Land Rush is a one hour documentary film shot in Mali exploring the huge expansion of international agribusiness on Africa’s most fertile arable land. In Mali, 75% of the country’s population are farmers but only 5% of the land is arable. The film follows an American, Mima Nedelcovych, seeking to develop a sugar plantation, Sosumar, some Malian farmers who support the scheme, and others who oppose it, seeing it as a manifestation of imperialism.

No new plantation, state or private has succeeded since independence but Frelimo leaders persist in dreaming of giant mechanised farms funded by hundreds of millions of dollars from abroad. Lists some of these. Portucel: trading land for jobs did not work. A comment on risk sharing.

The symposium was held in Dar es Salaam on 1-2 March 2005. Report includes summaries of the 9 papers presented, issues discussed, policy recommendations and recommendations for future action. The papers cover implementation – overview, practical experiences, strategic plan, community based experiences, technical analysis, gender issues, wildlife management, privatisation, land in the context of the National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction. Participants believed there was a need for increased involvement of CSOs in monitoring and supporting implementation of the Land Acts.

Contains relationship between land rights, poverty and food security; political support for women’s land rights?; change through education and empowerment; in whose interest?; law and enforcement; part of wider changes.

Mentions new food security programme, transfer of state land, land tenure, land reform grant, new approach, commonage, agricultural redistribution grants, integrated rural development planning. Will facilitate transfer of tribal land to tribes and communities. Extended deadline for labour tenant claims to March 2001. Previous overemphasis on market forces failed to produce desired effect and impact. Lifted last August’s moratorium on new land reform projects. Piloting a supply led system.

Key findings: Customary tenure remains strong with only 1.2% of plots held under statutory tenure. Over 86% of women reported they have access to land under customary tenure and c.63% of women reported they “own” land under customary tenure. Tenure security is not dependent on formal documentation as proof of ownership. Men play a dominant role in land management. General knowledge of statutory and customary land law and management systems is poor. c.50% of the population have experienced land conflicts, 72% are within household, family or clan.

Report divided into 5 themes: legal issuers of women’s rights to land and property in Namibia; traditional institutions on women’s land and property rights; HIV/AIDS, land and property rights, and livelihood strategies; Namibian experiences; regional experiences (Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe).

Examines 8 reasons why addressing housing, land and property issues is important in humanitarian response, including: addressing loss of land or inability to return to land and homes after disasters, and protecting women and supporting their recovery.

Africa’s poor are heavily dependent on land and natural resources for livelihood, but some governments continue to resist transferring full resource management rights to them. This risks the loss or degradation of these resources, or their transfer into private hands. The continent’s development challenges are compounded by many factors, including unequal social, economic and political relations, the legacy of colonialism, globalisation, and collusive neo-liberal policy which favours capital and powerful allies.

Includes incidences of land grabbing in the region, land grabbing from the supply and demand sides, community resistance to land grabbing, what should be done on land grabbing, way forward.

Designed to help investors ensure that their land-based investments are inclusive, sustainable, transparent, and respect human rights. Jointly developed by the African Union, FAO and donor governments, including the UK, Germany, France and the US. Includes structure of the framework, the importance of identifying stakeholders, the crucial role of host governments.

Comprises executive summary, introduction, and chapters on historical perspective of land tenure, situation analysis, land policy objectives and strategies, institutional framework, and funding. The main emphasis is to address the problems of the land delivery system to ensure equitable access to land resources. Includes sections on land tenure and land allocation to foreigners, environmental issues, land disputes and gender – the Policy seeks to redress gender imbalances and other forms of discrimination in land tenure.