Access to farmland gets quick and dirty in sub-Saharan Africa
Who can access and use the land? The answer to this age-old question is
changing fast in many parts of rural Africa. Land that used to be allocated
within the community by chiefs is now increasingly changing hands in more
diverse ways. The wealthy and well-connected within the community or from
further afield are frequently able to override local statutory or customary
land rights, dispossessing the previous occupants or forcing them to divide
their already small plots of land. When government-backed investors obtain
large tracts for agribusiness, local farmers who manage to participate in the
schemes do well, but those who cannot may find themselves in dire need of
support. While the scale and pace of these changes are growing fast, policy
responses are lagging. This briefing sets out some suggestions for how to
close the gap.
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