The political economy of agricultural growth corridors in eastern Africa

Growing commercial interests;population growth and conservation initiatives are increasing competition for land in Tanzania. At the same time;land-related conflicts are on the rise. These trends undermine livelihoods by threatening rural people’s access to land and tenure security. Women tend to be disproportionately affected as available land diminishes;disadvantaged by weak land rights and limited participation in decision-making processes. Alongside gender-discriminatory practices;rural populationsslim knowledge of land governance further jeopardises women’s access to land and tenure security;as their existing rights go unrecognised. To address this;an approach that supports communities to adopt village bylaws has been trialled;with promising results. The participatory development of local rules that are inclusive and ‘gender sensitivehelps to promote stronger and more equitable land governance;by clarifying processes at local level and ensuring both men and women are involved in making decisions on land issues.