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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.
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LAND OUTSOURCING AND AGRO-INVESTMENT IN AFRICAREBUILDING 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
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 • Privatisationof 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 5areas: • Action research; • Investment appraisal; • Training • Policy engagement and • Regional networking