News on Land

The Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces (STAARS) fellowship program, a multi-institution collaboration managed by Cornell University with support from the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), announces its annual call for research proposals.

Main photo: the new law was proposed in the light of developments in Cambodia’s property sector. KT/Pann Rachana

A proposal that will lead to substantial changes to the existing law governing land management and urban planning in Cambodia is moving forward.

The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC) conducted an online consultative meeting regarding the proposed law. The meeting was led by Pen Sopahal, secretary of state, with other senior officials of the MLMUPC.

The Institute for Collective Action of the Erasmus University Rotterdam is offering two PhD positions to candidates who would like to pursue their PhD studies in the area of collective action. The focus will be on an in-depth micro-analysis of internal functioning of two different types of “institutions for collective action” (ICA).

About the positions

The relationship between size and heterogeneity of both members and resources and their impact on the institutional design of ICA will be studied for:

Main photo: Bidco Africa group co-founder and chairman Vimal Shah said the uncultivated land mass could cater for a longer term perspective with wide open opportunities available for both countries. — Reuters pic

Malaysian palm oil companies have been invited to enter the African market by utilising available unused land mass of 600 million hectares for palm oil cultivation in the continent.

The Council of Ministers has decided to annul the prakas which were previously issued to carve out roughly 30ha in total size from an area currently encompassed by Boeung Tamok Lake on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

The reversal came following a direct order from Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Women in Botswana celebrate changes to the country’s land ownership law that now gives them the right to own land independently of their spouses, unlike before when they were treated as part of their husband’s property.

• A report by Global Witness has found that more than 100 Indonesian palm oil mills supplying agribusiness giants ADM and Bunge have been accused of land and human rights violations and environmental destruction.
• Global Witness found that neither company is addressing the majority of these allegations through their formal grievance processes, and effectively passing on this “conflict” palm oil to major consumer brands such as Nestlé, Unilever and PepsiCo.
• ADM and Bunge have denied any failure to police their suppliers, but have also pledged to look

Main photo: Koh Kong province, Cambodia. Prum Khoem, 45, says he used to have 10 hectares of land before it was taken. Photograph: Enric Català/The Guardian

Tate & Lyle has been accused of betraying 200 families in Cambodia who have fought for years to secure compensation for land they say was taken from them to make way for a sugar plantation.

LAND grabs and encroachment on protected forest are becoming more rampant in northern Cambodia, said environmental activists.

Cambodian forest and wildlife conservationists said it was increasing, especially in the Phnom Tnout-Phnom Pok Wildlife Sanctuary, which spans two districts in Preah Vihear province and one district in Siem Reap province.

They said it was a bad sign for the future of Cambodia's wildlife sanctuaries if the trend continued.

Dr Sharon Brown, the President of the Malku Institute of Technology says the Institute will set up a farmers’ training centre at Walewale in the North East Region to train young people on commercial agriculture to enhance food security.

The Institute is an international organisation with its headquarters in Florida, and was established in Ghana in July 2013 with the aim of equipping the youth with employable skills through innovation, research and technology.