Global Policy Type: Key Land Agreements

Together with UN’s Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union (AU) created the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa (F&G) to help strengthen land rights, improve agricultural productivity and secure livelihoods across the continent. The F&G, which were approved and adopted in 2009, recognize the central role that land plays in the development process and makes recommendations to national governments to help create and implement improved land policies and land legislation that will enhance tenure security for women and men. It also is designed to engage development partners and donors as they mobilize resources and build capacity to support of land policy development and implementation.

The historical, political and socioeconomic context of land issues is important in all regions and the F&G discusses this in the case of Africa, where land relations remain complex and, in many places, contentious. The F&G helps to create a shared vision for stakeholders of how a comprehensive and coordinated land policy would support country-level development. It encourages African governments to address concerns related to the status of land administration systems, land rights delivery systems and land governance structures and institutions. It also encourages governments to ensure adequate budgets to support the development or adjustment of needed land policies and implementation efforts. It analyses the difficulties likely to be met and conditions necessary for the effective implementation of such policies. Finally, it makes recommendations on how countries may track progress in the development and implementation of those policies. It also makes recommendations related to monitoring progress on these issues.

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Created by the Leadership Council of the New Alliance and Grow Africa, the Analytical Framework for Land-Based Investments in African Agriculture is a tool to help investors identify, understand and address risks related to land-based investments so that these can be managed more responsibly. The Operational Guidelines for Responsible Land-Based Investment, which was developed by USAID, formed the basis of many of the recommendations in the Analytical Framework.

To understand and address risks related to land-based investments, the Analytical Framework helps investors and provides a guide for aligning internal policies and actions with existing international and regional documents such as the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) and the Guiding Principles on Large Scale Land Based Investment in Africa. The Analytical Framework should help to improve due diligence processes and practices and operational activities with a goal of improving agricultural value chains.

The Analytical Framework provides practical advice to users and highlights best practices associated with developing and structuring an investment. It also provides “red lines” – situations which raises serious enough concerns that investors should consider terminating an investment or foregoing an opportunity unless appropriate alternatives can be identified. Investors can use the Analytical Framework throughout the life of the project, beginning with the preliminary project assessment, followed by the due diligence phase and continuing through the negotiation, agreement, operation and close-out phases.

The Guiding Principles on Large Scale Land Based Investments in Africa were drafted by the Land Policy Initiative (LPI) and endorsed by the tripartite consortium of the African Union, the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2014 to improve land governance to secure land rights and livelihoods, increase productivity and enhance environmental stewardship in Africa. Prepared through a collaborative and participatory process, the Guiding Principles are Africa-owned and establish large scale land based investments (LSLBI) that are more likely to succeed in terms of benefits for governments, local communities and investors.

The Guiding Principles are designed to help AU member states and other stakeholders develop larger-scale agricultural investments that are more likely to prove sustainable, beneficial, and successful for communities, investors and governments. They are based on a foundation of human rights and gender equality and promote six fundamental principles that include: respecting the human rights of communities; respecting the land rights of women; conducting holistic assessments of investments; recognizing the important role of smallholder farmers for achieving food security and poverty reduction; promoting collaboration among member states; and, enhancing accountability and transparency to improve governance.

In line with the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT), the Guiding Principles emphasize the importance of recognizing and respecting customary rights to land and resources, and of community participation in consultations and negotiations. They also call for timely and adequate compensation for those who lose rights and accessible grievance mechanisms for those who suffer harm, in line other international guidance. To better determine in all parties are meeting obligations, the Guiding Principles call for more robust monitoring of investment activities. And finally, a strong emphasis is placed on respecting the rights of women and girls to land and other natural resources.

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The Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (RAI), adopted in October 2014, promotes responsible conduct among a variety of stakeholders across all types of agricultural investments—public and private, large and small. The RAI recognizes the need to respect legitimate tenure rights (Principle 5) as an essential component for greater and more sustainable investment in agriculture and food systems.

As the set of ten principles that make up the RAI were developed through a multi-stakeholder process, they have wide buy-in. The principles are intended to provide practical guidance to governments, private and public investors, intergovernmental and regional organizations, civil society organizations, research organizations and universities, donors and foundations. These principles are organized into three broad categories: human rights and social protections, sustainable natural resource management and good governance. They state that responsible investments in agriculture should contribute to food security and nutrition while also helping to eradicate poverty, promote sustainable economic development and support women’s empowerment, youth empowerment and gender equality. And to ensure better governance, the principles call for more accountable and transparent governance systems and processes that provide grievance mechanisms and address harmful impacts of investments. The RAI are voluntary and non-binding and should be applied in ways that align with existing obligations under national and international law.

All Committee on World Food Security (CFS) stakeholders are asked to collaborate, network and identify joint activities to promote the use of the RAI Principles at the local, national and regional levels.

The RAI are available on the CFS website.

USAID played a leading role in the development of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the U.S. Government has endorsed all 17, which were adopted in 2015 and will define global development priorities through 2030. To achieve the SDGs, each goal has a set of targets designed to ensure that this shared progress leaves no one behind. With land formally recognized as a target in three SDGs, land is acknowledged as a critical metric of progress in this shared worldwide agenda:

• Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere. Target 1.4: “By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance.”
• Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Target 2.3: “By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.”
• Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Target 5.a: “Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.”

All 17 Sustainable Development Goals are available on the UN’s Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform.

USAID has been a strong supporter of the development and implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT). USAID currently is investing $215 million in land tenure programs in 23 countries that are helping to implement many of the principles and practices outlined in the VGGT. And USAID is not alone; FAO, ILC, LPI and many other donors and organizations continue to work with governments and at country-level to ensure that the VGGT are realized.

The VGGT is an internationally negotiated document by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). The negotiations, chaired by the United States, occurred over a nine month period and involved 96 member countries and over 30 civil society organizations. The document was adopted by the CFS in May 2012; attention will now shift to implementation of the guidelines.

National policies and customs on tenure vary widely from country to country, even between countries in the same region. The VGGT provide a framework for countries to use in the establishment of laws and policies, strategies, and programs which clarify and secure tenure rights. It accommodates for many differing viewpoints on ‘Best Practices’ and introduces a broad range of structures that can be relevant in all parts of the world.

The final (adopted) draft of the VGGT are now available from the FAO website in the following languages:

English | español | français | русский | لعربيةا | 中国的

Released May 2012: Voluntary Guidelines At A Glance (PDF, 234kb)