESTMENT IN AFRICAREBUILDING CAPACITY FOR POLICY ANALYSIS AND ‘PRO-POOR’ POLICY 

MAKING IN AFRICA

Prosper B. Matondi and Mandivamba RukuniRUZIVO 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

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:– Action research; – Investment appraisal; – Training – Policy engagement and – Regional networking