AU Commissionner of Agriculture and Rural Development, Josefa Sacko
The Biennial Conference on Land Policy for Africa has been opened yesterday for four days in Kigali by African Union, UNECA, and African Bank for Development. Read below the remarks by The AU Commissionner of Agriculture and Rural Development, Josefa Sacko:
On behalf of the African Union Commission, it gives me great pleasure to address this Biennial Conference on Land Policy for Africa. Warm greetings from the Chairperson of the Commission, His Excellency Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Let me begin by thanking the Government of Rwanda for hosting this important conference in this beautiful city of Kigali despite the fact that we have adopted a hybrid approach of both virtual and physical contacts, especially for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies due to the COVID-9 pandemic that is still ravaging Africa.
I sincerely appreciate all the participants for finding time to attend this event despite the COVID-19 pandemic.While we sympathize with families that have lost their loved ones to the pandemic, I enjoin all of you to continue to stay safe by observing all the COVID-19 non pharmaceutical protocols, including those of you that have been fully vaccinated until we are able to reach herd immunity.
Land is a very emotive issue in Africa. It, no doubt, lies at the heart of social, political and economic life in most of Africa, where agriculture, natural resources and other land-based activities are fundamental to livelihoods, food security, incomes and employment.
Land also continues to have major historical and spiritual significance for Africa’s people. At one time land seemed an almost inexhaustible asset in Africa, but population growth and market development are creating mounting pressure and competition for land resources, especially close to towns and cities, and in productive, high value areas.
Competition for land as a result of climate change is triggering and exacerbating wider conflicts as we are witnessing in the Sahel. In Southern Africa, the unresolved historical legacy of colonial land alienation underlies the risks of social and political conflict. In recent years, a surge in the purchase of African land by foreign companies and governments to grow food and other crops for export has also set alarm bells ringing on and off the continent.The management of land is thus a core issue for African governments today.
In this dynamic and challenging context, the Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA) is organised biennially by the African Land Policy Centre (ALPC), a joint initiative of the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission and the African Development Bank. It brings together a range of interest groups including, African policy makers, academics and civil society representatives, as well as representatives of the private sector and international agencies to debate the way ahead for land policy in Africa.
This year‘s Conference, the fourth in the series is being held under the theme: “Land governance for safeguarding art, culture and heritage towards the Africa We Want” in line with the African Union Declaration of 2021 as the year of “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want,” which is epitomized by Aspiration 5 of Agenda 2063.
The AU Declaration on Land Urges Member States to develop comprehensive land policies that address specific needs of each State, and build adequate human, financial and technical capacities in accordance with the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa.
As a continent, a lot of initiatives related to land are being implemented. Although several AU Member States have progressed in developing land policies or undertaking reforms, we still witness several challenges in the sector such as the lack of capacity or trained personal in land governance institutions.
This is compounded by the advent of various emerging issues such as the COVID-19, climate change, increasing population and urbanization as well as ethnic and regional conflicts as I previously mentioned. All these have tremendous impacts on the ability of nations to deliver land services especially when there is competition among land users.
The AU Agenda on Land is focused on ensuring that we work together to address these different land challenges.Since the last 2019 Conference on Land Policy in Arica that was held in Côte d’Ivoire, we have continued to make progress towards achieving the AU Agenda on land.
The Africa Land Policy Centre with the support of GIZ has progressed in establishing the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA) secretariat. Through the initiative we have witnessed a lot of capacity being built for several individuals on land governance issues. More importantly we have also continued to support African Union Member States in land policy reform as well as the improvement of their land administration systems.
In addition to this, the AUC in collaboration with other partners has been working on the development of the Land Governance Strategy. The inclusive development of the AU Land Governance Strategy is one key initiative that is aimed at ensuring that the views of all stakeholders are integrated in the work being conducted at the AUC. We have also started progressing in the development of the Guidelines for integrating Gender in the Land sector in Africa.
As we assemble today, let us remember that the overall goal of this conference is to deepen capacity for land policy development, implementation and monitoring with a specific focus on emerging issues and AU commitments, including in the land sector, through the improved access to knowledge and information in support of evidence-based land policymaking.
Let me emphasize that the Conference on Land Policy in Africa is a platform for land administrators, non-state actors, private sector and academia to share information on innovative solutions that are working to secure rights to land and improve land delivery services among our Member States. It is also a platform for us to share good practices in land administration.
The Conference on Land Policy for Africais an opportunity for all of us to engage and discuss custom fit land administration solutions for Africa. Let us create strong partnerships in our quest to improve land governance in Africa.
Allow me to conclude by taking this opportunity to thank our esteemed partners that have accompanied us over the years on this journey- the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and the African Land Policy Centre for their tireless efforts in ensuring that the conference is held successfully. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the GIZ and other cooperating partners who have supported this conference. I wish you all fruitful deliberations and I thank you for your kind attention. (End)